Geographical location of Galicia. Features of the Galicia-Volyn principality in the appanage period (XII–XIII centuries)
Galich (1199-1340) |
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Old Russian |
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Orthodoxy |
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Form of government: |
Monarchy |
Dynasty: |
Rurikovich |
Creation of the principality |
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Remerging |
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Coronation of Daniel |
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Creation of the metropolis |
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Loss of Galicia |
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Loss of Volyn, cessation of existence |
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Galicia-Volyn Principality(lat. Regnum Rusiae - kingdom of Rus'; 1199-1392) - southwestern Old Russian principality Rurik dynasty, created as a result of the unification of the Volyn and Galician principalities by Roman
Mstislavich. After Daniil Galitsky accepted the title of “King of Rus'” from Pope Innocent IV in Dorogochina in 1254, he and his descendants used the royal title.
The Galician-Volyn principality was one of the largest principalities of the period feudal fragmentation Rus'. It included the Galician, Przemysl, Zvenigorod, Terebovlyan, Volyn, Lutsk, Belz, Polissya and Kholm lands, as well as the territories of modern Podlasie, Podolia, Transcarpathia and Moldova.
The Principality pursued an active foreign policy in Eastern and Central Europe. Its main neighbors and competitors were the Polish Kingdom, the Hungarian Kingdom and the Cumans, and from the mid-13th century also the Golden Horde and Principality of Lithuania. To protect against them, the Galician-Volyn principality repeatedly signed agreements with Catholic Rome, the Holy Roman Empire and the Teutonic Order.
The Galicia-Volyn principality fell into decline under the influence of a number of factors. Among them were strained relations with the Golden Horde, to which the principality continued to be a vassal during the period of its unification and subsequent strengthening at the beginning of the 14th century. After the simultaneous death of Leo and Andrei Yuryevich (1323), the lands of the principality began to be captured by its neighbors - the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dependence of the rulers on the boyar aristocracy increased, and the Romanovich dynasty was stopped. The principality ceased to exist after the complete division of its territories following the War of the Galician-Volynian Succession (1392).
Territory and demographics
Borders
The Galician-Volyn principality was created at the end of the 12th century by uniting the Galician and Volyn principalities. His lands extended in the basins of the Sana, Upper Dniester and Western Bug rivers. The principality bordered in the east with the Russian Turovo-Pinsk and Kyiv principalities, in the south - with Berlady, and eventually the Golden Horde, in the southwest - with the Kingdom of Hungary, in the west - with the Kingdom of Poland, and in the north - with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Teutonic Order and the Principality of Polotsk.
The Carpathian Mountains in the north-west served as the natural border of the Galician-Volyn principality, fencing it off from Hungary. In the 20s of the 14th century, this border was pushed further south in connection with the unification of some part of Transcarpathia by the Galician princes. The western border with Poland passed along the Jaselka, Wisłok, San rivers, as well as 25-30 km west of the Wieprz River. Despite the temporary capture of Nadsanje by the Poles and the annexation of Lublin by Russia, this part of the border was quite stable. The northern border of the principality ran along the Narew and Yaselda rivers, in the north of Beresteyskaya land, but was often changed due to wars with the Lithuanians. The eastern border with the Turovo-Pinsk and Kyiv principalities ran along the Pripyat and Styr rivers and along the right bank of the Goryn River. The southern border of the Galician-Volyn principality began in the upper reaches of the Southern Bug and reached the upper reaches of the Prut and Siret. It is likely that from the 12th to the 13th centuries Bessarabia and the Lower Danube were dependent on the Galician princes.
Administrative division
Since 1199, the border between the Galician and Volyn principalities passed between the Galician cities of Lyubachev, Golye Gory, Plesensk, and the Volynian cities of Belz, Busk, Kremenets, Zbrazh and Tihoml. The territory of both principalities was divided into separate lands or principalities.
Volyn was a single principality of Vladimir with its capital in Vladimir. Over time, the principality was divided into smaller appanage principalities, among them were the Lutsk principality with the center in Lutsk, the Dorogobuzh principality with the center in Dorogobuzh, the Peresopnitsa principality with the center in Peresopnitsa, the Belz principality with the center in Belz, the Cherven principality with the center in Cherven, the Kholm the principality with its center in Kholm and the Berestey principality with its center in the city of Brest.
Galicia consisted of four main principalities, which were either liquidated under strong princely power, or re-emerged due to its weakening. These principalities were the Principality of Galicia with its center in Galich, the Principality of Lvov with its center in Lvov, the Principality of Zvenigorod with its center in Zvenigorod, the Principality of Przemysl with its center in Przemysl, and the Principality of Terebovlya with its center in Terebovlya. Later the principalities were united under the rule of Galician. An integral part of these lands were also the territories above the middle Dniester, which were then called Ponizia, and now Podolia.
The division into smaller principalities persisted until the 13th century; later there were references only to the Galician and Volyn principalities as components of the Galician-Volyn principality.
Population
There are no sources from which it is possible to accurately calculate the population of the Galicia-Volyn principality. In the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle there is mention that the princes conducted censuses and compiled lists of villages and cities under their control, but these documents have not reached us or are incomplete. It is known that the Galician-Volyn princes often resettled residents from conquered lands to their territories, which resulted in population growth. It is also known that the inhabitants of the Ukrainian steppes fled to the principality from the Mongol-Tatars, where they settled.
Based on historical documents and topographic names, it can be established that at least a third of the settlements of Volyn and Galicia arose no later than the emergence of the Galician-Volyn principality, and their inhabitants were mainly Eastern Slavs. In addition to them, there were a few settlements founded by Poles, Prussians, Yatvingians, Lithuanians, as well as Tatars and representatives of other nomadic peoples. In the cities there were craft and merchant colonies in which Germans, Armenians, Surozhians, and Jews lived.
Political history
Western lands of Rus'
In the 6th-7th centuries, powerful tribal alliances existed on the territory of modern Galicia and Volyn. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Dulebs are mentioned, and at the end of the same century - the Buzhans, Chervyans, Ulichs and White Croats, whose lands included 200-300 settlements. The centers of tribal political associations were fortified “cities”. It is known that the Croats and Dulebs acted as “tolkovinas,” that is, allies of the Rusyns in Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium in 907.
Historians admit that in the early 60s of the 10th century the lands of Galicia and Volyn were annexed to Kievan Rus Svyatoslav Igorevich, but after his death in 972 they were annexed by the neighboring Kingdom of Poland. In 981, his son, Vladimir Svyatoslavich, again occupied these lands, including Przemysl and Cherven. In 992, he conquered the White Croats and finally subjugated Subcarpathia to Rus'. In 1018, the Polish king Boleslav the Brave took advantage of the civil strife between the Russian princes and captured the Cherven cities. They remained under his rule for 12 years, until Yaroslav the Wise returned them in the campaigns of 1030-1031. Then a peace was concluded with Poland, which assigned Cherven, Belz and Przemysl to Russia.
Principalities of Galicia and Volhynia
By the middle of the 11th century, the lands of Galicia and Volyn were finally consolidated as part of Kievan Rus. Among them, the main place was occupied by Volyn - a populous land with developed cities and a trade route to the west. The capital of all Western Russian lands was the city of Vladimir (Volyn), where the princely throne was located. The Kyiv monarchs held these strategically important territories for a long time, saving them from fragmentation into specific principalities.
In 1084, the Rostislavichs, princes Rurik Rostislavich, Volodar Rostislavich and Vasilko Rostislavich, came to power in the lands of Galicia. As a result of wars with the Volyn and Kyiv princes at the end of the 11th century, they achieved separate reigns for themselves. In 1141, these principalities were united by Vladimir Volodarevich, the son of Volodar Rostislavich, into a single Principality of Galicia with its capital in Galich. It maintained contact with the Kyiv and Suzdal princes, as well as the Cumans, to confront the Polish, Volyn and Hungarian rulers. Under Yaroslav Osmomysl, the son of Vladimir Volodarevich, the Principality of Galicia gained control over the lands of modern Moldova and the Danube region. After the death of Osmomysl in 1187, the boyars did not accept Oleg’s illegitimate son, who was declared their heir, and therefore “a great conspiracy occurred in the Galician land,” as a result of which it was occupied by the Hungarian troops of Bela III. Only with the help of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Poland, Galich was returned to the last prince from the Rostislavich branch, Vladimir Yaroslavich.
In contrast to the rapid transformation of Galicia into a separate principality, Volyn, strategically important for Kyiv, remained dependent on it until the 50s of the 12th century. Its separation from Kyiv began Kyiv prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, during the period Kyiv rule Yuri Dolgoruky. Izyaslav's son Mstislav managed to leave Volyn to his offspring, and from that time on the Volyn land developed as a separate principality.
Formation of a single principality
The unification of Galicia and Volyn was accomplished by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich. Taking advantage of the unrest in Galicia, he first occupied it in 1188, but could not hold it under the pressure of the Hungarians, who also invaded Galician land at the request of local boyars. For the second time, Roman annexed Galicia to Volyn in 1199, after the death of the last Galician prince Vladimir Yaroslavich from the Rostislavich family. He harshly suppressed the local boyar opposition, which resisted his attempts to centralize government, and thereby laid the foundation for the creation of a unified Galician-Volyn principality.
At the same time, Roman intervened in the struggle for Kyiv, which he received in 1201, and took the title of Grand Duke of Kyiv. In 1202 and 1204, he made several successful campaigns against the Cumans, which gained popularity among the common population. In the lists of chronicles and letters, he bears the title of “Grand Duke”, “Autocrat of All Rus'” and is also called “Tsar in the Russian Land”. He died in the Battle of Zavichost in 1205 during his Polish campaign.
Civil strife
Due to the death of Roman during the childhood of his sons Daniil and Vasilko, a power vacuum arose in the Galicia-Volyn principality. Galicia and Volhynia were gripped by a series of ongoing civil strife and foreign interventions.
In the first year after Roman’s death, his widow and children managed to hold Galich with the help of the Hungarian garrison, but in 1206, the boyar group of Kormilichichs, who returned to Galich from exile, contributed to the invitation to the Galicia-Volyn principality of the sons of the Novgorod-Seversk prince, glorified in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” Igor Svyatoslavich. Vladimir Igorevich and Roman Igorevich reigned in Galicia from 1206 to 1211 in total.
After the death of Roman, Volyn fell into small appanage principalities, and its western lands were captured by Polish troops. Svyatoslav Igorevich failed to establish himself in Volyn, and it returned to the control of the local dynasty. The legal heirs of the Galicia-Volyn principality, the young Daniil and Vasilko Romanovich, retained only minor territories of the principality.
By launching repressions against the Galician boyar opposition, the Igorevichs gave Poland and Hungary a reason for intervention. In 1211, the Romanovichs and their mother returned to Galich, the Igoreviches were defeated, captured and hanged. However, a conflict soon arose between widow Romanova both the boyars and the Romanovichs again had to leave the capital. The princely power in Galich was usurped by the boyar Vladislav Kormilichich, who was expelled in 1214 by the Hungarians and Poles. Andras II, King of Hungary, and Leszek the White, Prince of Krakow, divided Galicia between themselves. Andras II planted his son Koloman in Galich. Soon, the Hungarians quarreled with the Poles and took possession of all of Galicia, as a result of which Leszek called for help from the Novgorod prince Mstislav Udatny, who had recently participated in the triumphant capture of Vyshgorod and Kyiv from the Olgovichi and, according to one version, was the grandson of Yaroslav Osmomysl. In 1215, with Polish help, the Romanovichs regained Vladimir, and in 1219 they conquered lands along the Western Bug from Poland.
For several years, Mstislav Udatny fought for Galich against the Hungarians with varying success, until in 1221 he finally established himself in the Galician reign, making peace with the king and marrying his daughter to Prince Andrew. To strengthen his power, Mstislav entered into an alliance with the young princes and married his daughter to Daniel. However, soon after the Battle of Kalka (1223), a conflict arose between Leshek and Daniil, on the one hand, and Mstislav and the appanage Belz prince Alexander Vsevolodovich, on the other. Causing discontent among the boyars and not having the strength to stay in power, Mstislav, during his lifetime, transferred the Galician reign to Prince Andrew. In 1227, Daniel and his brother defeated the appanage Volyn princes and by 1230 united Volyn in their hands. Thus, Daniil and Vasilko regained half of the lands that belonged to their father. For the next eight years they fought a war for Galicia, first against the Hungarians, then against Mikhail of Chernigov. In 1238, Daniel finally occupied Galich and recreated the Galicia-Volyn principality.
Reign of Daniil Romanovich
Having united the fragmented possessions of Father Roman, brothers Daniil and Vasilko peacefully distributed power. The first one sat in Galich, and the second one in Vladimir. The leadership in this duumvirate belonged to Daniil, since he was the eldest son of Roman Mstislavich.
Before the Mongol invasion of Rus', the Galicia-Volyn principality managed to expand its borders. In 1238, Konrad Mazowiecki donated the Russian city of Dorogoczyn to the Dobrzyn Order of Crusaders, and Daniil Romanovich occupied it and the northwestern lands of Beresteyshchyna. In the spring of 1238, a raid on Mazovia was carried out by Mindovg, an ally of Daniel. In 1239, Daniel annexed the Turovo-Pinsk principality to his lands and took possession of Kiev the following winter.
With the arrival of the Mongols, the positions of the Galician-Volyn princes were shaken. In 1240, the Mongols took Kyiv, and in 1241 they invaded Galicia and Volyn, where they sacked and burned many cities, including Galich and Vladimir. Taking advantage of the departure of the princes to Hungary and Poland, the boyar elite rebelled. Its neighbors took advantage of the weakness of the principality and tried to capture Galich. In response, the Galicians captured Polish Lublin in 1244, and in 1245 they defeated the Hungarians, Poles and rebellious boyars in the Battle of Yaroslav. The boyar opposition was finally destroyed, and Daniil was able to centralize the administration of the principality.
The Golden Horde was dissatisfied with the strengthening of the positions of the Galicia-Volyn lands, which delivered an ultimatum to the principality demanding that Galicia be transferred to it. Lacking the strength to resist the Mongols, Daniel was forced to recognize the suzerainty of the Golden Horde Khan in 1245, but retained the rights to the Galician-Volyn principality. Having become dependent on the Golden Horde, the prince directed his foreign policy towards the creation of an anti-Horde coalition of states. To this end, he entered into an alliance with Poland, Hungary, Mazovia and the Teutonic Order, and also captured the Yatvingian lands and Black Rus' in 1250-1253, thereby eliminating the threat of a Lithuanian attack on Volhynia.
In 1254, Daniil accepted the title of King of Rus' in Dorogochina from Pope Innocent IV. Dad promised to organize crusade against the Mongols and actually called Christians to join him Central Europe, and then the Baltic states.
But Daniel did not go for the Catholicization of the subject lands, so he had to not only fight against the Mongols himself, but also, instead of expelling the Horde Baskaks from Kyiv, repel an attack on Lutsk by the Lithuanians, whom the pope had already allowed in 1255 fight Russian land. The rupture of allied relations occurred after the independent capture of Vozvyagl by Galician-Volynian troops in Kyiv land before the approach of the Lithuanians. The first war (1254-1257) against the troops of Kuremsa was victorious, but in 1258 the Mongol troops were led by Burundai, who in the next two years, together with Vasilko Romanovich, carried out military campaigns against Lithuania and Poland, and also forced the demolition of the fortifications of several Volyn cities.
In 1264, Daniel died without liberating the Galicia-Volyn principality from the Horde yoke.
Galicia-Volyn principality at the end of the XIII-XIV centuries
In the second half of the 13th century, after the death of Daniil Romanovich, seniority in the dynasty passed to Vasilko, but he continued to reign in Vladimir. Lev, his father's successor, got Galich, Przemysl and Belz, Mstislav - Lutsk, Shvarn, married to the daughter of Mindovg, - Kholm with Dorogochin.
In the mid-1260s, a contender for the Lithuanian throne, Voishelk, the son of Mindovg, turned to Vasilko for help. Vasilko and Shwarn helped Voishelko establish himself in Lithuania. In 1267, Voishelk entered a monastery and transferred his principality to Schwarn, who was his son-in-law. Shwarn's reign on the Lithuanian table was shaky, because it relied on Voishelk's orders. And when the Galician prince Lev killed Voishelk during a feast in 1268, Shwarn’s position in the Lithuanian land became completely unsightly. Schwarn himself soon died. Troyden settled under the Lithuanian reign, and Lev Danilovich took the Shvarna volost in Rus'.
Died in 1269 Grand Duke Vladimirsky Vasilko Romanovich. Vasilko's vast possessions were inherited by his son, Vladimir. In the 70s, Vladimir and Lev fought with the Yatvingians; At this time, the Galician-Volyn princes began border conflicts with the “Poles”. Together with the Tatars, the squads of Lev and Vladimir went to the Lithuanian land in 1277, “to the Ugra” in 1285, and in 1286 they devastated the Krakow and Sandomierz lands. In 1288-89, Lev Danilovich actively supported the contender for the Krakow throne - the Płock prince Bolesław Zemowitovich, his nephew - in his fight against Henry of Wraclaw. In this campaign, Leo managed to capture the Lublin land. In 1288, the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich died. Vladimir had no children, and he bequeathed all his lands to Mstislav Danilovich. Shortly before his death, Leo made a raid on Poland, from where he returned with great booty and a full load. The news about the double defeat of Leo by Gediminas, and about the latter’s conquest of Volyn, taken by the compiler of the Gustyn Chronicle from the Bykhovets Chronicle, is considered unreliable.
The new Galician prince Yuri I Lvovich, the son of Lev Danilovich, in 1303 obtained recognition of a separate Little Russian Metropolis from the Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1305, wanting to emphasize the power of the Galician-Volyn state and inheriting his grandfather Daniil of Galicia, he took the title of “King of Little Rus'”. In foreign policy Yuri I supported good relationship and entered into alliances with the Teutonic Order to contain the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Horde, and Mazovia against Poland. After his death in 1308, the Principality of Galicia-Volyn passed to his sons Andrei Yurievich and Lev Yurievich, who began the fight against the Golden Horde, traditionally relying on the Teutonic knights and Mazovian princes. It is believed that the princes died in one of the battles with the Mongols or were poisoned by them (1323). Also, some historians claim that they died defending Podlasie from Gediminas. They were succeeded by Vladimir Lvovich, who became the last representative of the Romanovich dynasty.
After the end of the reign of the Rurik dynasty, Yuri II Boleslav, the son of Maria Yurievna, daughter of Yuri Lvovich, and the Mazovian prince Troyden, became the Galician-Volyn monarch. He regulated relations with the Golden Horde khans, recognizing his dependence on them and making a joint campaign against Poland with the Mongols in 1337. While maintaining peace with Lithuania and the Teutonic Order, Yuri II had poor relations with Hungary and Poland, who were preparing a joint attack on the Galician-Volyn principality. In domestic policy he promoted the development of cities, granting them Magdeburg law, intensified international trade and wanted to limit the power of the boyar elite. To implement his plans, Yuri II attracted foreign specialists and helped the Uniate processes between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. These actions of the prince eventually displeased the boyars, who poisoned him in 1340.
The death of Yuri II put an end to the independence of the Galician-Volyn principality. A period of struggle for these lands began, which ended with the division of the principality between its neighbors. In Volyn, Lyubart-Dmitry Gediminovich, the son of the Lithuanian prince Gedimin, was recognized as prince, and in Galicia, the noble boyar Dmitry Detko was the deputy of the Volyn prince. In 1349, the Polish king Casimir III the Great organized a large campaign against the Galician-Volyn principality, seized the Galician lands and began a war with the Lithuanians for Volyn. The war for the Galician-Volyn inheritance between Poland and Lithuania ended in 1392 with the loss of lands in Volyn by the Volyn prince Fedor Lyubartovich. Galicia with the Belz Principality and the Kholm region became part of the Kingdom of Poland, and Volyn went to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Galicia-Volyn principality finally ceased to exist.
Socio-economic history
Society
The society of the Galicia-Volyn principality consisted of three layers, membership of which was determined by both pedigree and type of occupation. The social elite was formed by princes, boyars, and clergy. They controlled the lands of the state and its population.
The prince was considered a sacred person, “a ruler given by God,” the owner of all the land and cities of the principality, and the head of the army. He had the right to give his subordinates allotments for their service, and also to deprive them of lands and privileges for disobedience. IN government affairs the prince relied on the boyars, the local aristocracy. They were divided into “old” and “young”, who were also called “the best”, “great” or “deliberate”. The great senior boyars made up the administrative elite and the “senior squad” of the prince. They owned “Batkovshchina” or “dednitstva”, ancient family lands, and new land plots and cities granted from the prince. Their sons "youths", or junior boyars, constituted " junior squad"of the prince and served at his court as close "yard servants". The administration of the clergy was represented by six dioceses in Vladimir (Volyn), Przemysl, Galich and Ugrovsk (later in Kholm), Lutsk and Turovsk. These bishoprics owned vast lands near these cities. In addition to them, there were a number of monasteries that controlled significant territories and the population living on them. After the creation of the Galician Metropolis in 1303, dependent on the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Galician Metropolitan became the head of the church in the Galician-Volyn lands.
Separate from the princes and boyars, there was a group of city administrators, “model men,” who controlled the life of the city, carrying out the orders of the princes, boyars or clergy to whom this city belonged. The urban patriciate gradually formed from them. Next to them in the city lived “ordinary people”, the so-called “citizens” or “mestichs”. All of them were obliged to pay taxes in favor of the princes and boyars.
The largest group of the population in the principality were the so-called “simple” villagers - “smerds”. Most of them were free, lived in communities and paid taxes in kind to the authorities. Sometimes, due to excessive extortions, the smerdas left their homes and moved to the virtually uncontrolled lands of Podolia and the Danube region.
Economy
The economy of the Galicia-Volyn principality was mainly subsistence. It was based on agriculture, which was based on self-sufficient land - courtyards. These economic units had their own arable land, hayfields, meadows, forests, places for fishing and hunting. The main agricultural crops were mainly oats and wheat, less wheat and barley. In addition, livestock farming was developed, especially horse breeding, as well as sheep and pig breeding. Important components of the economy were trades - beekeeping, hunting and fishing.
Among the crafts, blacksmithing, leatherworking, pottery, weapons and jewelry were famous. Since the principality was located in forest and forest-steppe zones, which were densely covered with forest, woodworking and construction reached special development. One of the leading industries was salt making. The Galician-Volyn principality, together with the Crimea, supplied salt to the entire Kievan Rus, as well as to Western Europe. The favorable location of the principality - on black soil lands - especially near the rivers Sana, Dniester, Vistula, etc., made it possible for the active development of agriculture. Therefore, Galich was also one of the leaders in bread exports.
Trade in the Galician-Volyn lands was not developed properly. Most of the manufactured products went to indoor use. The lack of access to the sea and large rivers prevented the conduct of widespread international trade, and, naturally, the replenishment of the treasury. The main trade routes were overland. In the east they connected Galich and Vladimir with the Kyiv and Polotsk principalities and the Golden Horde, in the south and west - with Byzantium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Holy Roman Empire, and in the north - with Lithuania and the Teutonic Order. The Galician-Volyn principality exported mainly salt, furs, wax and weapons to these countries. Imported goods were Kyiv art and jewelry, Lithuanian furs, Western European sheep wool, cloth, weapons, glass, marble, gold and silver, as well as Byzantine and oriental wines, silks and spices.
Trade took place in the cities of the Galicia-Volyn principality, of which there were more than eighty by the end of the 13th century. The largest of them were Galich, Kholm, Lvov, Vladimir (Volynsky), Zvenigorod, Dorogochin, Terebovlya, Belz, Przemysl, Lutsk and Berestye. Princes encouraged international trade by reducing taxes on merchants along trade routes and town squares.
The state treasury was replenished through tribute, taxes, extortions from the population, wars and confiscation of properties from unwanted boyars. Russian hryvnias, Czech groschen and Hungarian dinars were used in the territory of the principality.
Control
The head and highest representative of power in the principality was the prince. He united in his hands the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, and also had a monopoly on the right to conduct diplomatic relations. Trying to become an absolute “autocrat,” the prince was constantly in conflict with the boyars, who sought to maintain their independence and turn the monarch into their own political instrument. The strengthening of princely power was also hampered by the duumvirates of princes, the fragmentation of principalities and the intervention of neighboring states. Although the monarch had the right to make decisions on his own, he sometimes convened boyar “dumas” to resolve the most important issues and problems. These meetings acquired a permanent character from the 14th century, finally blocking the “autocracy” of the prince, which was one of the reasons for the decline of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
The princely central administration consisted of boyars appointed by the prince and was quite differentiated; had a number of special titles, such as “court”, “printer”, “scribe”, “steward” and others. But these were rather titles than positions, since the persons occupying them often carried out the orders of the prince not related to their job responsibilities. That is, in the Galicia-Volyn principality there was no effective bureaucratic apparatus, and specialization in management had not yet been consistently carried out, which was a characteristic feature of all European states of the Middle Ages.
Until the end of the 13th century, the regional administration was concentrated in the hands of appanage princes, and from the beginning of the 14th century, in connection with the transformation of the appanage principalities of the Galician-Volyn state into volosts, in the hands of princely volost governors. The prince chose most of the governors from the boyars, and sometimes from the clergy. In addition to volosts, princely governors were sent to cities and large urban areas.
The structure of cities in the XII - XIII centuries was the same as in other Russian lands - with the advantage of the boyar-patrician elite, with a division into taxation units - hundreds and streets, with a city council - the veche. During this period, the cities belonged directly to the princes or boyars. In the 14th century, with the penetration of Magdeburg law into the Galicia-Volyn principality, a number of cities, including Vladimir (Volyn) and Sanok, adopted a new semi-self-governing system.
The judicial power was combined with the administrative power. The highest court was held by the prince, and below - by the tivuns. The basic law remained the provisions of “Russian Pravda”. The city court was often based on German law.
Army
The army of the Galician-Volyn principality was organized following the example of the traditional Russian one. It consisted of two main parts - the “squad” and the “warriors”.
The squad served as the basis of the princely army and was formed from units of the boyars. The “big” boyars were obliged to go on campaign personally with a certain number of cavalry and their subjects, the number of which could reach a thousand people. Ordinary boyars were required to arrive at positions only accompanied by two warriors - a heavily armed gunsmith and an archer-sagittarius. The young boyars “youths” formed a kind of guard for the prince, constantly staying with him. In turn, the warriors were the people's militia and were formed from “ordinary people” - townspeople and villagers; they were used only in emergency situations. However, due to constant internal struggle, the prince could not always count on the help of the boyars.
The military reforms of Daniil Romanovich, who was the first in the space of the former Kievan Rus to create a princely army, independent of the boyar squad, recruited from ordinary people and landless boyars, were epochal for the Galician-Volyn state. It was divided into heavily armed gunsmiths and lightly armed archers. The former performed shock functions, both cavalry and infantry, and the latter played the role of instigator of the battle and covering units. This army did not have unified weapons, but used a modern arsenal of the Western European model - lightweight iron armor, spears, sulits, slingshots, swords, lightweight Rozhan bows, slings, crossbows, as well as medieval artillery with “vessels of war and hail.” This army was personally commanded by the prince or the governor or tysyatsky loyal to him.
In the 13th century, fortification construction underwent changes. The old Russian fortifications of earthen ramparts and wooden walls began to be replaced by castles made of stone and brick. The first new fortresses were erected in Kholm, Kamenets, Berestye, Chertorysk.
Culture
On the territory of the Galicia-Volyn principality, a distinctive culture was formed, which not only inherited the traditions of Kievan Rus, but also absorbed many innovations from neighboring countries. Most modern information about this culture has come to us in the form of written evidence and archaeological artifacts.
The main cultural centers of the principality were large cities and Orthodox monasteries, which at the same time played the role of the main educational centers of the country. Volyn played a leading role in the cultural life of the country. The city of Vladimir itself, the main city of the Volyn principality, was an ancient citadel of the Rurikovichs. The city became famous thanks to Prince Vasily, whom the chronicler recalled as “a great scribe and philosopher, the likes of whom have never existed in all the earth and who will not exist after him.” This prince developed the cities of Berestya and Kamenets, created his own library, and built many churches throughout Volyn, to which he gave icons and books. Another significant cultural center was Galich, famous for its Metropolitan Cathedral and the Church of St. Panteleimon. The Galician-Volyn Chronicle was also written in Galich and the Galician Gospel was created. The largest and most famous monasteries in the principality were Poloninsky, Bogorodichny and Spassky.
Little is known about the architecture of the principality. Written sources describe mainly churches, without mentioning the secular houses of princes or boyars. There is also little data from archaeological excavations, and they are not enough for an accurate reconstruction of the structures of that time. The remains of the principality's temples and records in chronicles make it possible to assert that in these lands the traditions of the architecture of Kievan Rus remained strong, but new trends in Western European architectural styles were felt.
The fine arts of the principality were strongly influenced by Byzantine art. Galicia-Volyn icons were especially valued in Western Europe, many of them ended up in Polish churches after the conquest of the principality. The art of icon painting of the Galician-Volyn lands had common features with the Moscow icon painting school of the 14th-15th centuries. Although Orthodox traditions did not encourage the development of sculpture in connection with the fight against idolatry; the pages of the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle mention sculptural masterpieces in Galich, Przemysl and other cities, which indicates the Catholic influence on the masters of the principality. Fashion in decorative art, especially in the processing of weapons and military devices, was dictated by Asian countries, in particular the Golden Horde.
The development of culture in the Galician-Volyn principality contributed to the consolidation of the historical traditions of Kievan Rus; for many centuries they were preserved in architecture, fine arts, literature, chronicles and historical works. But at the same time, the principality came under the influence of Western Europe, where the Galician-Volyn princes and nobility sought protection from aggression from the east.
Russian princely families originating from the Galicia-Volyn principality
The descendants of the Galician-Volyn princes are considered to be the following:
- Drutsky
- Drutsky-Sokolinsky
- Drutsky-Sokolinsky-Gurko-Romeiko
- Drutsky-Lyubezhsetsky
- Babichevs
- Putyatiny
Sources and historiography
Sources
The main sources for studying the history of the Galicia-Volyn principality are local and foreign chronicles, travel descriptions, various letters, and archaeological excavation data.
The initial period of the history of Galicia and Volyn during the period of the first Rostislavichs is described by the Tale of Bygone Years, and the events of 1117-1199 are narrated by the Kiev Chronicle. The years 1205-1292 are covered by the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, which is conventionally divided into two parts - the reign of Daniil Romanovich and the reign of Vladimir Vasilyevich.
The main sources describing the history of Galicia and Volyn include the Polish chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, the chronicles of Vincent Kadlubek and the chronicles of Jan Dlugosz, the “Czech Chronicle” of Kozma of Prague, the German chronicles of Thietmar of Marseburg and the Hungarian chronicles of Janos Turoczy and “Chronicon Pictum”. ABOUT recent years The existence of the Galicia-Volhynia principality is narrated by the Polish chronicles of Janko of Czarnkov, Trask, Lesser Poland Chronicle, as well as the Czech chronicles of Frantisek of Prague and the Hungarian Dubgicka chronicle.
Valuable are the charters of Vladimir Vasilyevich in 1287 and Mstislav Daniilovich in 1289, inscribed in the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, and the originals of the charters of Andrei and Lev Yuryevich in 1316-1325 and Yuri II in 1325-1339.
Historiography
The first studies on the history of Galicia and Volyn appeared at the end of the 18th century. These were the works of Austrian historians L. A. Gebhard, R. A. Hoppe and J. H. Engel. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Polish historian F. Syarchinsky published works on the history of the principalities of Przemysl and Belz, Z. M. Garasevich compiled materials on the history of the church in Galicia.
The first historian who wrote the scientific “History of the Ancient Galician-Russian Principality” in three parts (1852-1855) was D. Zubritsky. His work was followed by A. Petrushevich, who in 1854, in the article “Review of the most important political and church incidents in the Principality of Galicia from the half of the 12th to the end of the 13th century.” gave a general assessment of the history of Galicia. In 1863, a professor at Lvov University, I. Sharanevich, for the first time, based on historical, archaeological and toponymic sources, published in Lvov “The History of Galician-Volyn Rus from Ancient Times to the Summer of 1453.” His work was continued by historians S. Smirnov, A. Belevsky and A. Levitsky.
In the first half of the 19th century, the history of Volyn and the Kholm region was studied by S. Russov, M. Maksimovich, V. Komashko, L. Perlstein and M. Verbitsky, Yu. T. Stetsky, A. Krushinsky and others. Their works were of a review-popular nature. In 1885, a specialized work by A. V. Longinov, “Cherven Cities, a Historical Sketch, in Connection with the Ethnography and Topography of Chervona Rus,” dedicated to the history of the Kholm region, was published in Warsaw. The ancient history of Volyn was covered in 1887 in the work of O. Andreyashev and in 1895 in the monograph of P. Ivanov.
Most works of the 19th century covered mainly the political themes of the Galicia-Volyn principality, without touching on the socio-economic ones. Also, the history of Galicia and Volyn was viewed through the prism of the political existence of Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire, legalizing the rights and claims of these states to the above-mentioned lands.
After the annexation of Western Ukraine to the USSR in 1939, the topic of the Galicia-Volyn principality was raised by Soviet historiography. Researchers of the 20th century paid attention mainly to the socio-economic situation in the principality. New approaches to covering the history of the principality were presented in the works of B. D. Grekov, V. I. Picheta, V. T. Pashuto. In 1984, the first fundamental monograph on the history of the Galicia-Volyn principality was published under the authorship of I. Kripyakevich.
Introduction
2. Cities, crafts: development and significance
3. Domestic and foreign trade: features and significance
References
Introduction
The emergence of the Galician-Volyn state was facilitated by its favorable geographical location (remoteness from Kyiv weakened the influence of the central government, natural conditions made these lands difficult to access for steppe nomads; in addition, the principality was located at the crossroads of strategically important trade routes). Also contributed to the need common struggle two principalities against aggression from Poland and Hungary, and subsequently against the Mongol invasion and yoke and the energetic unification policy of princes Roman Mstislavich (1199-1205) and Daniil Romanovich Galitsky (1238-1264). The existence of rich salt deposits on the territory of the principality was important, which contributed to economic growth and intensification of trade.
The relevance of the topic “Galician-Volyn state: features of economic development” is that during this period there were significant shifts in the development of land ownership, cities, crafts, domestic and foreign trade
The object of the study is the Galicia-Volyn state, the subject is the features of economic development
The purpose of the study is to consider the Galician-Volyn state: features of economic development.
Research objectives to consider:
Land tenure system: forms and character.
Cities, crafts: development and significance.
Domestic and foreign trade: features and significance.
1. Land tenure system: forms and nature
The formation of mature forms of feudal property is associated with the growth and strengthening of land ownership by princes, boyars, and the church. A significant part of the landowners were the so-called free servants - vassals of princes and boyars. Feudal legislation gave feudal lords the exclusive right to own land, alienate and inherit, and protect their property.
A hierarchical structure of land ownership was established, which was based on interprincely and princely-boyar vassal relations. A real feudal ladder arose: the Grand Duke, local princes, boyars, boyar servants. The legal side of seigneurial-vassal relations was not clearly worked out. They were established not on land relations, but on collecting taxes from land for subsistence.
Some historians defend the idea that in Ukraine, systems of the Western European type arose in the XII-XIII centuries, in particular in the Galicia-Volyn principality. Its economic development was characterized by the predominance of boyar land ownership. The princely domain began to form only in the 12th century. The process of feudalization took place without the influence of the princely organizing force. The Galician-Volyn princes began to associate the ownership of land, their servants and boyars with service and vassalage. Lands that were granted for lifelong ownership were called “state”. Prince Daniil Galitsky, having liberated the lands from the Hungarians, distributed the cities to the boyars and governors. As a rule, when a prince lost his principality, the boyars loyal to him lost their villages.
With the formation of large land ownership and feudal dependent peasantry in the XI-XIII centuries. Immunity developed as a legal form of feudal domination. Landowners acquired the right to court, collect tribute and manage all categories of the peasantry.
The princely estates developed most intensively. It was typical for them to be scattered in different volosts. The structure of the economy was dominated by field farming, horse breeding, trades, labor and rent in kind.
Privately owned estates in the XII - first half of the XIII century. grew as a result of the granting of princely lands to the feudal lord and as a result of his private initiative (acquisition and acquisition of lands, development of untouched territories). Three forms of rent were combined. Rent in kind prevailed in two forms - fixed chinsh and sharecropping. Cash payments were associated with judicial and administrative fines and fees. In the domain economy, regular and periodic cultivation was used (haymaking, construction work, horse-drawn coercion, field work).
The estate was a diversified economy. It included agriculture, animal husbandry, and crafts, the most important of which were hunting, fishing, beekeeping, processing of raw materials, and farming. Its economic, administrative and military center was fortified by a feudal courtyard-castle. In the center of the territory there were houses and outbuildings (barns, barns, stables, pigs, workshops). There was a system of patrimonial administration: steward, village and role elders, groom (groom), housekeeper. The economy of the estate was of a natural nature, with a pronounced focus on meeting consumer needs. Only a small part of what was produced went to the market for the sale and purchase of goods that were not produced on the farm.
The economic basis of the peasant economy was the peasant yard-smoke. The size of individual peasant land use was on average equal to one "plow", which was a unit of taxation and amounted to about 15 hectares of land. 10-15 smokers, mostly relatives, united in a courtyard. Over time, strangers joined the courtyards, who, depending on their property status, either became equal members - “puzzlers”, or became dependent on the owners of the courtyards; they were called “half-members”, “shareholders”. The grounds of the courtyard consisted of "plots" - smoked, which were scattered in different places. There were also small farms and a smaller unit of taxation - "ralo". The courtyards were part of a society headed by an elder (ataman).
IN common use society were indivisible lands. They distributed government coercion and taxes.
Peasant farms were the basis of economic life, occupied the majority of the estate's land, produced most of the agricultural products, and themselves converted them for direct consumption. Part of the domain economy of the estate in general production was significantly smaller, but it determined progress in agriculture, had more opportunities to improve tools, apply advanced agricultural technology at that time, grow new crops, and the like.
The seizure of Ukrainian lands by foreign states led to changes in land relations. Arose and gradually increased land ownership Lithuanian, Polish, Hungarian, Moldavian feudal lords.
During the period of feudal fragmentation, the bulk of the Smerd peasants turned from free community farmers into holders of lands appropriated by the prince, boyars and the church. Smerds lost economic independence and personal freedom. There have also been changes in the forms of exploitation of peasants. In conditions low level farming techniques, the votchinniki were deprived of the opportunity to widely organize their own economy, therefore the main part of the votchina was made up of peasant farms that paid the feudal lords rent in kind - quitrent. “In all European countries,” noted K. Marx in Capital, “feudal production is characterized by the division of land between as many vassal dependent people as possible. The power of feudal lords, like all sovereigns in general, was determined not by the size of their rent, but by the number of their subjects, and this latter depends on the number of peasants who conduct independent farming.”
Rent in kind guaranteed a certain economic independence of the ancient Russian peasant. He was interested in the results of his work, and this increased its productivity and ultimately ensured subsequent economic development Old Rus'.
In the 12th century, on the southwestern territory of the Old Russian state, belonging to the Ulichs, Dulebs, Croats and Tiverts, the Galician and Volyn principalities were formed with the capitals of Galich and Vladimir.Geographical position of the Galicia-Volyn principality
The unification of the two principalities occurred in 1199, when Prince Vladimir-Volynsky Roman Mstislavovich, being a descendant of Vladimir Monomakh, having gained strength and strengthening his power, annexed Galich to the Vladimir-Volyn lands. Geographical location The Galicia-Volyn principality was as follows: the lands of the resulting principality were located in the basins of the Western Bug, San and upper Dniester rivers and bordered in the east with the Kyiv and Turov-Pinsk principalities, in the south with Berlady, which later became known as the Golden Horde. In the southwest, the Galicia-Volhynia principality bordered on the Kingdom of Hungary, on the west on Poland, and on the north on the Principality of Polotsk, the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Relations with Poland, Hungary and Lithuania
The resulting Galicia-Volyn principality in 1214, after the death of Prince Roman Mstislavovich, came under the rule of Hungary and Poland. But in 1238-1264, thanks to the son of Roman Mstislavovich named Daniel and his comrade-in-arms Mstislav the Udal, the Galicia-Volyn principality managed to restore its strength and independence.In the 14th century, due to the internecine wars of the sons of Daniel, the weakening of the Galicia-Volyn lands began. The collapse of the principality occurred against the backdrop of the growing influence of Poland and Lithuania. In 1339, the entire territory of the Principality of Galicia was captured by Poland, and in 1382 Volyn was divided between Lithuania and Poland.
Political features of the Galicia-Volyn principality
The social system at that time in the Galicia-Volyn principality had the strong position of a small group of feudal boyars, previously formed from large local landowners. They did not maintain close relations with the princely court and did not hide their hostile attitude towards it. The ruling class in the principality was the church nobility, since it was they who managed the vast land holdings they owned and the peasants working on them.With the growing influence of the feudal lords, the peasants lost their independence, falling under their influence. The number of communal peasants decreased, but the number of dependent peasants who lived on lands owned by feudal lords and were obliged to pay quitrent to their masters increased. However, this process has gradually taken place in all lands since the time. The urban population of the Galicia-Volyn lands was small, since the number of large cities was small. At the same time, the city nobility was interested in strengthening the princely power. Cities had their own trade and craft associations, which were governed by elders and had their own treasury. Supreme body The power in the Galician-Volyn lands was the prince and the council under him; in contrast to the power of the prince there was a boyar council, which played a large role in the foreign and domestic policies of the principality. The Council of Boyars could, at its discretion, deprive of power and elect a new prince in connection with which the prince's power over the state was very limited. All issues of governing the principality and the courts were resolved with the help of a council, which included boyars, clergy and representatives of the princely court. Thus, the state apparatus of the principality was formed in the form of a palace-patrimonial system, which was common for that period of time. The army in the Galicia-Volyn principality was formed from a permanent squad, which included professional soldiers and militia recruited from city residents and peasants. In the Galicia-Volyn principality, the system of rights of the Old Russian state was preserved.
Galicia-Volyn Principality
The Galician-Volyn land extended from the Carpathians and the Dniester-Danube Black Sea region in the south and southwest to the lands of the Lithuanian Yatvingian tribe and the Polotsk land in the north. In the west it bordered on Hungary and Poland, and in the east on the Kyiv land and the Polovtsian steppe. The Galicia-Volyn land was one of the most ancient centers of the arable farming culture of the Eastern Slavs. Fertile soils, mild climate, numerous rivers and forests mixed with steppe spaces created favorable conditions for the development of agriculture, livestock breeding and various crafts, and at the same time feudal relations, large feudal princely and boyar land ownership. Craft production has reached a high level; its separation from agriculture contributed to the growth of cities, of which there were more here than in other Russian lands.
Completion in the second half of the 12th century. The process of formation of a system of separate principalities contributed to the separation of Galich and Volyn in the southwestern regions of the Old Russian state.
In the 12th century. The Principality of Galicia is experiencing a period of economic recovery and rapid growth of political power. This was facilitated by the favorable geographical location of the Galician land (the Galician land occupied the entire Carpathian region). Due to the decline in international importance of the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” which came under attack from the Polovtsians, trade routes moved west and passed through the Galician land. The result of princely strife and Polovtsian raids on Rus' was the growth of the colonization movement not only to the northeast, but also to the west, in particular to the Galician land. On this basis, the Galician cities strengthened and their commercial and political importance grew.
On the other hand, being located at the junction of three most important Eastern European countries - Rus', Poland and Hungary, the Galician land has acquired very significant weight in international affairs. This favored the growth of the political power of the princely government in Galich. The strengthening of princely power provoked a struggle against the prince on the part of the local boyars, turning the principality into an arena for a long struggle between the princes and the oligarchic aspirations of the local boyars. Princely power in the Galician land appeared relatively late, already with highly developed feudal relations. The landowning boyar class possessed exceptional economic and political power here. This gave special strength and urgency to the struggle between the grand ducal power and the boyars.
Volyn land was located next to Galicia, located along the banks of the Bug. Having separated from Kyiv in the middle of the 12th century. and having established itself as the ancestral homeland of the descendants of the Kyiv Grand Duke Izyaslav Mstislavich, in Volyn, in contrast to the neighboring Galician land, a large princely domain (hereditary land holdings) was formed early on. Boyar land ownership here grew mainly due to princely grants to serving boyars, whose support allowed the Volyn princes to begin an active struggle for the expansion of their fatherland. As a result, in 1199, the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich managed to unite the Galician and Volyn lands, and with his occupation of the Kyiv throne in 1203, the entire Southern and Southwestern Rus' came under his rule - a territory equal to large European states of that time. The reign of Roman Mstislavich (died in 1205) was marked by the strengthening of all-Russian and international situation Galicia-Volyn land, successes in the fight against the Polovtsians, the fight against the rebellious boyars, the rise of Western Russian cities, crafts and trade. However, separated as a result of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars from the rest of the Russian lands (but previously together with them forming a single Rus'), weakened by the incessant invasions of the Golden Horde and aggression from the west, the South Russian and Western Russian principalities were unable to defend their integrity and independence during the 14th century . became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and were partly captured by Poland and Hungary. Their historical development followed its own special path, laying the foundation for the history of the fraternal peoples - Great Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.
A feature of the social structure of the Galicia-Volyn principality was that here, along with the princely autocracy, a strong aristocracy arose in the form of a large group of boyars, in whose hands almost all land holdings were concentrated. The princes were forced to reckon with the boyars' self-will, which, along with external enemies, turned into a destructive force, weakening the state.
In general, the social composition of society in the Galicia-Volyn principality during the period under review did not undergo any significant changes compared to the initial period of Russian statehood. The entire free population of the Galicia-Volyn principality did not know class divisions and enjoyed the same rights, although the population groups differed in their actual position, wealth and influence in society.
The social elite were represented by people or men, in particular “Galician men.” These were large fiefdoms who played the most important role, which already in the 12th century. oppose any attempts to limit their rights in favor of princely power and growing cities. This also includes the military-commercial aristocracy, as well as the armed merchants of large and small trading cities.
The middle social strata include ordinary princely warriors and the average urban merchants.
As for the lower strata, it was the urban and rural common people who wore common name smerdov, but mainly the word smerdov meant the rural or peasant population. Smerds in the Galicia-Volyn principality made up the bulk of the population. The growth of large landownership and the formation of a class of feudal lords was accompanied by the establishment of feudal dependence and the emergence of feudal rent (rent is any regularly received income from capital, land, property that does not require entrepreneurial activity from the recipient). With the growing number of people dependent on the feudal lord, the use of their labor in the patrimonial economy became the basis of the economic power of the feudal prince. Therefore, such a category as slaves has almost disappeared. Serfdom merged with the peasants sitting on the land, turned into palace servants, attached to the land, and was endowed with legal personality (slaves are a category of feudal-dependent population in the Russian state as a rudimentary element - a relic of an underdeveloped, disappearing, residual phenomenon - patriarchal slavery).
As already noted, there were many cities in the Galicia-Volyn principality. In the pre-Mongol period there were over 80 of them. The largest of them were Vladimir-Volynsky, Przemysl, Terebovl, Galich, Berestye, Kholm, Drogichin, Kolomyia, Yaroslavl, Zvenigorod and others.
From the time the Galician and Volyn lands united into a single Galician-Volyn principality (1199) and formed a strong independent state, Galich became its center, i.e. the capital city. It is located on the right, elevated bank of the Dniester. His main shrine there was a cathedral church of the Mother of God, which in its style did not differ from the ancient Kiev churches. However, the Galician region lay closer to Byzantine Empire than other Russian lands, and was in business relations with it, trade, political and especially church. The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, distinguished by its large size and the strength of its construction, has survived to this day despite all the upheavals and alterations that befell it.
A significant part of the inhabitants of the cities of the Galicia-Volyn principality were artisans and merchants. In the cities there were jewelry, pottery, blacksmith and other workshops, the products of which went not only to the domestic, but also to the foreign market.
A peculiarity of the state structure of the Galicia-Volyn land was that for a long time it was not divided into appanages, i.e., unlike many other Russian lands, it retained its unity, although power in it belonged to the large boyars. The power of the princes was fragile, although it was inherited: the place of the deceased father was taken by the eldest of the sons. However, the balance of class forces was such that the Galician boyars even controlled the princely table, that is, they invited and replaced princes at their own discretion. The history of the Galicia-Volyn principality is full of examples when princes who lost the support of the top boyars were forced to go into exile. To fight the princes, the boyars actively used the help of European knights (Hungarian and Polish). The boyars hanged several Galician-Volyn princes.
The boyars exercised their power with the help of a council, which included the largest landowners, bishops and persons holding the highest government positions. The prince did not have the right to convene a council at his own request, and could not issue a single act without his consent. Since the council included boyars who held major administrative positions, the entire state administrative apparatus was actually subordinate to it.
The Galician-Volyn princes convened a veche from time to time under emergency circumstances, but it did not have much influence. The princes took part in all-Russian feudal congresses. Occasionally congresses of feudal lords and the Galician-Volyn principality itself were convened. Here, earlier than in other Russian lands of the period of feudal fragmentation, palace-patrimonial administration arose.
The territory of the state was divided into thousands and hundreds. As the thousand and sotskys with their administrative apparatus gradually became part of the palace-patrimonial apparatus of the prince, the positions of governors and volostels arose in their place. The territory of the principality, accordingly, was divided into voivodeships and volosts. The communities elected elders who were in charge of administrative and minor judicial matters. Posadniks were appointed by princes to cities. They had not only administrative and military power, but also performed judicial functions, collected tributes and duties from the population.
The legal system of the Galicia-Volyn principality was almost no different from the legal systems that existed in other Russian lands during the period of feudal fragmentation. The norms of Russian Pravda continued to apply here, only slightly modified (Abridged edition of Russian Pravda).
The Galician-Volyn princes, as a rule, issued their own normative and legal acts, since they had certain administrative, military and legislative powers.
Comparative characteristics
Based on the above information, we can conclude that the main difference between the Vladimir-Suzdal and Galician-Volyn principalities lies in the state structure and the degree of influence of princely, boyar and church authorities. So in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, absolute power was in the hands of the prince and the church had a strong influence, and in the Galician-Volyn principality, on the contrary, large feudal landowners and merchants had a strong influence. Also, due to different natural and geographical conditions, crafts, agriculture and trade were developed in different proportions and with their own specifics. While the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality attempted to unite the lands of Rus' under its leadership, the Galician-Volyn Principality sought to develop active ties and conducted close cooperation with the countries of Eastern and Central Europe.
