What Is The Zkyan Rus Political System

Kievan Rus political system was a flexible one that worked good in the beginning, and developed in a strong state that would prospered due to its control of the main trade routes in Eastern Europe. The grand prince of Kiev controlled the lands around the city, while his relatives or close friends ruled in other cities and paid a tribute. One feature of this political system was the title of Grand Prince did not pass from father to son, instead leadership came from princes that ranked higher in seniority. This gave each of the princes of Kiev the opportunity to increase their power over time. The state’s power reached its peak during the reign of Prince Vladimir. Vladimir’s choice of Eastern Orthodox religion, showed his close ties with Constantinople,
They made one grand prince the leader and had him keep the other rulers in line. Mongol raids would consist of the burning of towns and crops to punish those who didn’t obey. Princes slowly gained loyalty from the Golden Horde and benefited from it. Mongols played a role in the development of Muscovy as a state and developed its road network, which increased trade profits for some Russian towns. “The steady flow of tribute and commercial traffic through north-eastern Russian market towns… stimulated their economic recovery and development. It was within the framework of economic demands and opportunities created by the Golden Horde that north-eastern Russia recovered.” Due to the Mongols presence bringing in much more trade, lead to the increase need for craftsmen. “One visible sign of economic recovery was reflected in production by craftsmen. …carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, and other craftsmen continued to manufacture their wares in the thirteenth century; in the fourteenth century they were producing more goods than they had before the invasion.” The Mongol conquest may have influenced the desire of princes to centralize their control and lower the limitations put on their power by the nobility, merchants and the clergy. “It was similarly under the pressures of Mongol hegemony that north-eastern Russia underwent a political reorganization during the century following the
His son Ivan I, received the “Grand Prince of Vladmir” title from the Mongol overlords. He worked closely with them and collected tribute from the other principalities for them. Acquiring a better relationship with the Mongols gave Moscow regional domination over their rivals. “During the fifteenth century, commercial activity placed Moscow in the middle of a large merchant trade network that reached from the black sea well into the forests of the north. …Muscovy began taking over protection of Rus’ merchants plying those routes. Forest products for trade, as well as customs duties and tolls on commerce passing through the territory Moscow controlled were the basis of fifteenth and sixteenth-century Muscovite prosperity.” With the state becoming economically stronger, so did the Tsar power, which reached its peak during the reign of Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible). Ivan helped strengthen the position of the tsar to new heights. He began with a sequence of useful reforms, a new law code, revamped military and reorganized government. All in all, these reforms were meant to strengthen the state and the continuous warfare it faced. Though he seemed smart, Ivan suffered from mental illness and ruled with extreme violence. This would lead to an economic crisis they would hurt the state and effect how the political system operated. “Ivan’s reign thus reveled the vulnerability of the social and