What is said in Russian truth. The educational portal is everything for a law student. Useful video: “Russian Truth” Yaroslav

The social structure of VA society in the 9th century is weakly expressed. The process of formation of social groups lasted for the period IX - XII centuries.

Society is divided into the following population groups:

Free (feudal. Nobility - princes; boyars; clergy: higher hierarchs, parish monasticism; citizens: merchants, artisans; free community members)

Feudally dependent (stinks, purchases).

The Russian truth contains a number of norms that determine the legal status of certain groups of the population. According to its text, it is difficult to distinguish between the legal status of the ruling stratum and the rest of the population. There are only two legal criteria: norms on increased (2nd) criminal liability for the murder of a representative of a privileged layer and norms on a special procedure for the inheritance of real estate (land) for representatives of this layer. These legal privileges extended to princes, boyars, princely husbands, princely tyuns and fire-lights (not all of them were feudal lords).

The structure of the feudal ruling class of the old Russian state:

1. Princes   - former princes of unions of tribes or individual tribes (soon this title belonged only to Rurikovich). Revenues from the princes - Polyode. During this period, a grand prince domain arose. R.P. mentions the people of the prince who live under the prince:

a) the lights (managers)

c) grooms

d) stinks

e) slaves

They all belonged to the court of the prince.

2. Boyars   - the descendants of the great princes. Their ancestors are the elders of the tribe. Wealth is connected with the earth. They ruled cities, volosts, entered the prince's squad (princely men). Until the 11th century, they lived at the court. In the XI-XII centuries - the squad settling on the ground (the prince favors the land). The team was divided into older and younger. The penalty for the murder of a princely husband is 80 hryvnias. In XI, the firemen also receive land and rank.

Boyar tenure arises from the seizure of land and the awards of the prince.

3. Clergy   - in 988

a) higher (black, monasticism) - lived in monasteries.

b) parish spirit

From the XIth century monasteries turn into large households. land. Entry when making contributions.

4. Urban (Posad) population : - 40 hryvnias for killing mountains. citizens. Merchants were divided into guests (foreign or nonresident) and local. There were also artisans and day laborers.

5. Community Smerdy - legally and economically independent, fulfilled duties and paid taxes only in favor of the state. They possessed certain property and could bequeath it to children (land - only to sons). In the absence of heirs, his property was transferred to the community. The law protected the identity and property of stink. For committed acts and crimes, as well as for obligations and contracts, he carried personal and property responsibility. He acted as a full participant in the trial. There were, in addition, unfree stinks.

Community areas:

1. Economic - all community members held land on the basis of tenure.

2. Administrative and legal organization.

3. Police and judicial organization.

If a murder was committed on the territory of the community, the community itself investigated it. The culprit and his family embarked on a flood and plunder (conf. Property). Outcasts turned to princes, by their decision they were transferred to monasteries.

6. Procurement   - in the Short ed. R.P. not mentioned in P.P. - a person working in the household of the feudal lord for the “compartment”, ie loan. This debt had to be worked out, while the established equivalents and standards did not exist. The scope of work is determined by the lender. For the first time, a procurement relationship with a creditor was settled in the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh after the procurement uprising in 1113. The law protected the identity and property of the procurement. Zakup was responsible for the safety of the tools, accompanied the lord on campaigns. A purchase is not punishable if it goes to work in the city. Zakup could appeal to the court with a complaint against his master and in rare cases be a witness. If the purchase escaped or stolen, it turned into a slave.

In R.P. “Role” (arable, rural) procurement, working on a foreign land, in its legal status did not differ from the purchase of “non-zero”. They got paid for work for the future.

7. Slaves ("robes")   - the most disenfranchised subjects of law. The source of slavery is birth from a slave, self-sale in bondage, marriage to a slave without concluding a contract with a master, admission to keykeepers without a contract with a master, committing a crime (“flow and plunder”), fleeing a purchase from a master, malicious bankruptcy. The most common source of slavery is captivity (it is not mentioned in RP).

All that the serf possessed was the property of the master. All the consequences arising from the contracts and obligations that the serf concluded with the knowledge of the master also fell on the master. The person of the slave was not protected by law (for his murder - a fine; slave \u003d property-woo). The serf, who committed the crime, had to be given to the victim. The penalty was liable for the serf gentleman. In court, a serf could not be a plaintiff, defendant, or witness. Referring to the testimony of a serf in court, a free man had to make a reservation that he refers to the "words of a serf".

Inside the slaves there was no equality (privileged and unprivileged slaves).

the code of Old Russian law of the era of the Kiev state and the feudal fragmentation of Russia. Came to us in the lists of the XIII - XVIII centuries. in three editions: Concise, Extensive, Abridged. The first information about the Old Russian system of law is contained in the treaties of the Russian princes with the Greeks, where the so-called "Russian law" is reported. Apparently, we are talking about some kind of monument that has not reached us that is of a legislative nature. The most ancient legal monument is Russian Truth. It consists of several parts, the most ancient part of the monument - "The Most Ancient Truth", or "The Truth of Yaroslav", is a letter issued by Yaroslav the Wise in 1016. It regulated the relations of prince warriors with the inhabitants of Novgorod and with each other. In addition to this letter, the Russian Truth includes the so-called Truth of the Yaroslavichs (adopted in 1072) and the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh (adopted in 1113). All these monuments form a rather extensive code regulating the life of a person of that time. It was a class society in which the traditions of the clan system were still preserved. However, they are already beginning to be replaced by other ideas. So, the main social unit referred to in the “Russian Truth” is not gender, but “peace”, i.e. community. In the “Russian Truth” for the first time such a widespread custom of a tribal society as blood feud was abolished. Instead, the sizes of the vira are determined, i.e. compensation for the murdered, as well as the punishment that is imposed on the killer. Vira paid the whole community, on the earth of which the body of the murdered was found. The highest fine was imposed on the murder of a fireman, the head of the community. It was equal to the cost of 80 oxen or 400 sheep. The life of a stinker or slave was valued 16 times cheaper. The most serious crimes were robbery, arson, or horse-stealing. They were punished by the loss of all property, expulsion from the community or imprisonment. With the advent of the recorded laws, Russia rose one more step in its development. Relations between people began to be regulated by laws, which made them more streamlined. This was necessary because along with the growth of economic wealth, the life of each person became more complicated, and it was necessary to protect the interests of each individual person.

The Russian Truth, which was formed on the basis of laws that existed in the 10th century, included the norms of legal regulation arising from customary law, that is, folk traditions and customs.

The content of Russian Truth testifies to the high level of development of economic relations, rich economic ties regulated by law. “True,” wrote historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, “it strictly distinguishes the return of property for storage -“ luggage ”from“ loan ”, a simple loan, a loan from a friend, from giving money back to growth from a certain agreed percentage, short-term interest loan from long-term and, finally, a loan - from a trading commission and a contribution to a trading company from an unspecified profit or dividend.The truth further provides a certain procedure for collecting debts from an insolvent debtor in the liquidation of his affairs, he is able to distinguish between insolvency and the unfortunate unfortunate G. What is trade credit and credit transactions is well known to Russian Pravda. Guests, nonresident or foreign merchants, "launched goods" for native merchants, that is, they sold them on credit. The merchant gave the guest, a fellow countryman who was trading with in other cities or lands, "I will buy kuns," on a commission for the purchase of goods on the side; the capitalist entrusted the merchant with "kuns and guest", for the turnover of the profits. "

However, as can be seen from reading the economic articles of the Russian Truth, profit and the pursuit of profit are not the goal of ancient Russian society. The main economic idea of \u200b\u200bRussian Truth is the desire to ensure fair compensation, compensation for the damage caused in the conditions of self-governing collectives. Truth itself is understood as justice, and its implementation is guaranteed by the community and other self-governing collectives.

The main function of Russian Truth is to ensure a fair, from the point of view of folk tradition, solution of problems that arose in life, to ensure a balance between communities and the state, to regulate the organization and remuneration of public functions (gathering vira, building fortifications, roads and bridges).

Russian Truth was of great importance in the further development of Russian law. It formed the basis of many norms of the international treaty of Novgorod and Smolensk (XII-XIII centuries), Novgorod and Pskov court certificates, Code of Law 1497, etc.

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More than a hundred lists of Russian Truth have survived to this day, which can be presented in three main editions: Brief, Wide and Short. The most ancient (published no later than 1054) is the Brief Truth, consisting of the Truth of Yaroslav and Yaroslavich, the Pokrov Virnoy and the Lesson of bridges (a total of 43 articles) The history of state and law of Russia: a textbook for university students studying in special. "Jurisprudence", Moscow Education of the Russian Federation.- M .: Prospect, 2009. - 33 p.

A wide edition, appeared no earlier than 1113 and is associated with the names of Yaroslav (court of Yaroslav) and Vladimir Monomakh (Charter).

From the revised Spatial Edition appeared in the mid-15th century Abridged.

Regarding the status of Russian Truth, there are two opposite assessments: some historians recognize Russian Truth as the official code of princely law (Pogodin, Belyaev, Lange, etc.), and the other as a private collection of legal customs and judicial practice (Sergeevich, Vladimirsky-Budanov, etc.).

According to the beliefs of V.O. Klyuchevskogo, Russian Truth was released as an addition to the Book of Kormcha, and church litigation became the basis for the formation of its text.

So, the code of laws “Russian Truth” is based on a number of sources, including foreign ones, of a church-legal nature — the Nomokanon (Pilot Book), Ekloga, the Judicial Law by the people, Prokhiron, the City Law (IX century), church charters Vladimir and Yaroslav. This gives the right to assume that Russian Truth could be used by church courts to adjudicate cases of non-church civil and criminal cases Syrykh V.M. History of the state and law of Russia. Textbook. - M: Eksmo, 2007 .-- 104 p.

The princely laws also formed the basis of the Truth, but rather in a retold form, this is explained by the church legal orientation of the text: it does not contain the elements of crimes, sanctions and procedural actions that took place in the practice of legal proceedings; State crimes, the death penalty and the judicial duel, which were never supported by the Church, are not indicated in any way.

With the strengthening of princely power, intervention in the text of Russian Truth by church proceedings is limited, the collection begins to cover princely proceedings. However, without becoming a direct code of princely laws (but a collection of customs and church legislation), the Truth nevertheless remained a guide for princely proceedings Pivovarov Yu.S. History of judicial institutions of Russia. - M: INION RAS, 2004. - S. 6-7 ..

In the collection of laws, a casual or formal way of analyzing the material is used: a specific incident was taken from a legal source or real life (custom, Byzantine law, judicial practice), the decision on which Russian Truth itself decided. At the same time, there was a double motive for the decision: religious-moral (fair) and purely legislative (as prescribed).

It becomes obvious that as a set of laws, Russian Truth was built up gradually: at first, its individual norms were formed (borrowings from Byzantine law took root in real judicial practice), which were selected by O. A. Kudinov during the selection process History of the state and law of Russia. Textbook. - M: Axis 89, 2008 .-- 45 p.

The short version of Russian Truth consists of two parts: the first, which includes 17 articles, contains the norms of criminal, civil and administrative law. The second part contains the decisions of the princely congresses of the descendants of Yaroslav, supplementing the existing articles with the norms of court fees and expenses.

Develops the provisions of the Concise edition of the Omniverse Truth, systematizing them, and adds to them the laws adopted during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh.

The division of the Truth into the “Court of Yaroslav” and the “Charter of Vladimir” can be considered rather conditional: only a few articles are related to the lawmaking of these princes, the rest are brought from different sources and eras, since the main task of the Truth was to attract and include different norms, important primarily for the codifier.

Sources that fall under the codification were the norms of customary law (blood feud, mutual responsibility) and princely proceedings, the latter are especially numerous in Russian Pravda and are associated with the names of the princes who accepted them (Yaroslav, sons of Yaroslav, Vladimir Monomakh) and of course a certain influence on systematization had Byzantine canon law V. Rogov The history of the state and law of Russia in the 9th - early 10th centuries. Textbook. - M: MGIU, 2006 .-- 11 p. .

Russian Truth distinguishes, albeit with some difficulties, the legal status of the ruling elite and the rest of the population according to two legal criteria that particularly distinguish these groups in society - the norms of increased responsibility and a special order of inheritance. Representatives of these privileged groups, according to the requirements of Russian Truth, were princes, boyars, princely men, princely tyuns, and firemen. However, not all of these persons are feudal lords; we are only talking about their privileges related to their status, including social status or proximity to the princely court.

Most of the population was divided into dependent and free people, there were also intermediate and transitional categories. Legally and economically independent, Posad people and communal smerds were considered (they paid taxes and performed duties only in favor of the state). Among the urban population a number of social groups stood out - boyars, clergy, merchants, "lower classes" (artisans, small traders, workers, etc.) Yushkov S. V. Essays on the history of feudalism in Kievan Rus. - M: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1939. - 139 p.

Among the dependent categories, it is worth mentioning the "serf" stinkers, who were in bondage and servitude of the feudal lords. A more complex legal figure was the procurement, working in the feudal lord's economy for a “compartment”, i.e. loan, which could include various values \u200b\u200b- land, livestock, grain, money and so on. Officially, in bondage, the purchase, nevertheless, remained a free person until he violated the agreement with the creditor. Otherwise, it could be turned into a serf. There was a special Procurement Charter in the Spatial Edition.

The procurement was that legal figure that most vividly illustrated the process of “feudalization”, enslavement of former free community members.

The most disenfranchised subject of law was the serf, who had no property - all that he possessed was the property of the master. The law regulated various sources of slavery: self-sale in bondage (one person or the whole family), birth from a slave, marriage to a “robe”, “key keeping”, commission of especially serious crimes, fleeing a purchase from a master, malicious bankruptcy (a merchant loses or squanders someone else’s property ), captivity Old Russian principalities of the X-XIII centuries. / Ans. ed. L.G. Bloodless. M .: Publishing house "Science". 1975 .-- 123 s.

In Russian Truth there was no such thing as a legal entity, therefore the code can be defined as a set of private law laws, so, among the types of crimes, there are no crimes against the state. As an individual, only with a higher position, the personality of the prince was considered as an object of criminal assault. The content of ownership was associated with specific entities; it could be different depending on the property. The norms and principles of customary law included in Russian Truth work only with individuals.

Another source for studying the legal development of the Old Russian State is the princely judicial practice, introducing a subjective element into the definition of the subject of law (close to the princely court, which, first of all, extends privileges) and the assessment of legal actions.

In Russian Pravda, an important constituent part of procedural law was the settlement of all kinds of court fees and taxes to princely officials: assistant judge, lad, virnik, princely husband and scribe overdue, company sworn lessons, duty under an iron test, court lessons.

Obligatory relations could arise from situations of harm or from a contract. Ignoring the fulfillment of obligations, the debtor could lose his property, and in some cases, his freedom. The contracts were concluded orally, however, a prerequisite for the recognition of the contract was the presence of witnesses who could confirm a bydated fact at the auction or in the presence of the tax collector. The Russian Truth refers to contracts of sale, loan, credit, personal lease, storage, order, etc.

In Russian Truth, the line between redress and criminal punishment is just as insignificant as the difference between the scope of civil and criminal law in principle is insignificant. Legally, the difference is made only in the recovery order; for a civil offense, the responsibility for damages in the form of a fine rests with the accused in favor of the victim; for criminal offenses, a fine is collected in favor of Prince Isaev I.A. History of the state and law of Russia. Textbook. - M: Yurist, 2007 .-- S. 39-42 ..

Quite accurately defines and distinguishes different institutions from the field of property and liability law Russian Truth in the field of civil law relations.

In addition, Russian Law included in the code a number of obsolete and outdated elements, such as a dispute over the ownership of property by means of the “Ordalia” or the procedure for the plaintiff to claim things belonging to him in the “code” process.

Archaic elements that deform civil law freedom of the contract also survived in the field of law of obligations, such as the lack of compensation for the conclusion of an unsuitable transaction (a free person with a slave), when one of the parties to the contract is deprived of legal capacity, the onset of personal enslaving responsibility when it is impossible to fulfill a property obligation ( bankruptcy, procurement), etc.

Social stratification and legal differentiation (different order for “boyars” and for ordinary free people) have been outlined in the field of inheritance law, however, the forensic and tribal element still play a dominant role in judicial practice in cases involving inheritance law, it continues to take root In Russia, the minorate principle (the advantages of the youngest son in inheritance) and the prevalence of the legal order of inheritance over the testament.

The law mentions the inheritance of movable property - houses, yards, slaves, cattle, goods. Since the land was not an object of private property, the inheritance of the latter is not yet discussed. Only legitimate heirs could get into the will, and the testator only distributed shares between them.

In the field of criminal law, the private nature of ancient law also manifested itself. According to the interpretation of Russian Truth, a crime was considered not as a violation of the law or of princely will, but as inflicting an “insult”, i.e. causing moral or material damage to a person or group of persons. The law did not delimit from a civil criminal offense. Person and property were objects of crime. All individuals, including slaves, acted as subjects of crime. The law did not say anything about the age limit for the subjects of the crime. The subjective side of the crime included intent or negligence. There was no clear distinction between the motives of the crime and the concept of guilt, but they were already outlined in the law.

Stream and looting (arson, horse-stealing, murder in robbery) were the types of crimes for which capital punishment relied on Russian Truth. The punishment provided for the seizure of all property and the transfer to slavery of the criminal together with his family. Ibid. - S. 42-44 ..

The closest punishment according to the gravity of the crime was vira - a fine that went to the princely treasury and was established in the only case - for murder. In proportion to the world, headaches were paid, but already to the relatives of the victim. Depending on the status of the deceased, the size of the supra was assigned - double, for a privileged member of the society in the amount of 80 hryvnias and single, for the murder of a simple free man, in the amount of 40 hryvnias.

Vira could also be imposed on the community, in the form of so-called mutual responsibility (“wild” or “general”), linking all members of the community with a common duty, and thereby performing a police function.

Punishments for the remainder of the crimes (both against the individual and property) were levied in the form of a fine, the amount of which could vary depending on the gravity of the offense. Compensation of damage, both moral and material, becomes the main goal of any punishment. Atavism, which has survived since the time of tribal relations, and nevertheless has been included in Russian Truth, has become the principle of the talion, which is closely connected with blood feud. It is impossible not to mention the judicial duel existing in practice, although there are no written references to it in Russian Truth.

In Russian Truth there are no articles describing such concepts as a crime against the state or against morality. The absence of these concepts can be explained quite simply - by the peculiar nature of the sources, on the basis of which the Russian Truth was formed. This is a custom and church law, neither in the first nor in the second such object as the "state" appears in the criminal case, therefore, criminal attacks on him are not provided for by the Truth either.

Already at the time of Russian Truth, crimes against morality were given over to the sphere of subordination of church legislation and were regulated by church collections of charters of princes Vladimir and Yaroslav.

Church proceedings, from the legal area of \u200b\u200bwhich, apparently, the Russian Truth appeared, using its norms in relation to cases of a non-church nature to church persons, sought to pursue its principles close to the church, however, it was forced to take into account the existing ordinary judicial practice.

The rules relating to the judicial duel were excluded from the collection of Russian Pravda, although the latter was a very popular way for its time to bring its case, as well as the rules governing the use of the death penalty as a form of punishment. The Church’s negative assessment of the institution of estimated execution as a kind of continuation of blood feud was supplemented by one more significant point: when considering the most serious cases in a church court (the latter being an indisputable source in the process of codification of the norms of Russian Truth), which relied on the death penalty to convicted, along with the church judge participated in the trial and the princely judge. Most likely, the use of the death penalty in a sentence as the death penalty was included only in his authority, but the church judge, for moral and Christian reasons, could not assume such responsibility.

Russkaya Pravda tried to include the most significant, from the point of view of judicial practice and compilers, public relations taking shape in Russia: contracts, property issues, liability for crime and types of punishments, the trial itself, etc. The desire of the compilers of Russian Truth to remove from the code some unnecessary aspects (such as the death penalty, blood feud, duel, etc.) mentioned above, randomness in judicial practice, predetermined the result that Russian Pravda could not reflect the truly real picture of the existing legal relations systems in Russia.

The Church significantly influenced the political order existing in Russia, as an ideological institution brought in from outside with a strict, organizational hierarchy. It integrated into Russian reality previously unfamiliar ideas about monarchical power, state hierarchy and political centralization. Church management and recommendations brought to the princely office the concepts of moral improvement, the ideas of the rule of law and the supremacy of the monarch, the written codification of legal proceedings and the conduct of the investigative proceedings in the same place. - P. 44-50 ..

Russian truth is a code of laws (code) of Kievan Rus. It was compiled under the rule of Yaroslav the Wise. True Russian contains criminal, procedural, commercial, inheritance laws. According to this handbook of the state, social, economic and legal relations were built in Ancient Russia. All subsequent generations took Russian truth as a basis in the drafting of new laws and legal norms.

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1016 - the date of the appearance of Russian Truth. Prior to this code of law, everything was based on religious considerations. Church legal texts have certain similarities with the text in articles written in Russian Truth, however, are not identical to it.

This book should have appeared for the following reasons:

1. The judges of ancient Russia were not familiar with Russian customs and traditions, because for the most part came from other countries.
2. Pagan law, on which all previous legal norms were based, was contrary to new religious beliefs.

Thus, the adoption of Christianity served as the main impetus for the creation of Russian truth.

1. Why Russian truth is a manifestation of the wisdom of Yaroslav.
2. Summary and main provisions of the Old Russian document read online.
3. Three main editions of Russian truth.
4. The Brief Truth and the Wide Truth.
5. The system of fines in the old Russian state.
6. What is the significance of the first collection of codes for the modern world?

Why Russian truth is a manifestation of the wisdom of Yaroslav

The answer to this question is very simple - before the reign of Yaroslav, no one wrote written documents with a code of legal, criminal and administrative norms. This was one of the significant reasons for which Yaroslav Vladimirovich received the nickname the Wise. All subsequent legislation of Kievan Rus is based on the text of this document.

The Russian truth in its original form, unfortunately, has not reached our days. However, later lists can also be considered as variations of this document.

The book had the norms of laws:

• criminal;
• legal;
• procedural;
• administrative
• civilians;
• family.

According to this set of laws, it is unacceptable to decide litigation with the help of a deadly duel ("who has a sharper sword, he takes the upper hand").

Three main editions of Russian truth

There are three main editions of this document:

1. Brief. This is the oldest version of the presentation.
2. Wide. The second edition of the book.
3. Abbreviated. A later version, formed in the 15th century on the Brief and Extensive Truth.

All three editions have been published many times and you can familiarize yourself with them in the full academic publication.

Brief and Wide Truth

Brief  It is customary to divide into two parts:

• The truth of Yaroslav (contains the first 10 norms “as if Yaroslav judged”);
• The truth of the Yaroslavichs (sons of Yaroslav Vladimirovich).

The copy that reached the contemporaries dates back to 1280. This is the oldest copy of the code of laws, which only managed to be found. This book was first published by Russian historian Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev.

The documents included in the ancient version of the editorial office are devoted to blood feud, responsibility for murders, the procedure for levying fines and paying them.

Articles in the Truth of Yaroslavich about the protection of private property and the protection of the population contributed to stabilization in the state.

Wide  - This is the second full exposition of the original source. Consists of two parts:

• The charter of Yaroslav the Wise.
• Charter of Vladimir Monomakh.

These charters were also included in the Brief, but underwent a number of changes and additions. It is dated to the XII century. It consists of 121 articles, which reflect: the division into social strata, the advantages and development of land owners, the general situation of slaves, inheritance rights, and many other aspects.

Abbreviated  is the latest variation. Dated to the 15th century. It was created on the basis of Brief and Spatial in the Principality of Moscow. It is written - in Great Perm. It contains 50 articles.

These arches distinguish murder in a quarrel - unintentional, from bloody reprisal "in robbery" - intentional. And also the types of damage are distinguished: severe, weak. The punishment measure also depends on this. They were limited to fines or the expulsion of the perpetrator and his family. And also a blood feud was relevant - "The husband will kill the husband, then take revenge on his brother's brother."

Social status  played a key role in sentencing. Servants were much more severely punished than princely close ones.

Penal system

Fines were paid in different monetary units: hryvnias, kunas and others.

Vira -  That was the name of the payment for the death penalty of a free man. Its size was directly related to the social situation in ancient Russian society. The more significant the role played by the murdered in the state, the higher the size of the fine.

Half Bread -  severe injury payment.

Sale -  fine for theft, light bodily harm and other criminal offenses.

What is the significance of the first ancient Russian collection of codes for the modern world

1. This is the first legal document available for reading to a modern person, thanks to which we have an idea about the lawsuits in Kievan Rus.
2. This is the basis, on the basis of which the whole further legislative system was compiled.
3. We have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe traditions and customs in Kievan Rus.

Interesting fact! The name "criminal" comes from the old Russian "golovshchina", which meant murder.

From this article you learned about the first ancient Russian code of laws and norms, now you have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe brief content of the text of this document and understand its significance for contemporaries.

More than a hundred lists of Russian Truth have survived to this day. All of them fall into three main editions: Brief, Wide and Short. The oldest edition (prepared no later than 1054) is the Brief Truth, consisting of the Truth of Yaroslav (vv. 1-18), the Truth of the Yaroslavich (vv. 19-41), the Virgo Pokon (v. 42), the Lesson of bridges (v. 43 )

A wide edition arose no earlier than 1113 and is associated with the name of Vladimir Monomakh. It is divided into the Court of Yaroslav (Articles 1-52) and the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh (Articles 53-121).

The abridged edition appears in the middle of the 20th century. from the revised Spread Edition.

The sources of codification were customary law and princely judicial practice. Among the norms of customary law are, first of all, the provisions on blood feud (Article 1) and mutual responsibility (Article 19 of the CP). The legislator has a different attitude towards these customs: he seeks to limit blood feud (by narrowing the circle of avengers) or completely abolish it, replacing it with a fine (vira). On the contrary, he retains mutual responsibility as a political measure linking all members of the community with responsibility for their member who committed the crime ("wild vira" was imposed on the entire community).

The norms developed by the princely judicial practice are numerous in Russian Truth and are sometimes associated with the names of princes who accepted the norms (Yaroslav, sons of Yaroslav, Vladimir Monomakh).

Byzantine canon law had a definite influence on Russian Truth.

The Russian Truth contains a number of rules that determine the legal status of certain groups of the population. According to its text, it is difficult to draw a line separating the legal status of the ruling stratum and the rest of the population.

We find only two legal criteria that particularly distinguish these groups within society: norms on increased (double) criminal liability for the murder of a representative of a privileged layer (Article 1 of the PP) and norms on a special procedure for inheritance of real estate (land) for representatives of this layer (Article .91 PP).

These legal privileges extended to the subjects named in Russian Truth as follows: princes, boyars, princely men, princely tyuns, and firemen. In this list, not all individuals can be called “feudal lords,” we can only talk about their privileges related to their special social status, proximity to the prince’s court, and property status.

The bulk of the population was divided into free and dependent people, there were also intermediate and transitional categories.

Legally and economically independent groups were posad people and communal smerds (they paid taxes and performed duties only in favor of the state). The urban population was divided into a number of social groups: boyars, clergy, merchants, "lower classes" (artisans, small traders, workers, etc.).

In addition to free smerds, there were other categories of them, which Russian Truth mentions as dependent people. In the literature there are several points of view on the legal status of this group of the population, however, it should be remembered that it was not homogeneous: along with free there were dependent ("serf") stinks, who were in bondage and service to the feudal lords.

The free smerd commune had a certain property that he could bequeath to children (land - only to sons). In the absence of heirs, his property was transferred to the community. The law protected the identity and property of stink. For committed misconduct and crime, as well as for obligations and contracts, he was personally and propertyly liable. In the trial, Smerd acted as a full participant.

A more complex legal figure is procurement. The short version of the Russian Truth does not mention procurement, but the Procurement Edition has a special Charter on procurements.

Purchase - a person who works on the feudal lord's farm for a “compartment”, a loan that could include various values: land, livestock, grain, money, etc. This debt should have been worked out, and there were no established standards and equivalents. The scope of work was determined by the lender. Therefore, with increasing interest on the loan, bondage increased and could last a long time.

The first legal settlement of procurement debt relations with creditors was made in the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh after the procurement uprising in 1113. The limits on interest on debt were established.

The law protected the identity and property of the procurement, forbidding the master to punish him unreasonably and take property. If the procurement itself committed an offense, the responsibility was twofold: the master paid a fine for him to the victim, but the procurement itself could have been “issued by the head”, i.e. turned into a complete serf. His legal status has changed dramatically. For an attempt to leave the master, without paying, the purchase also turned into a serf.

A procurement could act as a witness in a trial only in special cases: in insignificant cases (“in small claims”) or in the absence of other witnesses (“in need”).

The purchase was the legal figure in which the process of “feudalization”, enslavement, enslavement of former free community members was most reflected.

Serf - the most disenfranchised subject of law. His property status is special: everything that he possessed was the property of the master. All the consequences arising from the contracts and obligations concluded by the slave (with the knowledge of the owner) also fell on the master.

The personality of a slave as a subject of law was not actually protected by law. A fine was levied for his murder, as for the destruction of property, or another servant was transferred to the master as compensation.

The serf, who committed the crime, should have been given to the victim (in an earlier period he could simply have been killed at the crime scene). The penalty for the slave was always borne by the master.

In the trial, the slave could not act as a party (plaintiff, defendant, witness). Referring to his testimony in court, a free man had to make a reservation that he refers to "the words of a slave."

The law regulated various sources of slavery. Russian Truth provided for the following cases: self-sale into slavery (of one person or the whole family), birth from a slave, marriage to a slave, "key keeping", i.e. admission to the service of the master, but without reservation to maintain the status of a free person. The sources of slavery were also: the commission of a crime (such a punishment as "flow and looting", provided for the extradition of the offender with his head, turning into a slave), flight escape from the master, malicious bankruptcy (the merchant loses or squanders other people's property). The most common source of servility, not mentioned, however, in Russian Truth, was captivity.

"Russian Truth" can be defined as a code of private law - all of its subjects are individuals, the law does not yet know the concept of a legal entity. Some features of codification are associated with this, among the types of crimes provided for by Russian Truth, not crimes against the state. The personality of the prince himself, as an object of criminal encroachment, was considered as an individual who differed from others only in his higher position and privileges.

Another source - princely judicial practice - introduces a subjective element in determining the circle of persons and in assessing legal actions. For princely judicial practice, the most significant entities are those that are closest to the princely court. Therefore, legal privileges apply primarily to close persons.

The norms of Russian Truth protect private property (movable and immovable), regulate the procedure for its transfer by inheritance, under obligations and contracts.

Obligations could arise from harm or from contracts. For failure to fulfill obligations, the debtor answered with property, and sometimes with his freedom. The form for concluding contracts was oral; they were concluded with witnesses, at auction, or in the presence of a tax collector.

The Russian Truth mentions agreements:

sales (people, things, mines, self-selling),

loan (money, things),

lending (with or without interest),

personal hiring (in the service, to perform a specific job),

storage

instructions (to perform certain actions), etc.

The private nature of ancient law manifested itself in the field of criminal law. Crime according to Russian Truth was not defined as a violation of the law or princely will, but as “insult,” that is, causing moral or material damage to a person or group of persons. The criminal offense was not delimited in law from civil law.

The objects of crime were personality and property. The objective side of the crime split into two stages: attempted crime (for example, a person who drew a sword, but did not strike) was punished and the crime ended.

The law outlined the concept of complicity (the case of armed assault “in bulk” was mentioned), but did not yet share the roles of accomplices (instigator, executor, concealer, etc.).

In Russian Truth, there is already an idea of \u200b\u200bexceeding the limits of necessary defense (if the thief is killed after his arrest, after some time, when the immediate danger in his actions has already disappeared).

To mitigating circumstances, the law attributed the state of intoxication of the offender, to aggravating - mercenary intent. The legislator knew the concept of relapse, the repetition of the crime (in the case of horse theft).

The subjects of the crime were all individuals, including slaves. The law did not say anything about the age limit for the subjects of crime. The subjective side of the crime included intent or negligence. There was no clear distinction between the motives of the crime and the concept of guilt, but they were already outlined in the law. Article 6 of the PP refers to the murder case "at the banquet", and Article 7 of the PP refers to the murder of "robbery without any guilt." In the first case, an unintentional, openly committed murder is implied (and “at a banquet” means also intoxicated). In the second case - robbery, mercenary, premeditated murder (although in practice you can intentionally kill at a feast, and inadvertently in robbery).

A serious crime against a person was mutilation (truncation of an arm, leg) and other bodily injuries. They should be distinguished from insult by action (blow with a bowl, horn, sword in a scabbard), which was punished even more severely than light bodily injuries, beatings.

Property crimes according to Russian Truth included: robbery (still indistinguishable from robbery), theft ("tatbu"), destruction of other people's property, theft, damage to boundary marks, arson, horse-stealing (as a special type of theft), malicious non-payment of debt, etc.

The concept of "tatby" was most fully regulated. Its types are known such as theft from enclosed spaces, horse-stealing, theft of slaves, agricultural products, etc. The law allowed the thief to go unpunished, which was interpreted as a necessary defense.

The system of punishments according to Russian Truth is quite simple. The death penalty is not mentioned in the code, although in practice it undoubtedly took place. The default can be explained by two circumstances: the legislator understands the death penalty as a continuation of blood feud, which he seeks to eliminate. Another circumstance is the influence of the Christian church, which opposed the death penalty in principle.

The highest measure of punishment according to Russian Truth is “flow and looting”, assigned only in three cases: for murder in robbery (Article 7 of the RFP), arson (Article 83 of the RFP) and horse-stealing (Article 35 of the RFP). The punishment included the confiscation of property and the extradition of the offender (together with his family) with his “head”, i.e. into slavery.

The next most severe form of punishment was Vira, a fine that was imposed only for murder. Vira could be single (for the murder of a simple free man) or double (80 hryvnias, for the murder of a privileged person - P. 19, 22 KP, Art. 3 PP). Vira entered the princely treasury. Relatives of the victim were paid "headaches" equal to vir.

There was a special kind of vira - "wild" or "general" vira. It was imposed on the whole community. For the application of this punishment it is necessary that the perfect murder be simple, indiscriminate; the community either does not give out its member suspected of the murder, or cannot “draw a trace from itself,” of suspicion; the community only pays for its member if it has previously participated in vir payments for its neighbors. The Wild Vira Institute performed a police function, linking all members of the community with mutual responsibility.

For maiming, grievous bodily harm, “half-wits” were appointed (20 hryvnias - Articles 27, 88 PP). All other crimes (both against the individual and property) were punished with a fine - “sale”, the size of which differentiated depending on the gravity of the crime (1, 3, 12 hryvnias). The sale went to the treasury, the victim received a “lesson” - monetary compensation for the damage caused to him.

The Russian Pravda still preserves the most ancient elements of custom associated with the principle of the talion (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) - in cases of blood feud. The primary purpose of punishment is redress (material and moral).

The trial had a pronounced adversarial nature: it began only on the initiative of the plaintiff, the parties to it (the plaintiff and the defendant had equal rights, the proceedings were open and oral, the ор Ordals ’(суд divine court’), oath and lot.

The process was divided into three stages (stages).

"Zaklich" meant the announcement of a crime (for example, the loss of property). The cry was made in a crowded place, "at bargaining", it was announced that a thing possessing individual characteristics that could be identified was lost. If the loss was detected after 3 days from the moment of the cry, the one with whom she was was considered the defendant (Art. 32, 34 of the RFP).

The second form (stage) of the process - the “code" (Articles 35-39 of the PP), resembled a confrontation. The vault was carried out either before the call, or before the expiration of three days after the call. The person from whom the missing item was discovered should indicate who the item was purchased from. The set lasted until it reached a person who was unable to give an explanation of where he had purchased this thing. This was recognized by the Tat. If the arch went beyond the boundaries of the locality where the thing was missing, it lasted until a third party. He was obliged to pay the owner the value of the thing and the right to continue to continue the vault.

“Trail persecution” is the third form of the trial, which consisted in the search for evidence and the offender (Article 77 of the PP). In the absence of special search bodies and persons in Ancient Russia, the trail was prosecuted by the victims, their relatives, members of the community and all volunteers.

The system of evidence according to the Russian Truth consisted of: testimony ("vidok" - eyewitnesses to the crime and "rumors" - witnesses of good glory, guarantors); physical evidence ("red-handed"); "Ordals" (tests by fire, water, iron); oath. In practice, there was also a judicial duel not mentioned in Russian Truth. The law also does not say anything about own recognition and written evidence.