Суспільний устрій та господарське життя Київської держави

Social Structure and Economic Life of the Kyivan State

The video surveys the social hierarchy, political institutions, and economy of the Kyivan state.

Society

Privileged groups included the prince of Kyiv, appanage princes, boyars, professional warriors (druzhynnyky), and clergy.

• Princes ruled territories. The prince of Kyiv was the state’s leading ruler and a major landowner.
• Boyars and warriors could receive land and monetary rewards for their service.

Other groups included townspeople, artisans, merchants, and peasants:

• Smerdy were personally free peasants with their own households who paid tribute and performed duties for the state.
• Zakupy worked for a landowner to repay a monetary loan called a kupa.
• Ryadovychi became temporarily dependent through a work contract, or ryad.
• Kholopy were fully subject to a landowner and had no household of their own.
• Chelyad were dependent workers, often prisoners of war.
• Izhoi were people who had lost their previous social status for various reasons.

Government

• The prince held legislative, executive, judicial, and military authority.
• The princely council, made up of nobles, warriors, and senior clergy, advised the prince.
• The veche was an assembly of adult men that discussed important public and state matters.

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture was the leading economic activity. Cultivation systems included:

• Fallow: Fields were left to rest for 8–15 years after several harvests.
• Slash-and-burn: Forest was cleared by burning, then crops were planted.
• Two-field rotation: One field was cultivated while the other rested, with the plots alternated.
• Three-field rotation: Land was divided into three plots; two were sown and one left fallow, with crops rotated.

Farmers used wooden and iron plows and the ard. They grew rye, millet, oats, barley, and wheat, tended gardens, and raised livestock and poultry.

Crafts and other activities

Craft production covered more than 60 specialties. Major crafts included ironworking, pottery, weaving, jewelry, and woodworking. Fishing, beekeeping, and hunting were also practiced.

Money and trade

Fur initially served as a medium of exchange. The video notes that coins were issued under Volodymyr the Great in the 10th century and that the silver hryvnia became a major monetary unit.

Trade was both internal and external. Internal trade included fairs held twice a year. Routes such as the route from the Varangians to the Greeks supported external trade. Rus’ exported grain, livestock, furs, salt, and crafts, and imported fabrics, wine, and spices.

Speakers and Sources

• Speaker: One unnamed narrator or presenter.
• Other sources or speakers: None identified in the subtitles.