ПОЛІТИЧНИЙ РОЗВИТОК ЛЮТИЦЬКОГО СОЮЗУ (КІНЕЦЬ X – ПОЧАТОК XII ст.)

Abstract

In the article on the basis of narrative sources and special historical literature analyzes the process of emergence, features of political development and decline of the Lutytskyi Union in the late X – early XII centuries. The research is based on the principles of historicism, scientific and authorial objectivity, as well as on the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison) and special-historical (historical-typological, historical-systemic) methods. It is noted that the decisive moment in the formation of the Lutytskyi Union was the uprising of the Polabian-Baltic Slavs in 983, the reason for which was increased tax oppression and the forcible planting of Christianity by German secular and spiritual feudal lords on the territory of Polabia. Specific issues of the political system of the Lutytskyi Union are analyzed. At the same time, the importance of people’s meetings in the social and political life of Lyutichy is emphasized. Most likely, it was a gathering of representatives of tribes, probably heads of small burgh districts, who discussed the main issues of the life of the Lutytskyi Union, under the roof of the temple in Retra. Undoubtedly, the voice of the priesthood was strong at the meeting. The military-diplomatic relations of the Lyutichy people with neighboring peoples, primarily Germans and Poles, during the period under consideration are followed. The conducted analysis allowed the author to establish that the Lutytsky Union, which arose at the end of the 10th century, in order to repel external aggression, was a kind of «aristocratic republic» with rather strong remnants of military democracy. It was established that the Lutychi did not realize the state-consolidating role of Christianity in time. A negative role in the process of forming their statehood was played by pagan religion, which helped the nobility preserve and maintain the disunity of the tribes. It is proved that the integrative role of the Svarozhich cult turned out to be insignificant, it could not compensate for the lack of a strong central power among the Lyutichi. The desire of the caste of priests to usurp power in the Lutyk union led in the middle of the 11th century to the internecine struggle between the tribes that were part of it. This convincingly testifies to the weakness of the Lyutichy confederation as a political organism which became one of the main factors of the enslavement of the Lyutichy in the 12th century German state.