Features of migration of the population of Kyivan Rus

Abstract

The problem of migrations is always relevant, as the movement of large masses of people affects the political and economic foundations of many states. The Middle Ages are no exception, it was then during the development of feudal monarchical states that various types of migration flourished. The paper is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of migration processes during the existence of the early feudal state – Kyivan Rus, which can be considered the beginning of the statehood of modern Ukraine. It was established that the migration itself was caused both by the military and political instability of the lands of Russia, and by climate change, improvement of conditions for agriculture in some territories and deterioration in others. To one degree or another, migration was accompanied not only by the spread, but also by mutual penetration of cultural forms, standards of material and spiritual subsystems when they collide. Migration and cultural exchange are inextricably linked. The development of the state provoked the appearance of marriage (dynastic) diplomacy, a significant role in which was assigned to dynastic marriages of Kyivan princes with the rulers of foreign countries. Large-scale transformations caused by the Baptism of Russia contributed to the migration to its territory of religious figures, artists, craftsmen, etc. Not all migration was associated with negative manifestations in the life of the population of Kyivan Rus. The development of statehood and the cities of Kyivan Rus gave rise to a surge in labor migration, in many respects it was due to the need to ensure trade routes passing through the territory of the state, the possibility of acquiring professions and specialties from the Roma, who began to visit Rus en masse after its baptism. The constant conflicts that accompanied the entire period of the existence of Kyivan Rus contributed to slave migration. The capture of captives during raids was a common phenomenon in those days, and slaves were considered one of the «items of income». Deprivation of freedom was usually carried out by young people who, to the best of their ability and ability, tried to improve their existence and integrate into a foreign society. Slavs who participated in migration processes either migrated with their families or, in the absence of families, settled with them in new places. As for the military and captive slaves, according to historical sources, they were not forbidden to start families, in many ways such a desire was even encouraged, as it promoted and strengthened the loyalty of the former and increased the number of the latter.