Instruments for Consolidation of the Russian State in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century: Ficus, Service, and the Court

Abstract

The results of an investigation into the process of creating the Russian national state in the second half of the fifteenth century are given. The main directions of eliminating the political fragmentation of the Russian lands in the areas of the treasury, organization of public service, and the court of law are shown. Moscow’s fiscal policy is characterized by a desire to rely on Pomorye’s tenant communities and reduce the granting of immunities to landowners. The important role of innovations introduced into the land description system after the incorporation of Novgorod is noted. The variety in forms of service relations practiced in the united state made it possible to use in the service both traditionally organized detachments of service princes, small landowning members of the zemstvo, and cohorts of landowners. The institutions of central and local government, for all their imperfections, ensured the collection of taxes and the observance of law and order. The conflict potential of society was mitigated by the practice of filing collective petitions and judicial practices. In conclusion, the conventional ideas formed in the historiography about the type of state in Russia are revised and its characterization as a judicial monarchy is substantiated.