At the initial stage of statehood (IX-XI centuries), the commodity exchange of Russia with both the West and the East was often accompanied by campaigns and bloody struggles. After all, trade routes were often paved with weapons, each victory brought preferences, and the conquered lands became new markets. During this period, Russia not only fought, but also actively traded with Byzantium, Western countries and the East. However, the found hoards often contain not national, but eastern (Kufic), Byzantine coins, coins of Western countries of the 8th – 11th centuries. Most of the coins found are of good quality, among them there are practically no fake ones, but very often there are chopped, cut, broken in two or into four parts. All this is clear evidence thatthat in Ancient Russia, even in the period of its heyday, the issue and circulation of the national currency were poorly established.
In the stages of feudal fragmentation and the Tatar-Mongol yoke that followed in Russia, times of political and economic stagnation began, which became a kind of period of Russian money circulation, called "coinless", which covers the XII, XIII and the first half of the XIV centuries. This was largely due to a decrease in government revenues, the lack of their own silver for minting coins and the disruption of trade and economic relations. Only Veliky Novgorod, which retained its independence, did not stop issuing its own coin, and Western European money sometimes penetrated into the northwestern regions of Russia. The central, eastern and southeastern regions most often received the Golden Horde dirhams (minted in the 13th – 15th centuries), brought by the Besermyan merchants.
Painting & quot; Baskaki & quot; by Sergei Ivanov.
Undoubtedly, the simultaneous collection of 14 types of "Horde burdens" and tribute to the princely treasury severely undermined the national economy, finances and related monetary circulation. At the same time, there were so few foreign high-grade silver coins that they were only enough to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, and not for proper internal money circulation. Therefore, the Russian principalities, which somehow managed to hide and preserve previously accumulated monetary reserves during the Batu invasion, sometimes used silver ingots - Kiev "hryvnias", preserved from the time of Yaroslav the Wise, in the form of an elongated hexagon weighing about 135-170 grams. Simultaneously with them, Novgorod grivnas were in circulation - longitudinal bars of silver weighing about 200 grams, as well as Chernihiv,representing a cross between Kiev and Novgorod.
The principalities, being in a difficult financial situation, tried to find and seize the remains of full-value coins from the population using various fiscal measures. The population, in turn, buried all the most valuable things in the ground (turned them into treasures), and for their needs they often used various surrogates (necessarily having a standard form) available to them in mass quantities: glass, carnelian or ceramic beads, fur skins, sea shells, etc.
Daniel Moskovsky
In these difficult times, the Moscow principality arose, the true founder of which was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky - Daniel, who at the age of eleven inherited the town of Moscow with several villages in addition and a population of about 3 thousand people. Of course, initially nothing foreshadowed the rapid rise of the new state, but, strange as it may seem, the young prince was able to organize and conduct an exceptionally competent socio-economic policy.
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Monument to Daniel of Moscow.
Without waging wars for new lands, the young Prince Daniel strove with all available forces and methods to increase the population and economic power of the Moscow principality. During the period of constant princely feuds and enemy invasions, Moscow from all parts of the Russian land accepted refugees and settlers, providing them with food, supplying them with cattle and tools, building houses and entire settlements.
At the end of his life, Prince Daniel significantly increased his possessions, not only settling new lands, but also inheriting his father's patrimony - the Pereyaslavl-Zalessky principality, which he inherited from his older unmarried and childless brother, who considered him the best ruler of all possible applicants. A little later, having adjusted the life and structure of the rapidly growing principality, Daniel of Moscow felt his increased power and was the first to collect land around Moscow, while trying to avoid war, but often using cunning. In particular, in this way he managed to take Kolomna away from the Ryazan principality, inviting the Kolomna prince to visit, to Moscow, capturing him and forcing him to "spend a visit" the rest of his life.
Resumption of coinage
If in the era in question in Western Europe there were already numerous trading cities, merchant guilds with significant trade turnover, which required an established money circulation, bills of exchange and much more, then in Russia all this has not yet happened. There were cities, of course, but their quality was quite different. From 20% to 40% of the townspeople's population (except for Novgorod, Pskov, and several other large cities) were engaged in farming and gardening, from 10% to 20% - handicrafts and trade, and the rest was the service class. Thus, there was practically no trade and craft class in Russia at that time. This was largely due to the deplorable state of finances, the lack of developed money circulation, and in this regard, with the lack of orders.
Painting “ Winter Evening ”, Ivan Kulikov.
Obtaining the necessary capital and the bulk of loans were carried out in kind, the subject of borrowing was bread, honey, bees, animals, skins, etc. If the subject of the loan (in rare cases) was money, then, despite legal restrictions, interest an annual loan often reached 80%, and with a long-term loan - about 40% per annum.
The further course of Russian history showed that to overcome these difficulties it was necessary to create a single political and economic space. After the partial reunification of the disunited Russian lands into a single state, there was an increase in population, an increase in commodity production and economic turnover, the necessary prerequisites for the restoration and growth of money circulation arose. By the end of the XIV century. in Moscow, Ryazan, Tver, Yaroslavl, Novgorod the Great, Pskov and other cities, coinage was resumed.
An interesting fact is that the first own minting of coins in 1384, after the victory at the Kulikovo field, was undertaken by Prince Dmitry Donskoy, but he and other princes had to impose Arab signs on Russian money - this was a requirement of the Golden Horde khans. Of course, in the absence of a single coin regalia, the banknotes put into circulation by the specific princes were distinguished by the variegation and variety of silver samples, weight, size and images. Only after the formation of a single national state at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. the time has come for the minting of a national coin.
Gatherers of Russian land
In domestic historiography, it is generally accepted that the process of creating the Russian state ended in the 15th century. under Ivan III (Grand Duke since 1462). In particular, the strengthening of the centralization of the Russian state was largely facilitated by the abolition of tax privileges for large feudal lords, the marriage of Ivan III at the proposal of the Pope to Sophia Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine Palaeologus killed by the Turks, as well as the final liberation from the Golden Horde.
The wedding of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue.
After his marriage in 1472, Ivan III, as it were, became the heir to the Byzantine emperors and Roman Caesars. In order to increase the importance of Russia in international affairs, he adopted a new coat of arms for the country - a two-headed eagle. Taking into account the spiritual heritage of the fallen Byzantine Empire, becoming the only metropolis of Orthodoxy, Moscow pledged to patronize the Christians of the Greek confession all over the world. And to solve such global problems, it took a lot of effort. Including to establish the financial system, improve monetary circulation and start minting a single state currency, which began to be carried out by Greek and Italian masters who arrived with Sophia.
Sophia eventually began to have a tremendous influence on her husband, and it was largely thanks to her that Ivan III, who for the first time established the order of autocracy in the Moscow state, after the death of his eldest son, who was also called Ivan, appointed his successor in his will to Vasily, his second son, and not his grandson Dmitry. During the election of the heir to the throne, who received sovereign rights, including those giving only him the right to mint coins, the Moscow court was divided into two parties. Each of them skillfully intrigued, so much so that Ivan III first imprisoned his son Vasily, and then changed his mind and imprisoned his grandson, appointing his son heir. All his movable property, or treasury (precious stones, gold and silver things, furs, dresses, etc.), Ivan III bequeathed to Vasily.
Picture from the series “ Vedic Rus ”, Vsevolod Ivanov.
The reign of Vasily Ivanovich (Vasily III), nicknamed "the last collector of the Russian land", lasted 28 years: from 1505 to 1533. All his efforts were aimed at continuing his father's work. Under him, the last appanage principalities disappeared: Volotsk, Kaluga, Ryazan, Uglich and a number of others. The Pskov Republic was liquidated. Having seized Novgorod and Pskov, annexing the lands of Ryazan, Vasily III initially tried exclusively diplomatically to unite Lithuanian and Moscow Russia, ascending to the Lithuanian throne. But the Lithuanian nobility, who preferred the liberties of the nobility, and not the Russian autocracy, elected the Polish king Sigismund I as the Grand Duke of the Polish king.until his sword is dulled, he will not give Lithuania either peace or tranquility. " He fulfilled his promise, so much so that this enmity fundamentally shook Europe and led to the application of sanctions by the countries of Western Europe against Russia, which, of course, did some harm to it, but failed to greatly slow down development.
For the first time, Vasily III was married to Solomonia from the boyar family of the Saburovs, but had no children from her. However, he did not want to die childless and leave the great reign to his brothers Yuri and Andrei, since, in his opinion, they "did not know how to arrange their own inheritance." Therefore, with the permission of Metropolitan (Daniel), Vasily III forced his wife to take a haircut as a nun and sent her to live in the Suzdal Women's Intercession Monastery. He himself remarried, taking for himself Princess Elena Vasilievna Glinskaya, from a family of Lithuanian nobles, expelled by the Lithuanian prince Alexander and accused of malicious intent on his life.
Elena Glinskaya seduced her old husband not only with her beauty, but also with free manners, firmness of mind and character, a variety of knowledge that could rarely be found among Russian women of that time. She was a progressive woman, so Vasily III could bequeathed to her, along with the custody of the children of Ivan IV and Yuri, the care of the Russian state.
Elena Glinskaya, reconstruction by Mikhail Gerasimov.
During her short regency, which lasted only three years (1535-1538), Elena Glinskaya tried to curb the various attempts of the oligarchic elite to oppose the autocracy of the grand ducal power. Not trusting neither the boyars, nor the princes, nor even her relatives, she brought the great equerry, Prince Ivan Ovchina Telepnev-Obolensky, who, according to the people, was her lover during her husband's lifetime. The measures taken by her against internal enemies, of course, did not like the oligarchic party, and in 1538 Elena died of poison, and her lover, the great equestrian, was killed in prison.
Monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya
The growth of opposition sentiments and constant palace intrigues led to a significant disruption of public order, and this, in turn, was the beginning of the massive appearance of "tainted" money in Moscow, Smolensk, Kostroma and other cities. For the sake of justice, it should be noted that earlier, under the previous rulers, there were attempts to make counterfeit banknotes, although these acts, starting from 1533, were punishable by death by the decree of Vasily III. Moreover, a massive search for counterfeiters throughout the country began even earlier - in 1530, as evidenced by the Kholmogory Chronicle.
But the massive repression directed against the counterfeiters did not help, and never helped to finally solve this problem. And Elena Glinskaya managed to realize and understand this, taking a number of steps, not only aimed at combating counterfeiting, but also related to the improvement of the entire financial system of the country. Therefore, first of all, the monetary reform of Elena Glinskaya was aimed at improving the circulation of money itself, and only secondly, at reducing the damage that the treasury bore from counterfeiting, forced to accept defective, worn out, cut-off, made of precious metal spoiled by various impurities and with other defects. coins.
For a rather short period of her reign, having carried out only the initial stage of the reform of monetary circulation, Elena Glinskaya did not manage to resolve the issue of criminal liability, but she managed to take care of the range of other measures that contributed to the reduction of money theft. In particular, her order followed to improve the quality of minting, to strengthen supervision of the mint's money, etc. But, having issued such progressive orders, the ruler, no less than her late husband, continued to fill the throats of counterfeiters with molten metal.
In the course of the reform of monetary circulation under Elena Glinskaya, the ruble (68 grams of silver), a kopeck (0.68 grams), money (0.34 grams), and half (0.17 grams) were the basis for a unified system of banknotes. At the same time, there were currencies that were smaller than a half. Written sources of that time mention "cut money" - pennies cut into pieces, as well as "leather foals" - pieces of branded leather.
Historians associate the beginning of the reform with the March 1535 decree ordering the Novgorod and Pskov mints to start minting money - Novgorodok (kopecks) on a new foot (standards). In the same decree, it was noted that counterfeiters mixed base metals into silver and used all sorts of tricks. A group of persons under the leadership of a Moscow merchant and craftsman Bogdan Semenovich Kuryukov was appointed to supervise the three mints that existed at that time.
The monetary reform carried out in a short time, which began in March 1535 and ended in April 1538, removed from circulation the coins issued before its start. Coins of Ivan III, Vasily III and even coins minted in 1534 were subject to exchange for new money. As a result of the reform, a single monetary system was established, the silver penny became the main all-Russian coin for a period of about 200 years - until 1718.
Nikolay Semenovich Globa, professor at Moscow State Linguistic University