The elements of imperial practice in the foreign policy of Vladimir Princely State in the first third of the 13th century

A.A. Kuznetsov

Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950 Russia

E-mail: nalbuz@mail.ru

Received December 22, 2016

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Abstract

This paper presents a study of the political and military activities of Vladimir princes in Northwestern Rus, the Baltic and Volga regions, during the 1220s–1230s. The aim of the study is verification of V.T. Pashuto's idea about the imperial diplomacy in the fractured Rus. In the course of the study, the following tasks have been solved: compiling a complex of representative sources, studying the prehistory of the foreign policy of Russian princes in both geographical directions, investigating the policy of the Vladimir Prince Georgy (Yuri) Vsevolodovich (1188–1238) in the Volga and Baltic regions, identifying its specifics. Studying of chronicles, textual criticism, historical reenactment, as well as historical-genetic and problem-chronological methods have been used.

The study has revealed the steady and consistent political and military activities of brothers, children, and nephews of the Vladimir Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich in the Volga region, in Northwestern Rus, and in the Baltic region. These activities included the organization and conduct of campaigns and raids, as well as the application of the principle of “Divide et impere” (vis-à-vis Mordva, Em', Karels, Tschud') and the formation of an adequate strategy to fight the challenges posed by Lithuanians, the Livonian order of the Knights of the Sword, and Sweden using the political potential of Orthodoxy (the baptism of Karelians) in the first third of the 13th century.

The study showed that the policy of the Vladimir Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich in the Volga region and Northwestern Rus before the Mongol Invasion was similar to an imperial strategy. This policy has identified the formation of new sustainable borders of Vladimir Princely State and Novgorod Republic. Subsequently, the Russian nation and centralized state formed at these territories. The activities of Vladimir princes in the 1220s–1230s allowed to consolidate the Russian statehood outlet to the Baltic Sea and in the Middle Volga region. These and other findings show a new model of the military-political history of Vladimir Princely State during the first third of the 13th century, make it of interest to explore and study the problems of political continuity in Northeastern Russia and the continuity of the military-political strategy of the Rurik dynasty during the 13th–16th centuries.

Keywords: Imperial policy, Vladimir Princely State, Volga Bulgaria, Mordvins, Chud, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Baltic, expansion

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For citation: Kuznetsov A.A. The elements of imperial practice in the foreign policy of Vladimir Princely State in the first third of the 13th century. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2017, vol. 159, no. 4, pp. 791–808. (In Russian)

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