Reasons for the emergence of a neighborhood community among the Eastern Slavs. East Slavic tribes on the territory of Belarus: resettlement, social and economic relations

33. Socio-economic relations in the neighboring community.

Primitive neighborhood community.

By a primitive neighborhood community, we mean a socio-economic structure consisting of individual families leading an independent economy, united with each other by territorial-neighborly ties and joint ownership of the main means of production (land, pastures, fishing grounds). The combination of the private property of individual families with the collective property constitutes the dualism inherent in the neighboring community.

The characteristic features of the primitive neighborhood community are: the presence of a common territory, public property and communal land ownership with private land use, the presence of communal governing bodies, various forms of cooperation and mutual assistance between community members, their joint performance in wars and matters related to intercommunal relations, the presence of a certain ideological (religious) unity of community members, the interweaving of territorial ties with disintegrating consanguineous, in the public sphere - the coexistence of the community with late birth institutions.

Like any neighboring community, the intertwining and struggle of collective and private property are inherent in the primitive community.

The stage of formation of the neighboring community is characterized by replacement of ties based on kinship with neighboring-territorial ones, which at first are fancifully intertwined with them or even clothed in a consanguineous shell. Examples include the preservation of the totem name of the ancient tribal community for the neighboring community, the spread of blood relationship terms to fellow villagers, especially relatives, the use of tribal sanctuaries for rituals of communal significance among the Cheyenne, Crow, Tlingit, Iroquois, Hopi, Comanches and other tribes of North American Indians, or the institution of doha among the peoples of the Lower Amur (the extension of exogamous prohibitions to a group of unrelated clans connected by neighborly relations).

This is intertwining ancestral and neighborly ties, which is extremely diverse in specific societies, raises the question of the criteria that make it possible to distinguish a tribal community at a later stage of its development from a neighboring one and the nature of transitional forms between them.

The main features that characterize any neighboring community are the presence of separate family collectives that independently manage the economy and dispose of the produced product, so that each, on his own, cultivates the fields allotted to him and the harvest is assigned to them individually, and collective ownership of the main means of production. The families represented in the community may be related and unrelated - as long as they are economically isolated, this is of no fundamental importance.

One cannot agree with the researchers who resolutely oppose patronymy to the neighboring community and believe that the latter can exist only as a territorial association of unrelated families. The facts say otherwise. In the mountainous regions of Northern Albania at the beginning of the last century, all members of the neighboring community considered themselves descendants of one ancestor and avoided marrying each other. Neighbor communities, consisting of patronymic related families, were not uncommon in the Caucasus back in the 19th century, they are also known in Southeast Asia and other places.

At the initial stages of the formation of a neighboring community, communal ownership of land coexists with tribal ownership, sometimes even occupying a subordinate position. On some islands of the New Hebrides archipelago, villages, although they consist of subdivisions of several genera, do not yet form communities and do not have landed property. On the islands of Trobriand, Shortland, Florida, San Cristobal, Santa Anna, Vao, Fate and others, a neighboring community has already arisen and communal ownership of land coexists with tribal and individual loan land use, and on the island of Amrim the land belongs to the entire community as a whole, but distributed among the various clans.

In terms of stages, such a community is transitional from tribal to purely neighboring. It can be considered an early stage of the neighborhood community or a transitional type; we do not see much difference between these two points of view. The main criterion that allows it to be singled out is not so much the coexistence of communal property with private property (this is natural for any neighboring community), but rather the interweaving of family ties with neighboring ones. The transition from such a community to a neighboring one to a large extent depends on the fate of the late clan, on the time when it finally ceases to exist. Since the genus most often survives to a class society, it is obviously this early stage of the neighborhood community that is most characteristic of its existence in a decaying primitive society, and the term "primitive neighborhood community" seems to be quite acceptable for its designation.

Such a community is neighborly, because it has its main feature - a combination of private and collective property. The fact that it is inherent in the era of the decomposition of primitive society is also evidenced by archaeological material. In Denmark, already in the settlements of the Bronze Age, within each village, the boundaries of individual plots and communal pastures are clearly visible. Something similar is observed even earlier in Neolithic Cyprus.

However, such a community is not just a neighbor, but a primitive neighbor, since collective property in it is represented by two forms: communal and tribal. Such a combination of two forms of collective property can persist for a very long time, and not only in decaying primitive societies, but even in early class societies, as can be seen from numerous African examples.

At present, the universal nature of not only the neighborhood community as a whole, but also its early stage - the primitive neighborhood community, which can be traced both in patriarchal and late maternal and non-clan societies can be considered proven. Thus, the late forms of tribal organization of the era of the decomposition of primitive society are basically simultaneous with the primitive neighboring community. They coexist, differing not only in their functions, but also in their structures: while the clan is based on the principle of consanguinity, the community rests on territorial-neighborly ties.

Although clan and community as forms of social organization complement each other, creating a double line of defense for the individual, there is a certain struggle between them for a sphere of influence. The final victory of the neighboring community over the gens is determined by the fact that it is not only a social organization, which the late gens practically became, but organization of socio-economic, in which social ties are intertwined and determined by production ones.

The neighboring community perishes when collective property becomes an obstacle to the further development of private property. As a general rule, this occurs already in class societies, although there are known exceptions, usually associated with a lack of land (for example, in Micronesia and Polynesia). The main means of production are gradually being transferred into private ownership. The emergence of allod in agricultural societies is well traced on the example of early medieval Western Europe. However, even having lost its production functions, the community can be preserved as a social organization as an administrative-fiscal or territorial self-governing unit.

The neighborhood community can also persist for a long time in class societies based on subsistence farming. Sometimes it is deliberately conserved by the ruling classes. However, such a community, despite the similarities of internal structures, differs from the primitive one. In the primitive neighboring community, exploitation is only in its infancy, while in the class community it prevails. The community is either exploited as a whole, or singles out from its environment as exploiters. and exploited.

For a long time they kept their patriarchal way of life. The people were divided into tribes, a separate tribe consisted of clans. A clan was a number of families united by family ties, owning common property and managed by one person - a foreman. Therefore, in the Slavic tribes, the concept of "senior" means not only "old", but also "wise", "respected". The tribal foreman - a middle-aged or advanced man - had great power in the family. To make more global decisions, for example, defense against an external enemy, the foremen gathered in the veche and developed a common strategy.

The collapse of the tribal community

Starting from the 7th century, the tribes began to settle, while occupying vast territories. The following factors contributed to this process:

The emergence of private ownership of agricultural implements and products of labor activity;

Ownership of own plots of fertile land.

The connection of clans was lost, the patriarchal tribal community was being replaced by a new form of social structure - the neighborhood community. Now people are connected not by common ancestors, but by the contiguity of the occupied territories and the same methods of farming.

The main differences between the neighboring community and the tribal

The reason for the weakening of family ties was the gradual estrangement of kindred families from each other. The main differences of the new social structure were as follows:

In the tribal community, everything was common - mining, harvest, tools. The neighboring community introduced the concept of private property along with public property;

The neighboring community connects people with cultivated lands, the tribal community - by kinship;

In the tribal community, the elder was the elder, while in the neighboring community, the decisions were made by the owner of each house - the householder.

Neighborhood lifestyle

Regardless of the name of the ancient Russian neighborhood community in each individual case, they all had many similar administrative and economic features. Each individual family acquired its own dwelling, had its own arable land and mowing, separately fished and went hunting.

Each family owned meadows and arable land, dwellings, domestic animals, and tools. Forests, rivers were common, and lands belonging to the entire community were also preserved.

Gradually, the power of the elders was lost, but the importance of small farms increased. If necessary, people did not go to distant relatives for help. Homeowners from all over the area came together and decided important issues at the meeting. Global interest forced to choose the one responsible for solving the problem - an elected elder.

Scholars have not come to a consensus on the name of the Old Russian neighborhood community. Most likely, in different lands it was called differently. Two names of the Slavic neighboring community have survived to our times - zadruga and verv.

The stratification of society

The neighboring community among the Eastern Slavs gave rise to the formation of social classes. The stratification into rich and poor begins, the allocation of the ruling elite, which strengthened its power through spoils of war, trade, exploitation of poorer neighbors (farm labor, and later slavery).

From the wealthiest and most influential householders, the nobility begins to form - a deliberate child, which consisted of such representatives of the neighboring community:

Elders - represented the administrative authority;

Leaders (princes) - exercised full control over the material and human resources of the community during wartime;

Magi - spiritual power, which was based on the observance of communal rituals and on the worship of pagan spirits and gods.

The most important issues were still decided at the meeting of the elders, but gradually the right to make decisions passed to the leaders. The princes in the neighboring community relied on their squad, which over time acquired the features of a professional military detachment.

The prototype of statehood

Tribal nobility, successful merchants and the wealthiest community members became the nobility, the ruling class. Land has become a value worth fighting for. In the early neighborhood community, the weaker landowners were driven from the right plots of land. During the period of the emergence of statehood, the peasants remained on the land, but on the condition that they would pay taxes. Wealthy landowners exploited their poorer neighbors and used slave labor. Patriarchal slavery arose at the expense of prisoners captured in military raids. A ransom was demanded for captives from noble families, the poor fell into slavery. Later, ruined peasants became slaves of wealthy landowners.

The change in the form of social structure led to the enlargement and consolidation of neighboring communities. Tribes and tribal unions were formed. The centers of the unions were cities - well-fortified settlements. At the dawn of the emergence of the state system, the Eastern Slavs had two major political centers - Novgorod and Kyiv.

It is very difficult to date it because of the uneven development of primitive societies in different regions of the Earth. In the most developed regions, this stage began in the 8th-3rd millennium BC. e., and ended (in Egypt and Mesopotamia) in the 4th millennium BC. e. with the birth of the first states.

The tribal system was gradually replaced by a new form of organization of society - a neighboring, or rural, territorial community, combining individual and communal land tenure. The neighboring community was made up of separate families, each of which had the right to a share of communal property and cultivated its own part of the arable land. Forests, rivers, lakes and pastures remained communal property. All together, the community members raised the virgin soil, cleared the forest, paved the way. Most scientists believe that the rural territorial community is a universal form of organization and is attested among all peoples who passed from the primitive system to civilization.

An important achievement of the era of the neighboring community was the discovery of metals. In the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. stone tools began to be replaced by copper ones, then bronze ones, and from the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. - the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. - iron. People gradually switched to the widespread use of metals, which significantly increased labor productivity and made it possible to develop new lands more efficiently.

In the era of the neighborhood community, significant changes took place in all spheres of society. Primitive tribes continued to improve agriculture and cattle breeding, pottery, weaving and other types of production.

The development of agriculture and cattle breeding, the emergence of crafts, the construction of large settlements indicate that man began to actively transform nature, create an artificial environment for his habitat.

The development of complex types of production - metallurgy, blacksmithing and pottery, weaving, etc. - required special knowledge and skills: blacksmiths, potters, weavers and other craftsmen began to appear in society. Between the masters and their fellow tribesmen, as well as between different tribes, the exchange of goods developed.

The development of metallurgy, blacksmithing, arable farming, specialized cattle breeding led to an increase in the role of male labor. Instead of the former equality of men and women, the power of men was established. In many societies, his power over a woman has acquired a harsh and even cruel character.

The growth of labor productivity led to the development of individual forms of activity: now one person (or one family) could do what several people (or a whole family) used to do. The individual family became the basic economic unit.

As a result of the growth of labor productivity, surpluses of products began to form, which gradually became the property of people. Thus, in primitive societies, an important factor appeared that contributed to the stratification of the community, and later to the formation of the state.

In the life of all the tribes of the era of the neighboring community, a large place was occupied by war - another source of enrichment. Boys were brought up primarily as warriors and trained in the use of weapons from early childhood. Family settlements were fortified with walls and ditches. Weapons have become more diverse.

The management of society in the era of the neighborhood community also changed. Meetings were formally preserved in the tribes, but they changed their character and turned into a meeting of male warriors: women were not allowed in the meetings. The leaders and elders, relying on the support of the noble and god-that part of the tribe, began to actually dictate their will to the whole society. Primitive democracy and equality of people were replaced by the power of tribal nobility. In relation to those fellow tribesmen who tried to oppose the establishment of the power of the leaders, they could use force.

The organization of the life of society also became more complex, people appeared - officials who controlled other people.material from the site

In the era of the neighborhood community, the social and property stratification of the primitive community occurs. Rich and prosperous families appear, among relatives and fellow tribesmen, nobility stands out from among the leaders, elders, priests and the most experienced and authoritative warriors who began to use the labor of impoverished members of the community. More warlike and populous tribes exacted tribute from their weak neighbors, threatening them with war and cruel reprisals. During military campaigns, captives were captured, who became slaves, who made up the most disenfranchised stratum of society.

Tribal unions

Separate tribes, fearing attacks from outside, united in powerful tribal unions headed by an authoritative leader. Such unions of tribes later served as a prototype of the future statehood. Often warlike unions of tribes organized military campaigns, smashed other tribes, seized rich booty, making robbery their constant trade. In the 7th-6th millennium BC. e. in the Middle East, the first proto-cities appear - Chatal-Guyuk, Jericho, Jarmo. These were well-fortified, walled settlements of farmers.

neighborhood community- these are several tribal communities (families) living in the same area. Each of these families has its own head. And each family manages its own economy, uses the produced product at its own discretion. Sometimes the neighboring community is also called rural, territorial. The fact is that its members usually lived in the same village.

The tribal community and the neighboring community are two successive stages in the development of society. The transition from a tribal community to a neighboring one became an inevitable and natural stage in the ancient peoples. And there were reasons for this:

The nomadic way of life began to change to a sedentary one. Agriculture became not slash-and-burn, but arable. The tools for cultivating the land became more sophisticated, and this, in turn, dramatically increased labor productivity. The emergence of social stratification and inequality among the population.

Thus, there was a gradual disintegration of tribal relations, which was replaced by family ones. Common property began to fade into the background, and private property came to the fore. However, for a long time they continued to exist in parallel: forests and reservoirs were common, and cattle, dwellings, tools, plots of land were individual goods. Now every person began to strive to do his own thing, earning them a living. This, of course, required the maximum unification of people so that the neighboring community continued to exist.

Differences between the neighboring community and the tribal

What is the difference between a tribal community and a neighboring one?

Firstly, the fact that in the first a prerequisite was the existence of family (blood) ties between people. This was not the case in the neighboring community. Secondly, the neighboring community consisted of several families. Moreover, each of the families owned their own property. Thirdly, the joint work that existed in the tribal community was forgotten. Now each family took care of its own plot. Fourthly, the so-called social stratification appeared in the neighboring community. More influential people stood out, classes were formed.

The person in the neighboring community became freer and more independent. But, on the other hand, he lost the powerful support that was in the tribal community.

When we talk about how the neighboring community differs from the tribal one, one very important fact should be noted. The neighboring community had a great advantage over the tribal community: it became not just a social, but
socio-economic organization. It gave a powerful impetus to the development of private property and economic relations.

Neighborhood community among the Eastern Slavs

Among the Eastern Slavs, the final transition to the neighboring community occurred in the seventh century (in some sources it is called "verv"). Moreover, this type of social organization has existed for a long time. The neighboring community did not allow the peasants to go bankrupt, mutual responsibility reigned in it: the richer rescued the poor. Also in such a community, the wealthy peasants always had to be guided by their neighbors. That is, social inequality was still somehow restrained, although it naturally progressed. A characteristic feature for the neighboring community of the Slavs was the circular responsibility for committed offenses and crimes. This also applied to military service.

Finally

The neighboring community and the tribal community are varieties of the social structure that existed at one time in every nation. Over time, there was a gradual transition to a class system, to private property, to social stratification. These events were inevitable. Therefore, communities have gone down in history and today are found only in some remote regions.

The first form of social organization of people in the era of the primitive system was this association of blood relatives who lived in the same territory and were all engaged in running a common household. It was characterized by solidarity and unity of all its representatives. People worked for the common good, and property was also collective. But in parallel with the process of division of labor and the separation of agriculture from cattle breeding, it appeared that the tribal community was divided into families. Collective property began to be redistributed between families of parts. This led to the appearance of what accelerated the decomposition of the tribal and the folding of the neighboring community, in which family ties ceased to be the main one.

A neighborhood community (also called rural, territorial or peasant) is a settlement of people who are not connected by blood ties, but they occupy a certain limited area that is cultivated collectively. Each family included in the community has the right to a part of the community property.

People no longer worked together. Each family had its own plot of land, arable land, tools, and cattle. However, lands (forests, pastures, rivers, lakes, etc.) were still communal property.

The neighboring community has become an organization included in society as a subordinate element that performs only part of the social functions: the accumulation of production experience, the regulation of land ownership, the organization of self-government, the preservation of traditions, worship, etc. People cease to be generic beings for whom belonging to a community had a comprehensive meaning; they become free.

Depending on the characteristics of the combination of private and collective principles, Asian, ancient and German neighboring communities are distinguished.