THE POSITION AND ROLE OF THE KYIVAN RUS' STATE IN THE CENTURIES-OLD HISTORY OF UKRAINIAN STATE-BUILDING ; МІСЦЕ І РОЛЬ КИЄВО-РУСЬКОЇ ДЕРЖАВИ В БАГАТОВІКОВІЙ ІСТОРІЇ УКРАЇНСЬКОГО ДЕРЖАВОТВОРЕННЯ

Abstract

The place and role of the Kyivan Rus in the centuries-old history of Ukrainian statehood are analyzed. The main attention is paid to the fact that the Kyivan Rus was the first state created by Ukrainians. The Rosy, Rusyns, Ukrainians are historical ethnonyms of one Ukrainian nation, in the language of which is Ukrainian, known from the VII century. The formation and development of the Kyiv Principality with the center in Kyiv was a logical result of the internal socio-economic and political development of the Eastern Slavs - the original Ukrainians. The unification within the limits of one Kyivan Rus state gave the Eastern Slavs the opportunity to defend their lands from the attacks of foreign powers and nomadic peoples (in the east and south – from the Pechenegs and Cumans, in the north – from the Varangians, in the west – from the Polish and Hungarian kings, in the south – from Byzantium). The victory of the Kyivan troops over the nomads also saved the West European states from the Turkic invasion.It is emphasized that the Kyivan Rus state in the form of government was considered a medieval monarchy and power in it was carried out on the principle of the suzerainty-vassalage. The relations of suzerainty-vassalage, typical for Europe, especially of its West, acquired here the completed forms, since the power of the Grand Duke over the domain princes, as well as power of the latter over the nobility was minimal. Although the Kyivan prince was a chief, Grand Duke of the entire state, but with the development of medieval relations between Kyiv and local princes the inter-princely agreements were signed, the so-called cross-scribing letters.The Kyivan Rus State – Rus' had the most important features of the state: its territory, the basis of which consisted of modern Ukrainian lands and the name of what is mentioned in the Chronicle, interstate agreements – «our land began to be called Rus'», which testified to the beginning of political identification and, accordingly, was considered one of the important signs of the existence of the state. The formation of the state has gone a long way to its evolution. Its main stages were the identification of the first state (state establishment) with the name of the ruling tribe, then the use of the words «land», «power», etc., and in new times – «nation» (people) to indicate the name of the state.It is emphasized that the Kyivan Rus state had a developed system of state authorities. The organization of state power and society in the Kyiv-Rus' state corresponded to the European model of that time. The supreme state power belonged to the prince, who carried out its most important functions - legislative, executive, judicial. Prince also headed the army, owned a significant state apparatus. He had the right to collect taxes, issue coins and order the treasury.Kyivan Rus' State – Ukraine-Rus' was one of the largest and most powerful states of the early Middle Ages, and had a significant influence on the cultural, political and state-building processes in Eastern Europe. This medieval Ukrainian state had achieved significant political and legal development and, at the level of law, economics and culture, had become one of the most advanced countries of that time in Europe. Subsequently, an equally powerful Galicia-Volyn' state, which also occupies an important place in the history of Ukrainian statehood, became the embodiment of the state idea of the Ukrainian people. ; Проаналізовано місце і роль Києво-Руської держави в багатовіковій історії українсь­кого державотворення. Акцентовано увагу на тому, що Києво-Руська держава була тим фундаментом, з якого і розпочалося створення Української держави. Утворення і розвиток княжої Київської держави з центром у Києві –закономірний результат внутрішнього соціаль­но-економічного та політичного розвитку українців. Розкрито характерні риси державно-правового розвитку Київської Русі. Зазначено, що роси, русини, українці – це історичні етноніми одного народу, мовою якого є українська, яка відома ще з VІІ століття Києво-Руська держава відіграла важливу роль в українській та європейській історії. Києво-Руська держава – Україна-Русь справила значний вплив на культурні, політичні та державотворчі процеси у Східній Європі. Ця середньовічна українська держава досягла значного політич­ного розвитку і за рівнем економіки та культури увійшла до найпередовіших країн того­часної Європи.