THE VIEWS OF OLD RUSSIAN PRINCES ON STATE AND LAW (THE END OF THE 9TH - MID 13TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

The article considers the views of old Russian princes and Russian thinkers on the nature of state power and urgency of public administration reflected in the early Russian legal documents. The research methodology is based on the activity approach and includes historical and legal analysis of the political and legal thought of Old Russia in the period of formation and subsequent development of Russian statehood in the 9th - early 13th centuries. Applying the principles of historical and logical unity, objectivity and comprehensiveness, the author managed to assess the level of legal consciousness, state thinking and ethical foundations in the sphere of social relations in Old Russian state. The study makes a number of important provisions: the unity in the position of the old Russian tribes on the need for common foreign policy; inter-tribal Slavic cooperation; the development of the institution of power in the form of princely rule. It is proved that legal regulation in Old Russia was understood as a mechanism to improve the structure of state power and spread the ideal of Christianity. The theoretical and practical value of the article leis in a complex scientific and methodological use of ancient manuscripts on political and legal issues, as well as the views of Russian ruling elite on the nature of princely power. The article summarizes the Russian social thought of the 9th - 13th centuries, the period of highly moral legal relations in social and public life, which is relevant for the modern Russian state as a worthy actor of international relations and world order.