The Judicial Book of Ivan III – a Monument of the Law of the Centralised Russian State?

Abstract

In 1497 Ivan III and the Boyar Duma approved a code of law. It went down in history as the Sudebnik of 1497. By tradition, it is considered the first code of law of the Russian centralized state. and acted throughout its territory. This point of view has been repeatedly repeated in many scientific studies and replicated in textbooks. Over time, it has become an axiom that is not discussed or questioned due to its apparent obviousness. However, in recent decades, an in-depth study of the realities of the formation of a centralized Russian state and the peculiarities of the functioning of its power mechanisms have called into question this seemingly unshakable point of view. A few years ago, the Russian historian V.A. Kuchkin published a small study. In it, he made an interesting suggestion. According to the researcher, the Sudebnik of 1497 was not at all of an all-Russian character and acted only on the territory of the grand ducal "domain". The authors of the article, taking as a basis the thesis put forward by the historian, approached the problem from a different point of view. They summed up the idea of ​​V.A. Kuchkin another system of evidence. The article shows that in practice the Sudebnik had a very limited circulation and, at best, can be considered only the first step towards the formation of a system of truly all-Russian law.