Moscow "Constitution": Princely Testaments and Agreements as the Basis of the Political Structure of Rus'

Abstract

Over decades of studying the structure and functioning of the political system of the Russian land in the era of the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, many original theories were created regarding the political nature of the late medieval and early modern Russian statehood. This article continues the tradition of studying the characteristic features of the political structure of the Russian land, but for the first time it was proposed to use the interpretation of the term “constitution” given by G. Jellinek as a basis. The work shows that the foundations of the “constitutional” system of Rus' are found in princely spiritual charters and inter-princely agreements of a mixed, private-legal and public-legal nature. It is concluded that the principles of inter-princely relations set out in them formed the basis of the Russian political system in the appanage period and, after adjustment following the results of the internecine war of the 2nd quarter of the 15th century – in the 2nd half of the 15th century, throughout most of the next century.