On the Formation of the Russian State in the Works of B.N. Chicherin

Volk-Leonovich Stanislav

The questions of the genesis of the state (in general) and the Russian state (in particular) were most thoroughly developed in the works of Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin. According to the terminology of B. N. Chicherin, the state is the result of the evolution of simpler social structures, unions. At the same time, for the emergence of the idea of the state, B. N. Chicherin identified several conditions: conquest (bringing the conquered to submission), religious teaching, and the natural evolution of social structures. In addition, scientists have identified three periods that the society passes on the way to the formation of the state. The first stage of this process is occupied by the family (gradually transforming into the genus), as the primary social structure, implicitly containing the characteristics of all future social structures, including the state. Further, the development of the family is associated with the expansion of the family into a genus, based also on kinship ties, but a broader blood relationship. Finally, a further increase in the population leads to the emergence of a new, more complex social structure – the tribe. However, in the tribe, social differentiation increases even more than in the clan. Thus, the tribal organization of society is the forerunner of the state. And one of the important factors in the formation of the Russian state, B. N. Chicherin calls "the invasion of Western squads, mainly Varangians". At the same time, the further development of statehood is associated with the enlargement of the possessions of individual princes-patrimony, based primarily on the instinct of self-preservation.

Keywords:state genesis, conquests, evolution of social structures, periods of state formation, family, tribe, patrimonial princes, social differentiation.