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Old Russian Law or Russian Law is a legal system in Kievan Rus' (since the 9th century), in later Old Rus' states (knyazhestva, or princedoms in the period of feudal fragmentation), in Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in Moscow Rus' (see: Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia). Main source was Old Slavic customary law: Zakon Russkiy (Law of Rus') (it was partly written in Rus'–Byzantine Treaties). Another sources were Old Scandinavian customary law (see: Varangians) and Byzantine law (since the 10th century).
Contents
The main written sources were Russkaya Pravda ("Russian Justice") (since the 11th century) and Statutes of Lithuania (since the 16th century).
Ryad
According to Old Russian chronicles, in 862, Slavs and Finns invited Varangians under the leadership of prince Rurik to rule in their land:
They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to the Law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Russes: these particular Varangians were known as Russes, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans, English, and Gotlanders, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichians, and the Ves' then said to the people of Rus', "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us."
Early Russian state settled on the oral treaty, or "ryad" (Old Russian: рядъ) between the prince (knyaz) with his armed force (druzhina) on the one hand, and tribal "nobility" and formally all people on the other hand. The prince and his druzhina defended people, decide lawsuits, provided trade and built towns. And people paid tribute and took part in irregular military. During the ensuing centuries the ryad was playing an important role in Old Russian princedoms: the prince and his administration (druzhina) found their relationship with people ("all land", "all townsmen" in Old Russian chronicles) on the treaty. A breach of the treaty could result in exile of the prince (Izyaslav Yaroslavich and Vsevolod Yaroslavich) or even in murder of the prince (Igor Rurikovich and Igor Olgovich).
Written secular law
One of the result of Rus'–Byzantine Wars was conclusion of Treaties with Byzantine in the 10th century, where, apart from Byzantine legal rules, also Zakon Russkiy (Law of Rus') - rules of Old Russian oral customary law reflected.
Yaroslav's Pravda of the beginning of the 11th century was the first written law in Rus'. This short code regulated the relationship between the princely druzhina ("rusins") and the people ("slovenins") concerning criminal law. After Yaroslav's death, his sons Izyaslav, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav and their druzhina got together and promulgated a code concerning the violation of property rights in princely lands (Pravda of Yaroslav's sons) in the middle of the 11th century. Yaroslav's Pravda and Pravda of Yaroslav's sons became a basis for the Short edition of Russkaya Pravda.
In the period of Vladimir Monomakh's reign at the beginning of the 12th century, the Vast edition of Russkaya Pravda was given, which contained rules of criminal, procedural and civil law, including trade, family law and rules of the bond of obligation.
Later written secular law also included statutory charters, trade treaties, statutes of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, big codes of Moscow Rus' - Sudebniks (see below), and other texts.
Byzantine law and church law
Translations of Byzantine legal codes, including Nomocanon, were widely spread in Old Rus' (see: Kormchaia, Merilo Pravednoye), but it wasn't widely applied in secular or church legal practice, restricted mainly in canon law. The Church in Old Rus' did not have wide influence and depended on the power of the state. Thus, church law mainly dealt with family law and sanctions against moral violation.
See also: church statutes of prince Vladimir and prince Yaroslav.