The legal regulations of the
Russkaya Pravda reflected the evolution of the social relations in
Kievan Rus' during the 11th–13th centuries. Common law,
knyaz legislation, and legal proceedings represented the basis of the
Russkaya Pravda. The presumable similarity with
Scandinavian law raises questions, as the earliest written law books appeared after the
Christianization of Scandinavia. Several studies on the connections with
Germanic law have also been conducted, but attention has mostly been focused on the earliest law, the
Leges Barbarorum. The similarities are not very specific, and there is a gap of about five centuries. The 9th-century
Lex Saxonum has also been compared, in which the first dozen or so articles are close to the first ten articles of the
Kratkaya Pravda. The Short Edition of the
Russkaya Pravda contains two chronological components, called by researchers the
Pravda Yaroslava ("The
Pravda of Yaroslav"), otherwise known as the
Drevneyshaya Pravda ("Oldest Justice") of
Yaroslav the Wise, and the
Pravda Yaroslavichey ("The
Pravda of Yaroslavs Sons"). Due to the Short Edition not being a homogenous legal document, this has given rise to a theory that it is the amalgamation of two independent versions of the
Russkaya Pravda. However, the
Pravda Yaroslavichey appears to be an addition to the
Pravda of Yaroslav, as it regulates questions not covered by the latter, and so modern scholars tend to accept the refutation of this theory. In regards to prior legislation, scholars often draw attention to treaties with the Byzantine Empire in 911 and 941, both of which mention the
zakon russkii. As a result, the most probable source for the
Pravda of Yaroslav would be customary law. The two basic copies of the Short Edition have come from the text of the Novgorod chronicle. The chronicle says that Yaroslav, in accordance with the prevailing practice among the
Rurikids, was appointed as the prince of Novgorod by his father
Vladimir. One of his duties was the yearly tribute to Kiev, but in 1013 or 1014, Yaroslav, with the support of Novgorod, ceased this payment. His father began to gather an army as a result to enforce his claim, while Yaroslav brought in
Varangians to strengthen his own army. These Varangians caused unrest in Novgorod, leading to many of them being killed during an uprising. Yaroslav had some of the prominent Novgorodians killed as a result, but when he heard of the news of his father's death, he made peace with Novgorod. He then marched against his half-brother
Sviatopolk, and after emerging victorious, he dismissed the Novgorodian troops and gave them a law code (
pravda). Yaroslav wrote a statute (
ustav), saying: "Live according to this charter (
gramota), as I have written it for you, and observe it". Although many scholars have given their opinion regarding the origins of the Short Edition, the majority opinion is to give credence to the general narrative given in the chronicle, in that Yaroslav did write a law that was connected to Novgorod's support in his war against his half-brother. It is generally agreed that the second part, the
Pravda Yaroslavichey, was not included in this law. Subsequent development and improvement of the
Russkaya Pravda took place in times of Yaroslav's sons and his grandson
Vladimir Monomakh. The
Pravda Yaroslavichey is known as such because it starts with the following: "The law established for the Russian land, when Iziaslav, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Kosniachko Pereneg, Mikyfor the Kievan, and Chudin Mikula met together". There remains uncertainty about the precise date of the
Pravda Yaroslavichey, with 1072 being given as the mostly likely date. New provisions are believed to have been added to the
Russkaya Pravda after the revolts in
Kiev,
Novgorod, and
Rostov-
Suzdal province in 1068–1071. The first part of the Expanded Edition, the
Pravda of Yaroslav, was likely a heavily amended version of the Short Edition enacted sometime in the late 11th or early 12th century. The second part, which represented the law code created by
Vladimir Monomakh, was enacted shortly after the uprising of 1113. In the arising Russian state centered on
Moscow, the
Russkaya Pravda was replaced by the
Sudebnik of 1497 under
Ivan III, which in turn was succeeded by the
Sudebnik of 1550 under his grandson
Ivan IV. The
Sudebnik put an end to the legal fragmentation of Russia. It replaced other law codes in certain regions, including the
Pskov Judicial Charter and
Novgorod Judicial Charter. The Pskov Judicial Charter in particular was the most significant piece of legislation between the
Russkaya Pravda and the
Sudebnik of 1497, which was the first milestone of a newly unified Russian state. == Institutions ==