The Slavs, according to most historians, separated from the Indo-European community in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The ancestral home of the early Slavs (Proto-Slavs), according to archaeological data, was the territory to the east of the Germans - from the Oder River in the west to the Carpathian Mountains in the east. A number of researchers believe that the Proto-Slavic language began to take shape later, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC.
First information about political history Slavs date back to the 4th century. ad. From the Baltic coast Germanic tribes Ready made their way to the Northern Black Sea region. The Gothic leader Germanarich was defeated by the Slavs. His successor Vinithar deceived 70 Slavic elders led by God (Bus) and crucified them. Eight centuries later, an author unknown to us “ Words about Igor's Campaign" mentioned "Busovo time".
Special place in life Slavic world engaged in relations with the nomadic peoples of the steppe. Along this steppe ocean, stretching from the Black Sea region to Central Asia, wave after wave of nomadic tribes invaded Eastern Europe. At the end of the 4th century. The Gothic tribal union was broken by the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Huns who came from Central Asia. In 375, hordes of Huns occupied the territory between the Volga and Danube with their nomads, and then advanced further into Europe to the borders of France. In their advance to the west, the Huns carried away some of the Slavs. After the death of the leader of the Huns, Atilla (453), the Hunnic state collapsed, and they were thrown back to the east.
In the VI century. Turkic-speaking Avars (the Russian chronicle called them Obra) created their own state in the southern Russian steppes, uniting the nomadic tribes there. The Avar Khaganate was defeated by Byzantium in 625. The great Avars, “proud in mind” and in body, disappeared without a trace. “Pogibosha aki obre” - these words from light hand Russian chronicler became an aphorism.
The largest political formations of the 7th-8th centuries. in the southern Russian steppes there were Bulgarian kingdom And Khazar Khaganate, and in the Altai region - the Turkic Kaganate. The nomadic states were fragile conglomerates of steppe dwellers who lived on war booty. As a result of the collapse of the Bulgarian kingdom, part of the Bulgarians, under the leadership of Khan Asparukh, migrated to the Danube, where they were assimilated by the southern Slavs who lived there, who took the name of the warriors of Asparukh, i.e. Bulgarian Another part of the Turkic Bulgarians with Khan Batbai came to the middle reaches of the Volga, where a new power arose - Volga Bulgaria (Bulgaria). Her neighbor, who occupied from the middle of the 7th century. territory of the Lower Volga region, the steppes of the North Caucasus, the Black Sea region and part of the Crimea, there was the Khazar Khaganate, which collected tribute from the Dnieper Slavs until the end of the 9th century.
Eastern Slavs in the 6th century. repeatedly carried out military campaigns against the largest state of that time - Byzantium. From this time, a number of works by Byzantine authors have reached us, containing unique military instructions on how to fight the Slavs. So, for example, the Byzantine Procopius from Caesarea in the book “War with the Goths” wrote: “These tribes, the Slavs and Antes, are not ruled by one person, but since ancient times they have lived in the rule of people (democracy), and therefore they consider happiness and misfortune in life a common matter... They consider , that only God, the creator of lightning, is the ruler over everyone, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed... Both have the same language... And once upon a time even the name of the Slavs and Ants was the same Same".
Byzantine authors compared the way of life of the Slavs with the life of their country, emphasizing the backwardness of the Slavs. Campaigns against Byzantium could only be undertaken by large tribal unions of the Slavs. These campaigns contributed to the enrichment of the tribal elite of the Slavs, which accelerated the collapse of the primitive communal system.
For the education of large tribal associations of the Slavs is indicated by a legend contained in the Russian chronicle, which tells about the reign of Kiya with his brothers Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid in the Middle Dnieper region. The city founded by the brothers was allegedly named after his older brother Kiy. The chronicler noted that other tribes had similar reigns. Historians believe that these events occurred at the end of the 5th-6th centuries. AD The chronicle says that one of the Polyansky princes, Kiy, together with his brothers Shchek and Khoriv and sister Lybid, founded the city and named it Kiev in honor of their elder brother.
Then Kiy went to the Tsar-city, i.e. to Constantinople, was received there by the emperor with great honor, and returning back, he settled with his retinue on the Danube, founded a “town” there, but subsequently entered into a fight with the local residents and returned again to the banks of the Dnieper, where he died. This legend finds well-known confirmation in archaeological data, which suggests that at the end of the 5th - 6th centuries. on the Kyiv Mountains there already existed a fortified urban-type settlement, which was the center of the Polyansky Tribal Union.
Europe and part of Asia have long been inhabited by tribes of Indo-Europeans who spoke the same language and had many common features in appearance. These tribes were in constant motion, moving and exploring new territories. Gradually, separate groups of Indo-European tribes began to separate from each other. Once mutual language split into a number of separate languages.
About 2 thousand years BC, the Balto-Slavic tribes emerged from the Indo-European tribes. They settled part of the territory of Central and of Eastern Europe. In the 5th century BC these tribes were divided into Balts and Slavs. The Slavs mastered the territory from the middle reaches of the Dnieper to the Oder River.
In the 5th century Slavic tribes powerful streams rushed to the east and south. They reached the upper reaches of the Volga and White Lake, to the shores of the Adriatic, and penetrated into the Peloponnese. During this movement, the Slavs were divided into three branches - eastern, western and southern. Eastern Slavs settled in the VI - VIII centuries the vast territory of Eastern Europe, from Lake Ilmen to the Black Sea steppes and from the Eastern Carpathians to the Volga, that is, most of the East European Plain.
Main occupation Eastern Slavs there was agriculture. The main part of the territory inhabited by them was covered with dense forests. Therefore, before plowing the land, it was necessary to cut down the trees. The stumps remaining on the field were burned, fertilizing the soil with ash. The land was cultivated for two to three years, and when it stopped producing good harvest, they threw it and burned a new area. This farming system is called slash-and-burn. More favorable conditions for maintaining Agriculture were in the steppe and forest-steppe zone of the Dnieper region, rich in fertile lands.
At first, the Slavs lived in dugouts, then they began to build houses - fireplaces were built in the middle of these wooden dwellings, and the smoke escaped through a hole in the roof or wall. Each house necessarily had outbuildings; they were made of wicker, adobe or similar materials and were placed in the yard either freely, scattered, or along the perimeter of the quadrangular yard, forming an open space inside.
In Slavic villages there were few courtyards: from two to five. They were surrounded by earthen ramparts for protection from enemies.
As mentioned earlier, the main occupation of the Slavs, of course, was agriculture. Archaeological finds suggest that they grew rye, wheat, barley, millet, turnips, cabbage, beets, etc. The Slavs cultivated flax and hemp among industrial crops.
Another important activity Slavic tribes had cattle breeding. Cattle breeding of the Eastern Slavs was organically connected with agriculture. Cattle breeding provided meat and milk; cattle were used as draft on arable land (in the non-chernozem zone - horses, in the chernozem zone - oxen); Without manure it was impossible to carry out field farming in the non-chernozem zone; wool and leather were obtained from livestock. East Slavic peoples raised large and small cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry. Fewer ducks and geese were bred, but almost every household kept chickens.
Fishing and hunting were of no small importance, especially since the dense forests were home to many fur-bearing animals, the fur of which was used to make clothing and was also sold.
The Slavs used bows, spears, swords, and clubs (sticks with heavy knobs and spikes) as weapons. Fired arrows fired from tight bows could overtake the enemy even at long distance. For protection, the Slavs used helmets and durable “shirts” made of small metal rings - chain mail.
Beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees - also played an important role in the life of the Eastern Slavs.
But besides farming the Slavs were also engaged in metal processing (blacksmithing), production ceramic products. Jewelry, stone-cutting, and carpentry crafts were also not alien to them. Settlements located in the most favorable (from the point of view of trade opportunities) places turned into cities. Princely fortresses also became cities. The most ancient cities Rus were: Novgorod, Chernigov, Suzdal, Murom, Smolensk, Pereslavl, Ladoga, Rostov, Beloozero, Pskov, Lyubech, Turov. According to scientists, by the beginning of the 9th century. There were about 30 cities on the territory of Rus'.
The city usually arose on a hill or at the confluence of two rivers, which was associated with trade. And trade relations between the Slavic and neighboring tribes were quite well-established. Cattle were driven from the south to the north. The Carpathian region supplied everyone with salt. Bread came to the north and northwest from the Dnieper region and Suzdal land. They traded furs, linen, cattle and honey, wax and slaves.
There were two main trade routes passing through Rus': along the Neva, Lake Ladoga, Volkhov, Lovat and the Dnieper there was a great waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” connecting the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea; and through the Carpathians trade routes led to Prague, to German cities, to Bulgaria, to the countries of the Muslim world.
The Slavs were distinguished by their tall stature, strong physique, and extraordinary physical strength and extraordinary endurance. They had brown hair, ruddy faces and gray eyes.
The settlements of the Eastern Slavs were located mainly along the banks of rivers and lakes. The inhabitants of these settlements lived as families, in semi-dugout houses with an area of 10 - 20 sq.m. The walls of houses, benches, tables, and household utensils were made of wood. Several exits were arranged in the houses, and valuables were hidden in the ground, because enemies could arrive at any moment.
The Eastern Slavs were good-natured and hospitable. Every wanderer was considered dear guest. The owner did everything possible to please him, putting the best food and drinks on the table. The Slavs were also known as brave warriors. Cowardice was considered their greatest shame. Slavic warriors were excellent swimmers and could stay under water for a long time. They breathed through a hollowed-out reed, the top of which reached the surface of the water.
The Slavs' weapons consisted of spears, bows, arrows smeared with poison, and round wooden shields. Swords and other iron weapons were rare.
The Slavs treated their parents with respect. Between villages they organized games - religious holidays, at which residents of neighboring villages kidnapped (kidnapped) their wives by agreement with them. At that time, the Slavs had polygamy; there were not enough brides. To appease the family from which the bride was kidnapped, her relatives were given a veno (ransom). Over time, kidnapping the bride was replaced by the ritual of son-in-law passing on the bride, when the bride was bought from her relatives by mutual agreement. This ritual was replaced by another - bringing the bride to the groom. Relatives of the bride and groom became brothers-in-law, i.e., their own people for each other.
The woman occupied a subordinate position. After the death of a husband, one of his wives had to be buried with him. The deceased was burned at the stake. The burial was accompanied by a funeral feast - a feast and military games.
It is known that the Eastern Slavs still retained blood feud: the relatives of the murdered man took revenge on the murderer by death.
Like all peoples who were at the stage of disintegration of the primitive communal system, the Slavs were pagans. They worshiped natural phenomena, deifying them. So, the god of the sky was Svarog, the god of the sun - Dazhdbog (other names: Dazhbog, Yarilo, Khoros), the god of thunder and lightning - Perun, the god of the wind - Stribog, the patron saint of cattle - Velos (Volos). Dazhdbog and the deity of fire were considered the sons of Svarog and were called Svarozhichi. Goddess Mokosh - Mother Earth, goddess of fertility. In the 6th century, according to the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, the Slavs recognized one god as the ruler of the Universe - Perun, the god of thunder, lightning, and war.
At that time there were no public services, there were no temples, no priests. Usually, images of gods in the form of stone or wooden figures (idols) were placed in certain open places - temples, and sacrifices - demands - were made to the gods.
The cult of ancestors has received great development. He is connected with the guardian of the clan, family, the founder of life - Rod and with his Mothers in labor, i.e. grandparents. The ancestor was also called “chur”, in Church Slavonic - “shchur”.
The expression “keep me safe”, which has survived to this day, means “grandfather protect me.” Sometimes this guardian of the clan appears under the name of the brownie, the guardian not of the entire clan, but of a separate yard or house. All nature seemed to the Slavs to be animated and inhabited by many spirits; goblins lived in the forests, water creatures and mermaids lived in the rivers.
The Slavs had their own pagan holidays associated with the seasons and agricultural work. At the end of December, the mummers went from house to house singing carols with songs and jokes, praising the owners who were supposed to give gifts to the mummers. Great holiday There was a farewell to winter and a welcome to spring - Maslenitsa. On the night of June 24 (old style), the holiday of Ivan Kupala was celebrated - rituals with fire and water, fortune telling, round dances, and songs were sung. In the fall, after the end of field work, a harvest festival was celebrated: a huge honey loaf was baked.
Initially, the Eastern Slavs lived “each in his own family and in his own place,” i.e. united on the basis of blood relationship. At the head of the clan was an elder who had great power. As the Slavs settled over vast areas, tribal ties began to disintegrate. The consanguineous community was replaced by the neighboring (territorial) community - the rope. Vervi members jointly owned hayfields and forest lands, and the fields were divided between individual family farms. On general advice- veche - all the householders in the area gathered. They elected elders to conduct common affairs. During attacks by foreign tribes, the Slavs collected civil uprising, which was built according to the decimal system (tens, hundreds, thousands).
Individual communities united into tribes. The tribes, in turn, formed tribal unions. On the territory of the East European Plain there lived 12 (according to some sources - 15) East Slavic tribal unions. The most numerous were the Glades, who lived along the banks of the Dnieper, and the Ilmen Slavs, who lived on the banks of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River.
The Eastern Slavs had a patriarchal clan system for a very long time, so they also maintained a family clan cult for a long time in the form of veneration of ancestors associated with the funeral cult. Beliefs concerning the relationship of the dead to the living were very firmly held. All the dead were sharply divided into two categories: “pure” dead - those who died a natural death (“parents”); and on the “unclean” - those who died a violent or premature death (this included children who died unbaptized) and sorcerers. The first were usually revered, and the second (“dead people” - this is where many superstitions associated with the dead come from) were feared and tried to neutralize:
The veneration of “parents” is a family, and formerly (tribal) cult of ancestors. Many people are associated with him calendar holidays- Maslenitsa from here parent's Saturday), Radunitsa, Trinity and others. From here, perhaps, the image of Chur (Shchur) appeared; exclamations such as “Chur me”, “Chur this is mine” could mean a spell calling Chur for help. From the cult of ancestors comes the belief in the house-elf (house-elf, domozhil, master, etc.).
- “Unclean Dead.” In many ways, these were people who were feared during their lifetime, and did not stop being afraid after their death. An interesting ritual is the “neutralization” of such a corpse during a drought, which was often attributed to them. They dug up the grave of a dead man and threw him into a swamp (sometimes filled with water), perhaps this is where the name “naviy” (dead man, deceased) comes from, as well as “navka” - mermaid.
In ancient times, the Slavs did not have the opportunity to conduct an independent foreign policy, acting in the international arena under own name. If they had large political associations, they remained unknown to the written civilizations of that era. Archaeological research does not confirm the existence of significant proto-urban centers on the lands of the Eastern Slavs before the 6th century, which could indicate the strengthening of the power of local princes among the settled population. East Slavic tribes in their habitat in the south came into contact and were partially involved in the area of distribution of archaeological Chernyakhov culture, which modern archaeologists tend to associate with the settlement of the Goths in the northern Black Sea region.
Vague information has been preserved about the wars between the Slavs and the Goths in the 4th century. The Great Migration of Peoples from the 2nd half of the 4th century led to global migrations ethnic groups. The Slavic tribes in the south, previously subjugated by the Goths, submitted to the Huns and, probably under their protectorate, began to expand their habitat to the borders Byzantine Empire in the south and German lands in the west, displacing the Goths into the Crimea and Byzantium.
At the beginning of the 6th century the Slavs become carry out regular raids on Byzantium, as a result of which Byzantine and Roman authors started talking about them ( Procopius of Caesarea, Jordan). In this era, they already had large inter-tribal alliances, which were formed primarily on a territorial basis and were something more than an ordinary tribal community. The Antes and Carpathian Slavs first developed fortified settlements and other features political control over the territory. It is known that the Avars, who first conquered the Black Sea (Ants) and West Slavic tribes, for a long time could not destroy a certain union of “Sclavins” with a center in Transcarpathia, and their leaders not only behaved proudly and independently, but even executed the ambassador of the Avar Kagan Bayan for his insolence . The leader of the Antes, Mezamir, was also killed during an embassy to the Avars for his insolence shown in the face of the Kagan.
The grounds for Slavic pride were, obviously, not only complete control over their own and adjacent Slavic territories, but also their regular, devastating and mostly unpunished raids on the Transdanubian provinces of the Byzantine Empire, as a result of which the Carpathian Croats and other tribes, apparently part of the Antes' alliance, partially or completely moved across the Danube, separating into the branch of the southern Slavs. The Dulebs also expanded the territories they controlled to the west to the modern Czech Republic and to the east to the Dnieper. In the end, the Avars subjugated both the Antes and the Dulebs, after which they forced them to fight with Byzantium in their own interests. Their tribal unions disintegrated, the Antes were no longer mentioned from the 7th century, and several other Slavic unions, including the Polans, separated from the Dulebs, according to the assumption of some modern historians.
Later, part of the East Slavic tribes (Polyans, Northerners, Radimichi and Vyatichi) paid tribute to the Khazars. In 737, the Arab commander Marwan ibn Muhammad, during a victorious war with Khazaria reached a certain “Slavic river” (obviously the Don) and captured 20,000 families of local residents, among whom were Slavs. The prisoners were driven to Kakheti, where they rebelled and were killed.
The Tale of Bygone Years lists twelve East Slavic tribal unions that by the 9th century existed in a vast area between the Baltic and Black Seas. Among these tribal unions are the Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Slovenes, Dulebs (later known as Volynians and Buzhanians), White Croats, Northerners, Ulichs, Tivertsy.
In the 8th century with the beginning of the Viking Age The Varangians began to penetrate into Eastern Europe. By the middle of the 9th century. they imposed tribute not only on the Baltic states, which were the first to undergo regular invasions, but also on many territories between the Baltic and Black Seas. In 862, according to the chronicle chronology of PVL, the leader of Rus' Rurik was called to reign simultaneously by the Chud (Finno-Ugric peoples who inhabited Estonia and Finland), the whole and both Slavic tribes that lived in their neighborhood: the Pskov Krivichi and Slovenes.
Rurik settled among the Slavic villages in a fortress, near which he later arose Velikiy Novgorod. His legendary brothers received reigns in the tribal center of the village of Beloozero and the center of the Krivichi, Izborsk. By the end of his life, Rurik expanded his family's possessions to Polotsk, Murom and Rostov, and his successor Oleg captured Smolensk and Kyiv by 882. The titular ethnic group of the new state became not any of the Slavic or Finno-Ugric peoples, but Rus', a Varangian tribe, the ethnicity of which is disputed.
Rus' stood out as a separate ethnic group even under Rurik’s closest successors, princes Oleg and Igor, and gradually dissolved into the Slavic people under Svyatoslav and Vladimir the Saint, leaving its name to the Eastern Slavs, who now distinguished them from the Western and Southern ones (for more details, see the article Rus). At the same time, Svyatoslav and Vladimir completed the unification of the Eastern Slavs in their state, annexing to it the lands of the Drevlyans, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Turov and the region of Cherven Rus.
The advancement of the Slavs across the vast expanses of Eastern Europe and their development had the character of peaceful colonization.
Colonization is the settlement and development of empty or sparsely populated lands.
The settlers lived next to the local tribes. The Slavs borrowed the names of many rivers, lakes, and villages from the Finno-Ugric tribes. Following the Finns, they began to believe in evil spirits and wizards. The Slavs also adopted from the forest dwellers the belief in sorcerers and magicians. Living together with the Finno-Ugric peoples also led to a change in the appearance of the Slavs. Among them, people with flatter and rounder faces, high cheekbones, and wide noses have become more common.
The descendants of the Iranian-speaking Scythian-Sarmatian population also had a great influence on the Slavs. Many Iranian words have firmly entered the ancient Slavic language and have been preserved in modern Russian (god, boyar, hut, dog, ax and others). Some Slavic pagan deities - Khoros, Stribog - bore Iranian names, and Perun was of Baltic origin.
However, the Slavs did not have friendly relations with all their neighbors. Slavic legends tell of an attack by Turkic-speaking nomadic Avars on the Slavic tribe of Dulebs, who lived in the Carpathian region. Having killed almost all the men, the Avars harnessed the Duleb women to the cart instead of horses. In the 8th century, the East Slavic tribes of the Polyans, Northerners, Vyatichi and Radimichi, who lived close to the steppes, conquered the Khazars, forcing them to pay tribute - “an ermine and a squirrel from the smoke,” that is, from each house.
When starting a conversation about the Eastern Slavs, it is very difficult to be unambiguous. There are practically no surviving sources telling about the Slavs in ancient times. Many historians come to the conclusion that the process of the origin of the Slavs began in the second millennium BC. It is also believed that the Slavs are an isolated part of the Indo-European community.
But the region where the ancestral home of the ancient Slavs was located has not yet been determined. Historians and archaeologists continue to debate where the Slavs came from. It is most often stated, and this is evidenced by Byzantine sources, that the Eastern Slavs already lived in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe in the middle of the 5th century BC. It is also generally accepted that they were divided into three groups:
Weneds (lived in the Vistula River basin) - Western Slavs.
Sklavins (lived between the upper reaches of the Vistula, Danube and Dniester) - southern Slavs.
Ants (lived between the Dnieper and Dniester) - Eastern Slavs.
All historical sources characterize the ancient Slavs as people with the will and love of freedom, temperamentally distinguished by strong character, endurance, courage, and unity. They were hospitable to strangers, had pagan polytheism and elaborate rituals. Initially there was no particular fragmentation among the Slavs, since the tribal unions had similar languages, customs and laws.
An important question is how the Slavs developed new territories and their settlement in general. There are two main theories about the appearance of the Eastern Slavs in Eastern Europe.
One of them was put forward by the famous Soviet historian, academician B. A. Rybakov. He believed that the Slavs originally lived on the East European Plain. But the famous historians of the 19th century S. M. Solovyov and V. O. Klyuchevsky believed that the Slavs moved from the territories near the Danube.
The final settlement of the Slavic tribes looked like this:
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Tribes |
Places of resettlement |
Cities |
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The most numerous tribe settled on the banks of the Dnieper and south of Kyiv |
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Slovenian Ilmenskie |
Settlement around Novgorod, Ladoga and Lake Peipsi |
Novgorod, Ladoga |
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North of the Western Dvina and the upper reaches of the Volga |
Polotsk, Smolensk |
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Polotsk residents |
South of the Western Dvina |
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|
Dregovichi |
Between the upper reaches of the Neman and the Dnieper, along the Pripyat River |
|
|
Drevlyans |
South of the Pripyat River |
Iskorosten |
|
Volynians |
Settled south of the Drevlyans, at the source of the Vistula |
|
|
White Croats |
The westernmost tribe, settled between the Dniester and Vistula rivers |
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Lived east of the White Croats |
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The territory between the Prut and the Dniester |
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Between the Dniester and the Southern Bug |
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Northerners |
Territories along the Desna River |
Chernigov |
|
Radimichi |
They settled between the Dnieper and Desna. In 885 they joined the Old Russian state |
|
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Along the sources of the Oka and Don |
The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs must include agriculture, which was associated with the characteristics of local soils. Arable farming was common in the steppe regions, and slash-and-burn farming was practiced in forests. The arable land was quickly depleted, and the Slavs moved to new territories. Such farming required a lot of labor; it was difficult to cope with the cultivation of even small plots, and the sharply continental climate did not allow one to count on high yields.
Nevertheless, even in such conditions, the Slavs sowed several varieties of wheat and barley, millet, rye, oats, buckwheat, lentils, peas, hemp, and flax. Turnips, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, and cabbage were grown in the gardens.
The main food product was bread. The ancient Slavs called it “zhito”, which was associated with the Slavic word “to live”.
Slavic farms raised livestock: cows, horses, sheep. The following trades were of great help: hunting, fishing and beekeeping (collecting wild honey). Fur trading became widespread. The fact that the Eastern Slavs settled along the banks of rivers and lakes contributed to the emergence of shipping, trade and various crafts that provided products for exchange. Trade routes also contributed to the emergence of large cities and tribal centers.
Initially, the Eastern Slavs lived in tribal communities, later they united into tribes. The development of production and the use of draft power (horses and oxen) contributed to the fact that even a small family could cultivate its own plot. Family ties began to weaken, families began to settle separately and plow new plots of land on their own.
The community remained, but now it included not only relatives, but also neighbors. Each family had its own plot of land for cultivation, its own production tools and harvested crops. Appeared private property, but it did not apply to forests, meadows, rivers and lakes. The Slavs enjoyed these benefits together.
In the neighboring community, the property status of different families was no longer the same. The best lands began to be concentrated in the hands of elders and military leaders, and they also received most of the spoils from military campaigns.
Rich leaders-princes began to appear at the head of the Slavic tribes. They had their own armed units - squads, and they also collected tribute from the subject population. The collection of tribute was called polyudye.
The 6th century is characterized by the unification of Slavic tribes into unions. The most militarily powerful princes led them. The local nobility gradually strengthened around such princes.
One of these tribal unions, as historians believe, was the unification of the Slavs around the Ros (or Rus) tribe, who lived on the Ros River (a tributary of the Dnieper). Later, according to one of the theories of the origin of the Slavs, this name passed on to all Eastern Slavs, who received the common name “Rus”, and the entire territory became Russian land, or Russia.
In the 1st millennium BC, in the Northern Black Sea region, the neighbors of the Slavs were the Cimmerians, but after a few centuries they were supplanted by the Scythians, who founded their own state on these lands - the Scythian kingdom. Subsequently, the Sarmatians came from the east to the Don and the Northern Black Sea region.
During the Great Migration of Peoples, the East German tribes of the Goths passed through these lands, then the Huns. All this movement was accompanied by robbery and destruction, which contributed to the resettlement of the Slavs to the north.
Another factor in the resettlement and formation of Slavic tribes were the Turks. It was they who formed the Turkic Kaganate on a vast territory from Mongolia to the Volga.
Movement of various neighbors southern lands contributed to the fact that the Eastern Slavs occupied territories where forest-steppes and swamps predominated. Communities were created here that were more reliably protected from alien attacks.
In the VI-IX centuries, the lands of the Eastern Slavs were located from the Oka to the Carpathians and from the Middle Dnieper to the Neva.
The movement of nomads created a constant danger for the Eastern Slavs. The nomads seized grain and livestock and burned houses. Men, women, and children were taken into slavery. All this required the Slavs to be in constant readiness to repel raids. Every Slavic man was also a part-time warrior. Sometimes they plowed the land armed. History shows that the Slavs successfully coped with the constant onslaught of nomadic tribes and defended their independence.
The Eastern Slavs were pagans who deified the forces of nature. They worshiped the elements, believed in kinship with various animals, and made sacrifices. The Slavs had a clear annual cycle of agricultural holidays in honor of the sun and the change of seasons. All rituals were aimed at ensuring high yields, as well as the health of people and livestock. The Eastern Slavs did not have uniform ideas about God.
The ancient Slavs did not have temples. All rituals were carried out at stone idols, in groves, meadows and other places revered by them as sacred. We must not forget that all the heroes of fabulous Russian folklore come from that time. The goblin, the brownie, mermaids, mermen and other characters were well known to the Eastern Slavs.
In the divine pantheon of the Eastern Slavs, the leading places were occupied by the following gods. Dazhbog - the god of the Sun, sunlight and fertility, Svarog - the blacksmith god (according to some sources, the supreme god of the Slavs), Stribog - the god of wind and air, Mokosh - the female goddess, Perun - the god of lightning and war. A special place was given to the god of earth and fertility, Veles.
The main pagan priests of the Eastern Slavs were the Magi. They performed all the rituals in the sanctuaries and turned to the gods with various requests. The Magi made various male and female amulets with different spell symbols.
Paganism was a clear reflection of the activities of the Slavs. It was the admiration for the elements and everything connected with it that determined the attitude of the Slavs to agriculture as the main way of life.
Over time, the myths and meanings of pagan culture began to be forgotten, but much has survived to this day in folk art, customs, and traditions.
The problem of Slavic ethnogenesis
Settlement of the Eastern Slavs
Location of tribal alliances
Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs
Slavic occupations
Pagan beliefs
Main Slavic gods
Social system. Tribal and neighborhood communities
Military democracy
The problem of Slavic ethnogenesis. The question of the time of the appearance of the Slavs in Europe is debatable. Linguistic scientists believe that 2–1.5 thousand years BC. Proto-Slavic language stood out from Indo-European. The Indo-European group of peoples also includes the British, Germans, Scythians, Balts, French, Greeks, Iranians, Armenians, etc. The ancestral home of the Indo-European community is located in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). From there, the ancestors of modern Europeans, including the Slavs, moved to Europe in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e.
Settlement of the Eastern Slavs. There are two points of view:
1. Eastern Slavs - indigenous ( autochthonous) population of Eastern Europe. They come from the creators Zarubiné Tskoy And Chernyakhovskaya archaeological cultures. The Chernyakhov culture was destroyed during Great Migration III–VII centuries, when nomadic tribes of the Goths and Huns migrated from Central Asia to the west.
2. The ancestral home of the Slavs is the interfluve of the river. Vistula and Odra. In the 2nd millennium BC. Proto-Slavs settled the banks of the river. Vistula. Then they moved to the Dniester, Dnieper, Oka, and Upper Volga. This point of view is the most correct.
The modern branches of the Slavs - eastern, western and southern - arose in the 6th–7th centuries. Gothic scientist of the 6th century. Jordan divided the Slavs into three groups - Wends, Ants And Sklavins. Jordan wrote that the Wends are a “numerous tribe” that lived “from the origins of Vistula (the ancient name of the Vistula River) ... they are called Sklavins and Ants.”
Archaeologists have identified 3 settlement areas Proto-Slavs (pre-Slavs):
Poland and R. Pripyat – sklavins;
R. Dniester and r. Dnepr – antes;
Pomorie and the lower reaches of the river. Vistula – Wends.
By the 9th century. The Eastern Slavs occupied the territory from Lakes Onega and Ladoga in the north to the mouths of the Prut and Dniester rivers in the south, from the Carpathians in the west to the river. Oka and Volga in the east. A dozen and a half were settled here tribal unions. Chronicler Nestor calls them tribal kingdoms. Tribal alliances were formed by uniting small tribes around a strong tribe. Tribes consisted of clans.
Location of tribal alliances :
- glade– middle course of the river. Dnieper (center - Kyiv);
-Drevlyans(from the word "tree") and Dregovichi(from the word “dryagva” - swamp) – along the river Pripyat (center – Iskorosten);
-Radimichi- upper reaches of the river Dnieper and r. Gum;
-northerners- along the river Desna, Sula, Seym (center – Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversky);
-Volynians, Dulebs, Buzhanians- R. Western Bug;
-Krivichi- upper reaches of the river Western Dvina, Dnieper (center - Smolensk);
-Polotsk residents- in the middle reaches of the river. Western Dvina and its tributary - the river. Polota (center – Polotsk);
-Ilmen Slovenes- on the lake Ilmen and r. Volkhov (center - Novgorod);
-Vyatichi- along the river Oka, Moscow;
-incriminate- in the interfluve of the river. Southern Bug and river Dniester, on the Black Sea;
-Tivertsy- between the river Dniester and r. Prut, mouth of the Danube;
-White Croats- in the Carpathian Mountains.
At first, historians did not trust Nestor’s tribal settlement pattern, but archaeologists confirmed it based on women’s jewelry - temporal rings. Their varieties coincide with the area of settlement of the tribes.
There are a number of points of view on the origin of the term “Rus”:
1. Rus' - tribes that inhabited the banks of the river. Ros And Rossavy near Kyiv.
2. Rus' – in the Old Norse language – rowers, Rurik’s squad.
3. Rus' - from the ancient Slavic city Rusa(Staraya Russa).
4. Rus' - from the Gothic word Wolsoman- a fair-haired, fair-haired man.
Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs:
In the north-west, the neighbors of the Slavs were the Scandinavians - Varangians (Vikings, or Normans- “northern people”) - the ancestors of modern Swedes, Danes and Norwegians. Brave sailors and warriors, they plowed on boats - longships(“dragon” ships) of the sea of Europe, terrifying its inhabitants. The scarcity of natural resources forced men to go on predatory campaigns. The word “Viking” (from vik – “bay”) meant a participant in such campaigns, defining not nationality, but profession.
Along the Baltic there were Baltic tribes ( Livs, Ests, Zhmud, Aukshaits, Yatvingians);
In the north and northeast: Finno-Ugrians (whole, chud, sum, eat, korela, merya, muromá, meshchera);
In the south: semi-nomadic peoples ( Pechenegs, Khazars) And Scythians.
In the 4th century. Germanic tribes invaded the territory of the Slavs ready led by a leader Germanarich. They were defeated, but Germanaric's successor Amal Vinitar deceived 70 Slavic elders led by Bus(Bojam) and crucified them. The Gothic words “bread”, “plough”, “sword”, “helmet” remained in the Slavic language.
In the IV–V centuries. During the Great Migration of Peoples from Asia to Europe, Turkic tribes passed through the Slavic lands Huns.
In the VI century. the Slavs fought with the Turkic nomads Avar Khaganate. The Avars treacherously killed the Slavic ambassador during negotiations Mesamira. The Avars subjugated the Carpathian Slavs Dulebov. PVL reports on the cruelty of the Avars. “Obras,” as the chronicler calls them, harnessed Slavic women to carts and forced themselves to carry them; they were “great in body and proud in mind,” but “disappeared without a trace.” Avar Khaganate in the 7th century. was destroyed by Byzantium.
In the VI century. Turkic arose in the Black Sea region Bulgarian kingdom. Part of the Bulgarians led by khan Asparuh migrated to the Danube, where they became Slavic. Others settled on the middle Volga and Kama, creating Volga Bulgaria (Bulgaria) with center in Bulgar .
By the 7th century arose in the North Caucasus, Lower Volga and Black Sea regions Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars borrowed Judaism from the Jewish population of Crimea and established dominance over the Eastern Slavs, who paid them tribute until the 9th–10th centuries.
From the 6th century Slavs make trips to Byzantium- the heiress of the ancient Roman Empire, whose inhabitants called themselves “Romans”. From Byzantine sources we know about the Slavs and Antes, who, according to Mauritius Strategist, author of a work of the 6th century. " Strategikon", "similar in their way of life, in their morals, in their love of freedom"; “they cannot in any way be induced to servitude or subjection.” Dew - “Scythian people, cruel and barbaric,” “wild and rude.” Byzantine author of the 6th century. Procopius of Caesarea wrote that “Slavic tribes are not governed by one person, but live in democracy (democracy), and therefore happiness and misfortune in life are considered a common matter; life and laws were the same.” Women, along with men, took part in military campaigns and battles. It is known that in the 830s in Constantinople at the court of the emperor Theophila The first Russian embassy appeared.
Travelers from the Arab Caliphate, following the precepts of the Prophet Muhammad “seek science at least in China,” made long-distance scientific expeditions. In the descriptions of the Arabs of the 8th–9th centuries. three are mentioned proto-states – associations of tribal unions of Rus - Cuiaba, or Kuyavia(with its capital in Kyiv), Weak or Slavia(with center in Novgorod) and Artab(Arsab) , or Artania. The location of Artania is unknown, perhaps Ryazan, Rostov Veliky or Beloozero.
Slavic occupations – agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, etc.
Agriculture – main occupation. Archaeologists find grains of rye, wheat, flax, agricultural tools - hoes, sickles, scythes, metal tips for dryers. The Slavs called rye " lively" ("life"). In the southern forest-steppe zone it dominated há recumbent farming system, or fallback– after several harvests were harvested, the land was not sown to restore fertility. In the northern forest areas there was slashing (slash-and-burn) farming system, or cutting: trees were cut down and burned to clear a piece of land (“ Lyadina»).
Cattle breeding . The Slavs raised cattle, pigs and horses. Cattle were highly prized. In the Old Russian language, the word “cattle” also meant money.
B ó Martialism (« board"- hive-deck) - collecting honey from wild bees.
Trade. The Slavs exchanged furs, honey, wax, walrus ivory, as well as slaves for fabrics, jewelry, wine, and weapons. The main route was the water-land route "from Varangian to the Greeks". His route: Baltic (Varangian) Sea, river. Neva, Lake Ladoga, r. Western Dvina, Volkhov, Ilmen Lake, river. Lovat, then the ships were dragged to the river. The Dnieper (Boristhenes) and along the Black Sea reached Byzantium. Along the river Volga (Itil) ran Volga trade route to the countries of the East - Khazaria, Volga Bulgaria, Persia, Khorezm.
Pagan beliefs. Religion of the Slavs - paganism (from the Old Slavs. " languages" - foreign peoples who did not accept Christianity) religion based on the worship of many gods personifying the forces and phenomena of nature, idolatry. Forms of beliefs:
-fetishism – worship of objects and phenomena(stones, trees);
-animism – belief in spirits, cult of ancestors. The Slavs believed that spirits are the souls of ancestors, relatives, live nearby. The spirit (demon) has a positive or negative influence. There was faith in women in labor- goddesses of fertility. Lived in the water water And bereginii, In the woods - goblin(forester), in the fields - field workers, in the home - brownie, in the bath - banner;
-totemism – belief in the origin of the human race from animals. The Slavs worshiped wild boars, bears, moose, etc. A type of ancestor cult in the form of animals is werewolf. So, in the epics the hero Volga turns into a falcon, the bride girl turns into a swan, duck, frog;
-polytheism – belief in many gods.
Main Slavic gods:
- Perun - god of lightning and thunder, patron of the prince and his squad;
- Swar ó G – god of the sky and heavenly fire, patron of artisans;
-Svarozhichi - sons of Svarog;
- Genus – deity of the Universe and fertility;
- Yarilo - the god of spring fertility, among a number of tribes - the god of the Sun;
- Horse , or God bless – god of the Sun and light, solar horse;
- Kupala – god of summer
- Page And God - deity of wind and storms;
- Vel é With – god of cattle, patron of shepherds and wealth;
-M ó cat (Makosh) – wife of Perun, goddess of fertility, patroness of women's needlework and maiden destiny;
- Semargl - the only zoomorphic Slavic god, a winged dog, the embodiment of the sacred number seven (Iranian origin).
Pagan holidays were associated with the agricultural cycle.
Archaeologists have found pagan idols, sanctuaries - Toá food and burial places - tré bazaars. The rituals were performed by priests - Magi. Methods of burial - placing the corpse in the soil ( inhumation) and cremation ( cremation). Weapons and vessels with food were placed in the funeral pyre. There were human sacrifices. Numerous remains of people, both adults and children, sacrificed, were found in pagan sanctuaries in the Carpathian region. Byzantine author of the 9th century. Leo Deacon described the pagan rituals of the Ros (calling them Scythians) during the siege of the city of Dorostol by Prince Svyatoslav. “When night fell... the Scythians came out onto the plain and began to gather up their dead. They piled them up in front of the wall, made many fires and burned them, slaughtering many captives, men and women, according to the custom of their ancestors. Having made this bloody sacrifice, they strangled several infants and roosters, drowning them in the waters of the Istra (Danube).”
Social system. Tribal and neighboring (territorial) communities. In the VI–IX centuries. Among the Eastern Slavs there was a process of decomposition of the primitive communal system, the formation of a state, and the development of feudal relations. The low level of agriculture required large amounts of physical labor. The main economic unit was tribal community (rope) – a group of people related by blood and economic unity. In a clan community, all its members are relatives - members of the same clan. They farmed together, cultivated the land with common tools, and also consumed the harvest together.
Improvement of productive forces (development of agriculture, cattle breeding, iron tools) created surplus crops. The tribal community split into families, replaced it neighbor's ( territorial ) community – settlement of peopleconsisting of families living nearby in a certain territory,not related by family ties, collectively cultivating the land. In the neighboring community, the basis was not blood relationship, but proximity of residence. The main economic unit was family. Communal ownership of forests, hayfields, pastures, and reservoirs was preserved. The arable land was divided between families into plots. The property of the family was the harvest it collected, tools, housing, and livestock. Wealth inequality has arisen.
Military democracy (Vó Christmas) – form of tribal organization in the era of the decomposition of the primitive communal system inVI–VIII centuries.; a transitional stage in the development of society, during which a military nobility (prince and squad) emerges, concentrating material values and political power in their hands. The highest governing body continued to be veche - the supreme body of tribal self-government and court. But in the conditions of numerous wars, the role of the military leader - the prince - increased. The prince was first elected at the assembly. Then the role of the veche falls, and the power of the prince becomes hereditary. The prince relied on squad, which could force the people to obey.
The Eastern Slavs are a large group of related peoples, which today numbers more than 300 million people. The history of the formation of these nationalities, their traditions, faith, relations with other states is important points in history, since they answer the question of how our ancestors appeared in ancient times.
The question of the origin of the Eastern Slavs is interesting. This is our history and our ancestors, the first mentions of which date back to the beginning of our era. If we talk about archaeological excavations, then scientists find artifacts indicating that the nation began to form before our era.
All Slavic languages belong to a single Indo-European group. Its representatives emerged as a nationality around the 8th millennium BC. The ancestors of the Eastern Slavs (and many other peoples) lived along the shores of the Caspian Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the Indo-European group split into three nationalities:
Around the 5th century BC, the Balotoslavs are divided into Balts and Slavs; already in the 5th century AD, the Slavs, in short, are divided into eastern (eastern Europe), western ( Central Europe) and southern (Balkan Peninsula).
Today, the Eastern Slavs include: Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.
The invasion of the Hun tribes into the Black Sea region in the 4th century destroyed the Greek and Scythian states. Many historians call this fact the root cause of the future creation of the ancient state by the Eastern Slavs.
Historical reference
An important question is how the Slavs developed new territories, and how their settlement occurred in general. There are 2 main theories of the appearance of the Eastern Slavs in Eastern Europe:
Around the 6th-7th centuries, the Eastern Slavs settled in Eastern Europe. They settled in the territory from Ladoga and Lake Ladoga in the North to Black Sea coast in the south, from the Carpathian Mountains in the West to the Volga territories in the East.
13 tribes lived in this territory. Some sources talk about 15 tribes, but this data does not find historical confirmation. The Eastern Slavs in ancient times consisted of 13 tribes: Vyatichi, Radimichi, Polyan, Polotsk, Volynians, Ilmen, Dregovichi, Drevlyans, Ulichs, Tivertsy, Northerners, Krivichi, Dulebs.
Specifics of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs on the East European Plain:
The main tribes of the Eastern Slavs in ancient times are presented below.
Glade. The most numerous tribe, strong on the banks of the Dnieper, south of Kyiv. It was the clearings that became the drainage of the formation ancient Russian state. According to the chronicle, in 944 they stopped calling themselves Polyans, and began to use the name Rus.
Slovenian Ilmenskie. The northernmost tribe that settled around Novgorod, Ladoga and Lake Peipsi. According to Arab sources, it was the Ilmen, together with the Krivichi, who formed the first state - Slavia.
Krivichi. They settled north of the Western Dvina and in the upper reaches of the Volga. The main cities are Polotsk and Smolensk.
Polotsk residents. They settled south of the Western Dvina. A minor tribal union that did not play an important role in the Eastern Slavs forming a state.
Dregovichi. They lived between the upper reaches of the Neman and the Dnieper. They mostly settled along the Pripyat River. All that is known about this tribe is that they had their own principality, the main city of which was Turov.
Drevlyans. They settled south of the Pripyat River. The main city of this tribe was Iskorosten.
Volynians. They settled more densely than the Drevlyans at the sources of the Vistula.
White Croats. The westernmost tribe, which was located between the Dniester and Vistula rivers.
Duleby. They were located east of the white Croats. One of the weakest tribes that did not last long. They voluntarily became part of the Russian state, having previously split into Buzhans and Volynians.
Tivertsy. They occupied the territory between the Prut and the Dniester.
Uglichi. They settled between the Dniester and the Southern Bug.
Northerners. They mainly occupied the territory adjacent to the Desna River. The center of the tribe was the city of Chernigov. Subsequently, several cities were formed on this territory that are still known today, for example, Bryansk.
Radimichi. They settled between the Dnieper and Desna. In 885 they were annexed to the Old Russian state.
Vyatichi. They were located along the sources of the Oka and Don. According to the chronicle, the ancestor of this tribe was the legendary Vyatko. Moreover, already in the 14th century there are no mentions of the Vyatichi in the chronicles.
The Eastern Slavs had 3 strong tribal unions: Slavia, Kuyavia and Artania.
In relations with other tribes and countries, the Eastern Slavs attempted to capture raids (mutual) and trade. Mainly connections were with:
The Eastern Slavs were mainly engaged in agriculture. The specifics of their settlement determined the methods of cultivating the land. In the southern regions, as well as in the Dnieper region, chernozem soil dominated. Here the land was used for up to 5 years, after which it was depleted. Then people moved to another site, and the depleted one took 25-30 years to recover. This farming method is called folded .
The northern and central region of the East European Plain was characterized by big amount forests Therefore, the ancient Slavs first cut down the forest, burned it, fertilized the soil with ashes, and only then began field work. Such a plot was fertile for 2-3 years, after which it was abandoned and moved on to the next one. This method of farming is called slash-and-burn .
If we try to briefly characterize the main activities of the Eastern Slavs, the list will be as follows: agriculture, hunting, fishing, beekeeping (honey collection).
The main agricultural crop of the Eastern Slavs in ancient times was millet. Marten skins were primarily used by the Eastern Slavs as money. Much attention was paid to the development of crafts.
The beliefs of the ancient Slavs are called paganism because they worshiped many gods. The deities were mainly associated with natural phenomena. Almost every phenomenon or important component of life that the Eastern Slavs professed had a corresponding god. For example:
The ancient Slavs did not build temples. They built rituals in groves, meadows, stone idols and other places. Noteworthy is the fact that almost all fairy-tale folklore in terms of mysticism belongs specifically to the era under study. In particular, the Eastern Slavs believed in the goblin, brownie, mermaids, merman and others.
How were the activities of the Slavs reflected in paganism? It was paganism, which was based on worship of the elements and elements influencing fertility, that shaped the Slavs’ attitude to agriculture as the main way of life.
