The Slavic state traces its history back to 9th century AD. But East Slavic tribes and their neighbors settled the East European Plain even earlier. How did the formation of such a group as the Eastern Slavs take place, why did the separation occur? Slavic peoples– the answers to these questions will be found in the article.

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Population of the East European Plain before the arrival of the Slavs

But even before the Slavic tribes, people settled in this territory. In the south, near the Black Sea (Euxine Pontus) in the 1st millennium BC, Greek colonies(Olbia, Korsun, Panticapaeum, Phanagoria, Tanais).

Later the Romans and Greeks would turn these territories into powerful state of Byzantium. In the steppes, next to the Greeks, lived the Scythians and Sarmatians, Alans and Roxolans (ancestors of modern Ossetians).

Here, in the 1st–3rd centuries AD, the Goths (a Germanic tribe) tried to establish themselves.

In the 4th century AD, the Huns came to this territory, who, in their movement to the West, carried with them part of the Slavic population.

And in VI - the Avars, who formed the Avar Kaganate in the southern Russian lands and who in 7th century destroyed by the Byzantines.

The Avars were replaced by the Ugrians and Khazars, who founded a powerful state in the lower reaches of the Volga - Khazar Khaganate.

Geography of settlement of Slavic tribes

Eastern Slavs (as well as Western and Southern) gradually settled the entire East European Plain, focusing their movement on river highways (settlement map Eastern Slavs clearly shows this):

  • the glades lived on the Dnieper;
  • northerners on the Desna;
  • Drevlyans and Dregovichi on the Pripyat River;
  • Krivichi on the Volga and Dvina;
  • Radimichi on the Sozha River;
  • Vyatichi on the Oka and Don;
  • Slovenian Ilmenskie in the waters of the river. Volokhov, lake Ilmen and lake White;
  • Polotsk on the river Lovat;
  • Dregovichi on the river Sozh;
  • Tivertsy and Ulich on the Dniester and Prut;
  • streets on the Southern Bug and Dniester;
  • Volynians, Buzhans and Dulebs on the Western Bug.

One of the reasons for the settlement of the Eastern Slavs and their settlement in this territory was the presence here water transport arteries– Nevsko-Dnieper and Sheksno-Oksko-Volzhskaya. The presence of these same water transport arteries led to what happened partial separation of Slavic tribes from each other.

Important! The ancestors of the Slavs and some other peoples, their immediate neighbors, were most likely Indo-Europeans who came here from Asia.

Another ancestral home of the Slavs is considered Carpathian mountains(territory located to the east of the Germanic tribes: from the Oder River to the Carpathian Mountains), where they were also known under the name of the Wends and Sklavins during the time of the Goths and Huns(there are mentions of these tribes in the works of Roman historians: Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Ptolemy Claudius). The Proto-Slavic language, according to historians, began to take shape in the middle of the 1st century BC.

East Slavic tribes on the map.

Eastern Slavs and their neighbors

The Slavic tribes had many neighbors who had a strong influence on their culture and life. A feature of political geography was lack of strong states(neighbors of the Eastern Slavs) from the north, northeast and northwest and their presence in the east, southeast, northeast and west.

In the northwest, north and northeast

In the north, northeast and northwest, next to the Slavs lived Finno-Ugric, Baltic-Finnish and Lithuanian tribes:

  • chud;
  • sum;
  • Karela;
  • measuring;
  • Mari (Cheremis);
  • Lithuania;
  • Do you;
  • Samogitians;
  • zhmud.

Places of settlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes: they occupied the territory along Peipus, Ladoga, Onega lakes, the rivers Svir and Neva, Western Dvina and Neman in the north and north-west, along the rivers Onega, Sukhona, Volga and Vyatka in the north and north-east.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the north had a strong influence on such tribes as the Dregovichi, Polochans, Ilmen Slovenians and Krivichi.

They influenced the formation of everyday life, economic practices, religion (the Lithuanian god of thunder Perkun entered the pantheon of Slavic gods under the name of Perun) and the language of these Slavs.

Gradually their territory was occupied Slavs, settled further to the west.

Scandinavians also lived nearby: Varangians, Vikings or Normans, who actively used the Baltic Sea and the future route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” (some for trade, and some for military campaigns in the territory of the Slavs).

Historians know that the strongholds of the Varangians on the lake. Ilmen was the island of Rügen, and Novgorod and Staraya Ladoga (large cities of the Ilmen Slovenians) had close trade ties with Uppsala and Hedyby. This led to cultural and economic rapprochement Slavs with the Baltic countries.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the east and southeast

In the east and southeast, the Eastern Slavs neighbored Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes:

  • Bulgars (Turkic tribe, part of which came to the territory of the Middle Volga region in the 8th century and founded the powerful state of Volga Bulgaria, “splinter” Great Bulgaria, a state that occupied the territory of the Northern Black Sea and Danube regions);
  • Murom, Meshchera, Mordovians (Finnish-Ugric tribes that closely neighbored the Slavs along the Oka, Volga, and partially Don rivers; the Krivichi fort post, the city of Murom, was partially inhabited by representatives Finno-Ugric tribes);
  • Burtases (possibly an Alan, and possibly a Turkic or Finno-Ugric tribe, scientists have not fully figured out their ethnolinguistic affiliation);
  • Khazars (Turkic tribe that settled along the rivers Volga, Don, Northern Donets, Kuban, Dnieper, and controlled the Azov and Caspian territories; the Khazars founded the state of the Khazar Kaganate, the capital of Itil; it is known that Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate in the 8th – early 9th centuries);
  • Adyge (Kasogi);
  • Alans (Yas).

Important! It is worth mentioning the Turkic Khaganate (a neighbor of the Slavic tribes from the east), which existed somewhere in Altai in the 7th-8th centuries. After its collapse, waves of nomads “rolled out” from the Great Steppe to the South Slavic borders. First the Pechenegs, later the Polovtsians.

The Mordovians, Bulgars and Khazars had a strong influence on such Slavic tribes as the Krivichi, Vyatichi, Northerners, Polyans, and Ulichs. The relations of the Slavs with the steppe (which they called the Great) were very strong, although not always peaceful. The Slavic tribes did not always favor these neighbors, periodically fighting on the Azov Sea and Caspian lands.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs - diagram.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the south

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the south - two strong states-, which extended its influence to the entire Black Sea region, and the Bulgarian kingdom (lasted until 1048, extended its influence to the Danube region). The Slavs often visited such major cities these states, such as Surozh, Korsun, Constantinople (Constantinople), Dorostol, Preslav (the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom).

What tribes neighbored Byzantium? Byzantine historians, such as Procopius of Caesarea, were the first to describe in detail the life and customs of the Slavs, whom they called differently: Ants, Slavs, Rus, Wends, Sklavins. They also mentioned about the emerging in Slavic territories large tribal alliances, such as the Anta tribal union, Slavia, Kuyavia, Artania. But, most likely, the Greeks knew the Polyans who lived along the Dnieper better than all other Slavic tribes.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the southwest and west

In the southwest with the Slavs (Tivertsi and White Croats) lived next to the Vlachs(a little later, in 1000, it appeared here kingdom of hungary). From the west, the Volynians, Drevlyans and Dregovichi neighbored the Prussians, Jatwigs (a Baltic tribal group) and Poles (a little later, from 1025, the Kingdom of Poland was formed), who settled along the Neman, Western Bug and Vistula rivers.

What is known about the Slavic tribes

It is known that the Slavs lived in large families, gradually transformed into tribes and a union of tribes.

The largest tribal unions were Polyansky, Drevlyansky, Slovyanoilmensky, with centers in Iskorosten, Novgorod and Kyiv.

In the 4th–5th centuries, the Slavs began to develop military democracy system, which led to social stratification and the formation feudal relations.

It is to this period that the first mentions of the political history of the Slavs date back: Hermanaric (Germanic leader) was defeated by the Slavs, and his successor, Vinitar, destroyed more than 70 Slavic elders who tried to come to an agreement with the Germans (there is a mention of this in “”).

Toponym "Rus"

It is also necessary to talk about the history of the toponym “Rus” and “Russians”. There are several versions of the origin of this toponym.

  1. The word happened from the name of the river Ros, which is a tributary of the Dnieper. The Greeks called the Polyanian tribes Ros.

    Conclusion

    East Slavic tribes and their neighbors were farmers. Grain and other industrial crops (for example, flax) were grown in large quantities. They were also actively involved in beekeeping (honey collection) and hunting. Actively traded with neighbors. Grain, honey and furs were exported.

    Slavs were pagans and had a fairly extensive pantheon of gods, the main of which were Svarog, Rod, Rozhenitsy, Yarilo, Dazhdbog, Lada, Makosh, Veles and others. Slavic clans worshiped the Shchuras(or ancestors), and also believed in brownies, mermaids, goblins, and water creatures.

East Slavs - large group 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 are important moments in history, since they answer the question of how our ancestors appeared in ancient times.

Origin

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, 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:

  • Pro-Germans (Germans, Celts, Romans). Filled Western and Southern Europe.
  • Baltoslavs. They settled between the Vistula and the Dnieper.
  • Iranian and Indian peoples. They settled throughout Asia.

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 Huns 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

Settlement

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:

  • Autochthonous. It suggests that the Slavic ethnic group was originally formed on the East European Plain. The theory was put forward by historian B. Rybakov. There are no significant arguments in its favor.
  • Migration. Suggests that the Slavs migrated from other regions. Soloviev and Klyuchevsky argued that the migration was from the territory of the Danube. Lomonosov spoke about migration from the Baltic territory. There is also a theory of migration from regions of 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 the 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:

  • Geographical. There are no natural barriers, which makes movement easier.
  • Ethnic. A large number of people with different ethnic composition lived and migrated in the territory.
  • Communication skills. The Slavs settled near captivity and alliances that could influence ancient state, but on the other hand they could share their culture.

Map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs in ancient times


Tribes

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, which 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.

Tribal alliances

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:

  • Byzantine Empire (Slav raids and mutual trade)
  • Varangians (Varangian raids and mutual trade).
  • Avars, Bulgars and Khazars (raids on the Slavs and mutual trade). Often these tribes are called Turkic or Türks.
  • Fino-Ugrians (the Slavs tried to seize their territory).

What did you do

The Eastern Slavs were mainly engaged in agriculture. The specifics of their settlement determined the methods of cultivating the land. IN 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 a large number of 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 devoted to the development of crafts.

Beliefs

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:

  • Perun - god of lightning
  • Yarilo - sun god
  • Stribog - god of the wind
  • Volos (Veles) – patron saint of cattle breeders
  • Mokosh (Makosh) – goddess of fertility
  • And so on

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.

Social structure


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Territory of settlement of the Eastern Slavs

Representatives of the official historical science argue that the settlement of the East European Plain by tribes that can be classified as Slavic groups occurred in waves. Thus, the colonization of these territories occurred both in the form of one-time resettlement of tribal groups, and through the gradual resettlement of individual families and clans.

At the same time, in contrast to the western and southern directions of colonization of the Slavic tribes, the development of territories (mostly forest areas) by the Eastern Slavs, according to the research of modern historians, took place quite peacefully, without typical military conflicts with the Baltic population and local residents. It is worth noting that the main enemy in these places was not an aggressive human enemy, but dense, deserted forests. Thus, the forest part of the future Slavic territories had to be settled by the tribes, and not conquered.

But in southern lands, forest-steppe regions, the Slavic tribes faced not the people living there, but aggressive nomadic hordes.

The author of one of the most significant and popular chronicles in the world, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” in his story about the beginning of Rus', notes several East Slavic tribes that settled in the second half of the first millennium in the territories located between the Black and Baltic seas. Among these tribes, Nestor distinguishes: Drevlyans, Polyans, as well as Tivertsy, Glichs, Northerners, White Croats, Buzhans or Volynians (remains of the Duleb tribes), Slovenes, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Dregovich, Drevlyans.

Most of the listed tribes are known to many medieval authors under their proper names. For example, Konstantin Porphyrogenitus describes the life of the Drevlyans, Lendzians (here, most likely, immigrants from the area of ​​​​modern Lodz are meant), Slovenians, as well as Krivichi and.

Researchers note that the bulk of the East Slavic tribes, which settled throughout the territory of the future Old Slavic state, belonged to the “Sklavenskaya” branch of the Slavs. The only exceptions were, perhaps, the northerners, Tivertsy and Uglich.

Also, it is worth noting that those Slavic tribes that at one time colonized Western European territories and the Balkans sometimes participated in the settlement of Russian territories. This is confirmed by numerous objects that were found as a result of archaeological excavations in the forest zone of Eastern Europe. First of all, historians include lunar temple rings among such objects, the origin of which is closely connected with the Middle Danube lands, where these objects acted as popular decorations of local Slavic tribes - Croats, Smolensk, Northerners and Droguvites.

The actual advancement of the bearers of the described lunar rings is most often associated with popularity in folklore, in which historical period, the “Danube theme”, which was transmitted in the form of epics.

The Danube River and the surrounding territories, in which the Slavic tribes realized their identity and ethnic independence, are forever imprinted in the popular Slavic memory as the cradle of a single people.

Thus, some modern scientists propose to consider the text about the settlement of the Slavs from the banks of the Danube across European territories, not as a literary or scientific version, but as a pre-chronicle folk tradition, firmly established in people's memory for many years.

Map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs

Having studied the map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, one can notice that the Slavic tribes were especially attracted to rivers, and mention of the inhabitants of these territories as “river” people is found among Byzantine writers of the sixth century. This is evidenced by the “Tale of Bygone Years” we examined.

In fact, the general contours of the settlement of this ethnic group, as a rule, completely correspond to the lines of river channels. According to the same chronicle of Nestor, the Polyan tribe settled on the lands of the middle Dnieper, the Drevlyans settled along the banks of the Pripyat River, the Dregovich tribe neighbored the Drevlyans in the north, the Buzhans lived to the west of the glades, the northerners lived to the east of the Polyan tribe, whose neighbors in the north were rodimichi. The author moves furthest away from the Vyatichi, who settled in the upper reaches of the Oka. The Krivichi settled along the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper, and the so-called Ilmen Slavs settled near Lake Ilmen.

Procopius of Caesarea and various Arab sources report the settlement of the Eastern Slavs even further - into the Don basin. At the same time, apparently, they were not able to gain a foothold there for long. So, in the eleventh – twelfth centuries, during the creation of the “Tale of Bygone Years,” they were under the rule of nomadic tribes, and the memory that the Slavs once lived there was lost.

Table on the topic: Settlement of the Eastern Slavs

Ancient historians were sure that in the territory Ancient Rus' live warlike tribes and “people with dog heads.” Much time has passed since then, but many mysteries of the Slavic tribes have not yet been solved.

Northerners living in the south

At the beginning of the 8th century, the tribe of northerners inhabited the banks of the Desna, Seim and Seversky Donets, founded Chernigov, Putivl, Novgorod-Seversky and Kursk. The name of the tribe, according to Lev Gumilev, is due to the fact that it assimilated the nomadic Savir tribe, which in ancient times lived in Western Siberia. It is with the Savirs that the origin of the name “Siberia” is associated. Archaeologist Valentin Sedov believed that the Savirs were a Scythian-Sarmatian tribe, and the place names of the northerners were of Iranian origin. Thus, the name of the Seym (Seven) river comes from the Iranian śyama or even from the ancient Indian syāma, which means “dark river”. According to the third hypothesis, the northerners (severs) were immigrants from the southern or western lands. On the right bank of the Danube lived a tribe with that name. It could easily have been “moved” by the invading Bulgars. The northerners were representatives of the Mediterranean type of people. They were distinguished by a narrow face, an elongated skull, and were thin-boned and nosed. They brought bread and furs to Byzantium, and back - gold, silver, and luxury goods. They traded with the Bulgarians and Arabs. The northerners paid tribute to the Khazars, and then entered into an alliance of tribes united by the Novgorod prince Prophetic Oleg. In 907 they took part in the campaign against Constantinople. In the 9th century, the Chernigov and Pereyaslav principalities appeared on their lands.

Vyatichi and Radimichi - relatives or different tribes?

The lands of the Vyatichi were located on the territory of the Moscow, Kaluga, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula, Voronezh and Lipetsk regions. Outwardly, the Vyatichi resembled northerners, but they were not so big-nosed, but they had a high bridge of the nose and brown hair. The Tale of Bygone Years states that the name of the tribe came from the name of the ancestor Vyatko (Vyacheslav), who came “from the Poles.” Other scientists associate the name with the Indo-European root “ven-t” (wet), or with the Proto-Slavic “vęt” (large) and put the name of the tribe on a par with the Wends and Vandals. The Vyatichi were skilled warriors, hunters, and collected wild honey, mushrooms and berries. Cattle breeding and shifting agriculture were widespread. They were not part of Ancient Rus' and more than once fought with the Novgorod and Kyiv princes. According to legend, Vyatko's brother Radim became the founder of the Radimichi, who settled between the Dnieper and Desna in the Gomel and Mogilev regions of Belarus and founded Krichev, Gomel, Rogachev and Chechersk. The Radimichi also rebelled against the princes, but after the battle on Peshchan they submitted. Chronicles mention them in last time in 1169.

Are Krivichi Croats or Poles?

The passage of the Krivichi, who from the 6th century lived in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper and became the founders of Smolensk, Polotsk and Izborsk, is not known for certain. The name of the tribe came from the ancestor Kriv. The Krivichi were different from other tribes tall. They had a nose with a pronounced hump and a clearly defined chin. Anthropologists classify the Krivichi people as the Valdai type of people. According to one version, the Krivichi are migrated tribes of white Croats and Serbs, according to another, they are immigrants from the north of Poland. The Krivichi worked closely with the Varangians and built ships on which they sailed to Constantinople. The Krivichi became part of Ancient Rus' in the 9th century. The last prince of the Krivichi, Rogvolod, was killed with his sons in 980. The principalities of Smolensk and Polotsk appeared on their lands.

Slovenian vandals

The Slovenes (Ilmen Slovenes) were the northernmost tribe. They lived on the shores of Lake Ilmen and on the Mologa River. Origin unknown. According to legends, their ancestors were Sloven and Rus, who founded the cities of Slovensk (Veliky Novgorod) and Staraya Russa before our era. From Sloven, power passed to Prince Vandal (known in Europe as the Ostrogothic leader Vandalar), who had three sons: Izbor, Vladimir and Stolposvyat, and four brothers: Rudotok, Volkhov, Volkhovets and Bastarn. The wife of Prince Vandal Advinda was from the Varangians. Slovenes continually fought with the Varangians and their neighbors. It is known that the ruling dynasty descended from the son of Vandal Vladimir. The Slavens were engaged in agriculture, expanded their possessions, influenced other tribes, and traded with the Arabs, Prussia, Gotland and Sweden. It was here that Rurik began to reign. After the emergence of Novgorod, the Slovenes began to be called Novgorodians and founded the Novgorod Land.

Russians. A people without territory

Look at the map of the settlement of the Slavs. Each tribe has its own lands. There are no Russians there. Although it was the Russians who gave the name to Rus'. There are three theories of the origin of the Russians. The first theory considers the Rus to be Varangians and is based on the “Tale of Bygone Years” (written from 1110 to 1118), it says: “They drove the Varangians overseas, and did not give them tribute, and began to control themselves, and there was no truth among them , and generation after generation arose, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: “Let’s look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus'. Those Varangians were called Rus, just as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, so are these.” The second says that the Rus are a separate tribe that came to Eastern Europe earlier or later than the Slavs. The third theory says that the Rus are the highest caste of the East Slavic tribe of the Polyans, or the tribe itself that lived on the Dnieper and Ros. “The glades are now called Rus'” - it was written in the “Laurentian” Chronicle, which followed the “Tale of Bygone Years” and was written in 1377. Here the word “Rus” was used as a toponym and the name Rus was also used as the name of a separate tribe: “Rus, Chud and Slovenes,” - this is how the chronicler listed the peoples who inhabited the country.
Despite research by geneticists, controversy surrounding the Rus continues. According to the Norwegian researcher Thor Heyerdahl, the Varangians themselves are descendants of the Slavs.

The ancient Slavs are the early medieval tribes that lived in the 6th-8th centuries, when active settlement took place on the territory of Eurasia. In written sources, the first mentions of them date back to the 6th century AD. Today we will get acquainted with the origin, settlement and occupations of the ancient Slavs.

Origin

Before considering the activities of the ancient Slavs, let's talk about their origin and settlement. Scientists clearly define the following archaeological cultures of the 6th-7th centuries as Slavic:

  1. Prague-Korchak (upper Elbe - middle Danube).
  2. Penkovskaya (middle Dniester - Seversky Donets).
  3. Kolochinskaya (Gomel and Bryansk regions).

Most scientists consider the Kyiv archaeological culture of the 2nd-4th centuries to be the predecessor of the cultures listed above. Regarding even more early periods in the history of the Slavs, the assumptions of V.V. enjoy authority. Sedova. The scientist believed that the early Slavic cultures include the culture of under-klesh burials of the 4th-1st centuries BC, which, after the migration of Celtic tribes, transformed into the Przeworsk culture. In Poland, the Celts assimilated with the Slavs, whom the scientist associates with the Wends. The Slavic origin of the Wends was first mentioned by the Gothic historian Jordan in the 6th century AD.

In the II-III centuries. There was a migration of Przeworsk tribes from the Vistula-Oder region towards the interfluve of the Dnieper and Dniester, which was then inhabited by Late Scythian and Sarmatian tribes. At the same time, the Germanic tribes of the Goths and Gepids were moving to the southeast. Thus, in the area from the lower Danube to the forest-steppe left bank of the Dnieper, a multi-ethnic culture with a predominance of Slavs was formed. With the Slavicization of the local Scythians and Sarmatians, a new tribal union was formed in the Dnieper region, which in Byzantine sources was called Antes.

According to V.V. Sedov, the Antes’ belonging to the Slavs is undeniable. The beliefs, language and activities of the ancient Slavs and Antes were almost the same. However, Byzantine historians of the 6th century noted that there were a number of differences between the Antes and the Slavs, in addition to territorial ones. It is likely that they were separate tribal formations and also had ethnographic differences.

According to Sedov, five Slavic tribes emerged from the Ants: Serbs, Croats, Ulichs, Tivertsy and Polyans. When the 7th century came to replace the 6th, the Antes were allies of the Roman Empire and rebelled against the Avars. The Avars at that time had enough strength to completely destroy the enemy. Whether this happened or not is unknown, but after the war of 602, mentions of the Antes disappeared from the pages of sources.

The Slavic population of Europe was represented by tribal unions, each of which we will briefly consider below.

Duleby

This tribal union of the ancient Slavs, whose settlement and occupation we are considering, starting from the 6th century, lived in the basin of the Bug and the tributaries of the Pripyat. Researchers have recognized the Dulebs as one of the most ancient East Slavic ethnic groups. Like many other ancient Slavs, the occupations of the Dulebs were mainly associated with agriculture. It was from the Dulebs that tribal unions were later formed - the Volynians and the Drevlyans. In the seventh century, the Dulebs were attacked by the Avars. In 907 they took part in the campaign against Constantinople under the leadership of Prince Oleg. In the 10th century, the association disintegrated, and its lands became part of Kievan Rus.

Volynians

This tribal union inhabited both sides of the Western Bug and the area near the source of the Pripyat River. Presumably the ancestors of the Volynians were Dulebs. In Russian chronicles, this ethnic group is found for the first time in 907, when its representatives, as tolkinins (translators), took part in the above-mentioned campaign against Byzantium. In 981, Prince Vladimir subjugated the lands on which this tribal union lived. This is how the city of Vladimir-Volynsky appeared.

Vyatichi

A tribal union that lived in the basins of the upper and middle parts of the Oka River, as well as along the Moscow River. Their ancestor, judging by the Tale of Bygone Years, was Vyatko, who came from the Poles with his brother Radim - the ancestor of the Radimichi. According to archaeological observations, the settlement of the Vyatichi occurred from the territories of the Dnieper left bank or the upper reaches of the Dniester. Many researchers consider the local Baltic population to be the substrate of the Vyatichi. The tribal union settled in the Oka basin in the 6th-8th centuries. As allies, he took part in the campaign against Byzantium, but for a long time he was not dependent on the Kyiv princes, remaining pagans. TO XII century the territory of the Vyatichi was divided between the Chernigov, Ryazan and Rostov-Suzdal principalities.

Drevlyans

This tribal union for four centuries (VI-X) occupied the territory of Polesie and the right bank of the Dnieper, near the rivers Teterev, Ubort, Uzh, and Stviga, located slightly to the west of the glades. The area of ​​his residence coincides with the area of ​​the Luka-Raykovets culture. According to the chronicler's explanation, the name "Drevlyans" is associated with their preference to live in forests. On the lands of this tribal union, burials were discovered with corpses cremated in urns, which were buried in moundless burial grounds. Closer to the 8th century, burials in mounds began to spread, by the 10th century, burials without urns, and by the 13th century, burials in mounds.

Due to the lack of weapons in the graves of the Drevlyans, we can assume that they were a peaceful tribe like many other ancient Slavs. The life and occupations of the Drevlyans were built around agriculture, raising livestock and other crafts (pottery, blacksmithing, weaving, leatherworking). In 883, Prince Oleg conquered them and imposed tribute on them. In 945, Prince Igor went to the Drevlyans for tribute and decided to take more than he should have, for which he was killed. The widow Olga's revenge was cruel. She burned the city of Iskorosten - the capital of the Drevlyans, captured the elders, killed some of the people, took another part prisoner and left only a few to pay tribute. The entire land of the tribe was then annexed to the Kyiv inheritance.

Dregovichi

The exact boundaries of the habitat of this tribal union have not yet been established. A number of researchers, including V.V. Sedov, it is believed that in the 6th-9th centuries they occupied the lands of the middle part of the Pripyat River basin. When settling Belarus, the Dregovichi moved from south to north, which indicates the southern origin of the tribe. According to the chronicle, the Dregovichi, Drevlyans, Polyans and Krivichi descended from the Horutan, Serbian and White Croatian tribes who settled on the Belarusian lands, who came there in the 6th-9th centuries. In the 10th century, the lands of the Dregovichi became part of Kievan Rus, and even later - the Polotsk and Turov principalities.

Krivichi

This tribal union of the VI-XI centuries. lived in the territory of what is now Smolensk, Bryansk, Pskov, Mogilev and Vitebsk regions, as well as eastern Latvia. It was formed from the local Baltic and newcomer Slavic population. The Krivichi are divided into two large groups: Polotsk-Smolensk and Pskov. In the culture of the Polotsk-Smolensk Krivichi, jewelry of the Baltic type was found. The Tale of Bygone Years states that in the middle of the 9th century, the Krivichi paid tribute to the “overseas” Varangians, and a little later invited Rurik and his brothers to reign. In 882, Prince Oleg went to Smolensk and took it. Like other Slavic tribes, they went with him to Byzantium and paid tribute. In the 11th-12th centuries, the Smolensk and Polotsk principalities were formed on the territory of the Krivichi settlement.

Glade

This tribal union of Slavs lived in the area of ​​modern Kyiv. Since the territory of its settlement was at the junction of a number of archaeological cultures, the origin of the glades remains unclear. Until about the middle of the 8th century, the glades were in a defensive position relative to neighboring tribes, but cultural and economic superiority allowed them to go on the offensive. As a result, by the end of the 9th century, the Drevlyans, Northerners, Dregovichs and many other tribal unions were subject to their control. Christianity settled in the glades earlier than others. The central city of the Polyanian lands was Kyiv. One of the main versions of the origin of Rus', which is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, is associated with this tribal union.

According to scientists, this version looks more plausible than the “Varangian legend”. The Old Russian author considered the Polyans to be Slavs, who were the first to use the word “Rus” for their identification. According to the chronicler Nestor, the glades differed sharply from their neighbors in moral properties and forms of social life. In the second half of the 10th century, another people came to the lands of the glades, which many historians call the Ruta-Rus, who came from Great Moravia. Over time, the Polyane and the Rus mixed and began to speak the Slavic language, and their union was called Polyane-Rus.

Radimichi

The people lived in the Upper Dnieper region in the 8th-9th centuries. Its founder was Radim and his brother Vyatko, who came “from the Poles.” In the 9th century, the Radimichi paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. In 885 they were subjugated by Prince Oleg. Last mentioned information about this tribal union dates back to 1169, when its territory was divided between the Chernigov and Smolensk principalities.

Northerners

The Northerners are a tribal union that lived in the basins of the Desna, Sula and Seim rivers. From the west, their neighbors were the Dregovichi and Polyan, and from the north, the Vyatichi and Radimichi. Scientists correlate this tribal union with the carriers of the Volyntsev culture who lived on the left bank of the Dnieper in the 7th-9th centuries. As with other ancient Slavs, the northerners' occupations were centered around agriculture. In the 9th century they paid tribute to the Khazars until they were subjugated by the Kyiv prince Oleg in 882. Later, the Principality of Chernigov was formed on the territory of the northerners.

Slovenian Ilmenskie

This tribal union lived in the Novgorod region, near Lake Ilmen, not far from the Krivichi. Together with their Slovenian neighbors, the Ilmenskys took part in the calling of the Varangians. The warriors of this tribal union fought for the squad of Prince Oleg and went against the Polotsk Prince Rogvold under the leadership of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich.

Tivertsy

This East Slavic tribe lived in the area between the Prut, Dniester and Danube rivers, including on the Bujan coast of the Black Sea. The Tiverts took part in the campaigns of princes Oleg and Igor. In the middle of the 10th century, they began to become part of Kievan Rus, and at the beginning of the 12th century, they went north under pressure from the Polovtsians and Pechenegs and mixed with other Slavic tribes.

Ulichi

The Ulichs, judging by the Tale of Bygone Years, lived in lower reaches Bug, Dnieper and on the Black Sea coast. The city of Peresechen was the center of the tribal union. For a long time the Ulichi resisted the Kyiv princes. Unlike most East Slavic tribes, they did not take part in the campaign against Constantinople led by Prince Oleg. At the turn of the 940s, voivode Sveneld besieged Peresechen for three whole years. Under the pressure of nomadic tribes, the Ulichi nevertheless moved north and became part of Kievan Rus.

Now let’s take a closer look at the activities, life, morals and customs of the ancient Slavs.

Life and customs

The ancient Slavs were a sedentary agricultural people who knew a lot about growing useful plants. They raised domestic animals, fished and hunted, and also improved their skills in some crafts. The ancestors had no ambitions regarding the neighboring lands, so military affairs was never included in the list of main occupations of the ancient Slavs. As linguistic analysis shows, the Slavs began to master sedentary image life back when we were part Indo-European peoples. They knew how to grind grains and make flour from them, which resulted in good bread. Yeast, mash and beer were made from flour and hops; from flax and hemp fibers - yarn, from animal skin - boots, and from leather with wool - casings and fur coats. Even before the division, the Slavs knew how to process certain metals. The oldest settlements discovered by archaeologists date back to the 5th-6th centuries BC. The finds obtained in these excavations allow to modern man restore a picture of the life of the ancient Slavs: life, morals, customs and activities.

The ancient Slavs did not fortify their settlements. They lived in buildings that were slightly recessed into the soil; in above-ground houses, the frame of which was supported by pillars dug into the ground. During excavations of settlements and graves of the ancient Slavs, rings, clasps, pins, as well as a variety of ceramic products (bowls, pots, jugs, cups, amphorae) were found. Later, the Slavs began to build their houses in places difficult to reach for enemies - in swamps or high banks of reservoirs. Since the main economic activity of the ancient Slavs was agriculture, they chose areas with fertile soils for settlements. In the cold season, the Slavs moved into semi-dugouts, in which they built adobe or stone ovens.

Socio-political system

The political basis of the East Slavic tribal unions were the institutions of the so-called military democracy. They were led by princes who performed administrative and military functions. They relied on the squad and military brotherhood, consisting of professional soldiers. Princely power was pre-state in nature. It was an authoritative power and responsibility, not an authoritarian power domination and privilege. In addition to the prince and the squad, the people's assembly "veche" and the council of elders played an important role in socio-political activities.

Before the first signs of statehood appeared, the Slavs lived in a community, in which the concept of private property was gradually consolidated. Each family had the right to own a lyadina - a plot of cleared land.

The integration of tribal unions of the eastern ancient Slavs, whose occupations and life we ​​examined, led to the formation of several geopolitical centers in the 9th century. In the south, clearings with a center in Kyiv stood out, and in the north-west - Slovenia, with a center first in Ladoga and then in Novgorod. When these two centers united, a new one was formed organizational form society, called the Old Russian State.

Religion

Considering the origin, settlement, occupation and life of the ancient Slavs, one cannot miss such important aspect like a religion. Like most peoples of that time, the ancient Slavs were pagans. There are no written religious texts from the original source, and there is no accurate information about the beliefs of these tribes. Sources by this issue The only sources that appear are the texts of Arab and Greek travelers, archaeological sites and ethnographic information.

Totemic beliefs were quite widespread among the Slavs. The characteristic totem animals were: elk, bear and wild boar. Gradually, the praise of animal ancestors was transformed into the veneration of the sacred animal of a particular deity. So, for Perun the boar was sacred, and for Veles the bear was sacred. A pan-Slavic pantheon of deities that could be considered unified was never created. last try to create something similar was undertaken in 980 by Prince Vladimir. The Kyiv pantheon he created included six deities. Their selection served political purposes, which reflected the true beliefs of the people of Kiev.

At the head of the pantheon was the god Perun, who was considered the patron saint of princes and military squads. In the background were the deities: Stribog, Khors, Simargl, Dazhdbog and Makosh (the only female deity of this pantheon). Meanwhile, Veles, one of the gods most respected by the people, the patron of wealth, trade and livestock, was not included in the princely pantheon. This was a rather strange decision, given the main activities of the ancient Slavs, briefly outlined above.

Nevertheless, Veles was given his due - his idol was installed at the foot of the Starokievskaya Mountain in Podol. This religious reform was not successful, so it was decided to replace existing faith to Byzantine. In 988, Rus' adopted Christianity. Slavic paganism has sunk into oblivion, but its echoes can still be found in folk culture in the form of beliefs, fairy tales, fortune telling, songs and rituals.

Finally

Today we looked at the settlement, occupation, and beliefs of the ancient Slavs. In conclusion, it is worth noting that these tribes lived in the VI-VIII centuries. in Eastern Europe. The life and activities of the ancient Slavs were predominantly peaceful, aimed at creation and development.