Home Diseases and pests Eastern Slavs in the 7th-9th centuries. Beliefs and life of the Eastern Slavs. Tribes of the Eastern Slavs

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Eastern Slavs in the 7th-9th centuries. Beliefs and life of the Eastern Slavs. Tribes of the Eastern Slavs

East Slavs. VI–VIII century

Around the 5th century, Slavic expansion began from the territory of the Carpathian region, the upper reaches of the Dniester, as well as the right bank of the middle Dnieper to the west, south and east. To the west, the Slavs migrated towards the upper Vistula and then the Elbe, skirting the outer Western Carpathians (that is, from the eastern and northern sides of the Carpathians). To the east, Slavic tribes spread towards the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka. The Slavs moved south towards the Danube, then along it to the west, settling areas along the tributaries of the Danube and invading the Byzantine Empire. And by the middle of the 6th century, individual Slavic tribes moved from the Danube region to the north. Around 550-60 The Masurian Lake District (north-eastern Poland) is being reached by a wave of immigrants from the middle Danube. In 575–675 a second, more powerful wave of Slavs reaches this region, displacing local population. In the 5th-beginning of the 6th century, the Masurian lake region and more eastern regions (the Neman basin, the Western Dvina, the upper Volga region and the upper Oka) were inhabited by Baltic tribes and remnants of the Finno-Ugric peoples.

In the 6th–8th centuries, the Slavic population grew and the Slavs occupied almost all of eastern Europe. In the north they were called "Vends". At this time, the Baltic Sea was called the Venedian Sea, and amber was called the Venedian stone. Estonians still call Russians “Venas”. In the south they were called "sklavins", and in the east - "antes".

In the first half of the 6th century. settlement areas of Slavic-speaking tribes were formed on the East European Plain. The forest strip from the Western Bug to the Middle Dnieper, limited to the north by Pripyat, was inhabited Slovene-Duleby. To the south and east of them lived antes. In the west, they occupied the approaches to the Danube near its delta, inhabited the forest-steppe from the Seret to the Dnieper, the forest-steppe and partly steppe regions of the Lower Dnieper and Left Bank, and partly the Podesnie region with Posem. The expansion of the Anta range to the east is reflected in written sources. Procopius of Caesarea noted in the middle of the 6th century. numerous Ant tribes in the depths of the Dnieper Left Bank in the region Seversky Donets.

Slavic tribes of the Left Bank, known as Volyntsevo residents, were forced to admit dependence on what arose in the 7th century. Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars also settled here, and the Alan-Bulgar tribes submitted to the Kagan. Without an alliance with the Kaganate, it would have been impossible for the Volyntsev tribes to settle east, to the Seversky Donets and the Don. And the Volyntsevo people who settled on the Don were definitely allies and tributaries of the Kaganate. However, as the Slavic principle strengthened, dependence on the alien Steppe became more and more painful. Moreover, Khazaria already in the 8th century. was rocked by several crises related to Arab pressure.

In the 6th century the Slavs occupied Volyn ( Volynians), southern steppes up to the Black Sea ( sivertsy and ulich), Pripyat basin ( Drevlyans) and southern Belarus ( Dregovichi). Western Slavs settled in the northern part of Belarus, according to the chronicler, who came to the center of Russia from Poland, spreading in the 7th–8th centuries as Radimichi south to the Dnieper tributary Sozh and how Vyatichi- east to the Upper and Middle Oka basin, settling among the local Finno-Ugric tribes. The basin of the Velikaya River, the upper reaches of the Lovat and Western Dvina were occupied Pskov Krivichi. The lands in the basins of the Lovat, Meta and Volkhov rivers and the shores of Lake Ilmen were inhabited by the union Slovenian Ilmensky. Slavs who settled in the 8th century. in the middle reaches of the Western Dvina and in the valley of the Polota River, they soon separated and formed their own union Polotsk

IN Soviet time versions of the autochthony of the Slavic tribes prevailed in most of Eastern Europe or Poland, and recent archaeological data indicate the formation of a noticeable mass of Slavs as part of a single ethnic group also in the area of the Kiev archaeological culture (II–IV centuries).

There is no doubt that part of the Antes descended from the Kyiv region down the Dnieper, to the confluence of the Ros and beyond. The inevitable overpopulation of these lands in this case most likely led to the formation of a separate group of Ant settlements much further to the south - on both banks of the river at its bend (Yatseva Balka, Igren, Voloshskoye, etc.). In their advance from the north, these Antes had to inevitably pass the confluence of the Orel River on the left bank (other - Russian Angle). The name of the East Slavic tribal association comes from this river Uglichi (streets), occupied the Lower Dnieper lands in the 9th–10th centuries. Most likely, the name “Uglichi” appeared precisely in the Ant era and was applied to the Ant tribe, which settled on the very border of the Alan-Bulgar steppes, beyond the mouth of the Orel-Ugla. Prevalence in Slavic tradition The Turkicized form of this name - “Ulichi” - is explained precisely by the long-standing interaction of the Uglichs and the Bulgar nomads in this area. This general picture of Slavic settlement then persisted for a long time.

Slavs V–VII centuries. They were mainly farmers and cattle breeders and chose fertile river valleys rich in herbs for settlements. The main type of dwelling was above-ground log houses, with a heater or clay oven in the center or in the corner of the room, as well as semi-dugouts. In the VI-VII centuries. individual typically Slavic above-ground log cabins with a stove or hearth in the corner or in the center of the room appear in Pskov, in Staraya Ladoga(VIII century), in the Msta River basin.

Significantly more Slavic settlements of this era were noted in the Western Dvina basin, throughout the entire Dnieper basin, in the upper reaches of the Oka and Seversky Donets. The most densely populated Slavic region of Eastern Europe was the Upper and Middle Dniester basin and the middle reaches of the Southern Bug. In the 8th century the fortifications of Izborsk (Pskov region), Staraya Ladoga, Gnezdov (on the portage from the Dnieper to the Western Dvina 10 km west of Smolensk), early Murom, the settlement of Timerevo (Yaroslavl region), Sarskoe settlement, the center-fortress of Khotomel in the lower reaches of the Goryn River, which became a prototype of future military camp cities, satellites of the capitals of large princely appanages of Russia in the 9th–12th centuries. In the 8th century The Novgorod Slovenes, coming from the Ilmen region, settled the Upper Volga region and penetrated to the shores of White Lake, the future estate of Prince Sineus.

Then the Novgorod Slovenes settled the shores of Lake Nero with a new powerful stream of settlers, which laid the foundation for Rostov the Great. The fertile lands of the Vladimir-Suzdal region were covered with many Slavic burial mounds. More early history these lands are not yet known.

In the 9th century. Ancient Kyiv expanded, Chernigov took shape, a fortress was built in Staraya Ladoga. At the same time, suburbs grew around the cities. The Slavs moving into the forests of Eastern Europe in the 5th–8th centuries. swept away from their path the settlements of the former population - the Baltic on the Upper Dnieper and the Finno-Ugric between the Oka and Volga rivers. Moving north, the Slavs, whole tribes or individual clans, came into contact with the Balto-Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples, who had long inhabited the forest belt of eastern Europe. Often such meetings ended in armed clashes.

Historically, in the east of Europe, there were, as it were, two Russias - forest-steppe and northern forest. Slavic families dating back to the 5th–10th centuries. from the western lands Polyans, Volynians, Croats, Dulebs on the middle Dnieper, Western Dvina, Oka, Volga and White Lake, Volkhov, on the Velikaya River and Lake Peipus and Pskov, created new unions in new places in the forest belt of Eastern Europe Krivichi, Polotsk, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, although adjacent to the same glades and Volynians, but contrasted them with their own system of power, economy and defense.

Gradually in the VI-VIII centuries. to the north of the lands occupied by the classical Slavic unions of Polans, Volynians, Croats, Northerners, Dulebs, etc. (Prague-Korchak culture V-VII centuries), a system of Slavic unions was formed, which in the IX-XI centuries. The ancient Russian chronicler gave the names of the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Polotsk, Slovenians of Novgorod.

In the VI-VII centuries. Krivichi (Pskov) settled in the basin of the Velikaya River and on the shores of the Pskov and Peipus lakes. On the site of the later Pskov, the Slavs erected above-ground log houses heated by stoves or hearths. On the sides of the lands of the Krivichi of Pskov lived the tribes of the Balts and Chuds (Ests).

There is also an indication of the existence of an alliance between the East Slavic tribes during the time of the legendary Prince Kiy: “And they lived among themselves in peace Polyana, Drevlyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Vyatichi And Croats. Duleby they lived according to Bugu where now Volynians , A incriminate And Tivertsy sat on Dniester and near Danube » .

In the VI–VIII centuries. Eastern Slavs are often mentioned together with the Khazars, which is assessed by historians as evidence of their allied and, later, tributary relations.

Rice. 28. Scheme of Slavic tribes

In the VI–IX centuries. on the southeastern borders of the Slavic lands, on the ever-turbulent border with the world of nomads, fortifications surrounded by settlements and foothills were most often built on the right (western or northern) banks of the Vorskla, Pel, Sula, Seim, Desna, middle Don, upper Oka. On other lands of historical Rus' in the VI-IX centuries. There were also fortified settlements, but their number was smaller than in the forest-steppes of the left bank of the middle Dnieper. The proximity to the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes made itself felt almost every year, and the Slavs of the future Pereyaslavl, Seversky and Ryazan principalities had to defend their borders already in the 6th–8th centuries.

The movement of Slavic tribes towards the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka in the 6th century is clearly confirmed archaeologically. From this time on, we can confidently consider these lands inhabited by the Slavs. In the 6th century, the Slavic Ant tribes resisted the Avar Khaganate. After the Avars defeated the unification of the Antes of Prince Mezamir and conquered the Slavic lands in Scythia Minor, the remaining squads of different tribes gathered at Prince Dobrita. At the Slavic Assembly, it was decided to join forces to go against the Avars and the Greeks. In the 580s the Slavic invasion covered most of Moesia and Thrace. Serbs coming from the area of modern Berlin (then the Slavic settlement of Berlo), Slovenians and Croats from the Carpathians, Drevlyans, Dregovichi and other Slavic tribes poured into the Balkans and many clans remained there. In the Rhodope Mountains, at that time, a bas-relief of the Slavic god Svyatovit (the so-called “Madar Horseman”) was carved on a rock, and next to it was placed a runic record of the chronicle of the times of the first Slavic-Bulgar khans. A Georgian document has been preserved, which says that a certain Russian prince attacked Byzantium, took prisoners and tribute from the Greeks. He then took part in the siege of Constantinople in 626.

The Avars at this time negotiated with many Slavic princes, trying to convince them to send troops against Byzantium. Connected with these negotiations is the incident of the appearance of three Russian men (with gusli), who conveyed to Bayan the refusal of the Ilmen Slavs to participate in his wars due to the long journey. Having accidentally arrived in Constantinople, the men were afraid to return along the same route back, fearing the revenge of the Avars annoyed by the refusal, and asked the emperor to help them return by a different route. And he sent them with his embassy to the King of the Franks, Louis I. And in the Bertin Annals they were described as official ambassadors, a conversation with whom made Louis I suspect that they were Swedish spies (Sveons, Normans). And these were simple men from Rus', who probably had little understanding of what they were being asked about and, out of embarrassment, confirmed that they were “northern people.”

When the Slavs occupied the lands beyond the Danube, and the Gothic army fought with the Slavs on the Dnieper, Krivorog from the Beloyar clan from the Kuban around 580–600 began a campaign against Surozh in Taurida, occupied by the Greeks. The Greeks were defeated. They began to please Krivorog and brought him rich gifts. And at this time their warriors attacked Golun, which was defenseless at that time. In the “Book of Veles” we read: “And then the Greeks sent soldiers in iron armor at us and beat us. And a lot of Russian blood was shed on the ground, and there was no end to the Russian groans.” Perhaps in memory of this prince the Krivoy Rog tract was named (on the site of which the city of the same name grew).

In the 780s, the Novgorod prince Bravlin II made a campaign from the north along the Dnieper and further to the Don, liberating all Slavic lands from the Khazars along the way. Under Bravlin, Rus' came together from Baltic Sea and Novgorod to the Don. Bravlin II, together with Zhmud, neighbors of the Novgorodians, invaded Crimea. But Bravlin in Crimea did not touch the Goths, but attacked greek cities coast from Chersonese to Kerch and in 786, after a 10-day siege, he took Surozh. This is described in the monument of Byzantine literature “The Life of St. Stephen of Sourozh”. (For more details, see the chapter “ Crimea. VIII century BC e. – VIII century AD e.")

Although the Slavs entered the early Middle Ages no longer as a monolithic people, but divided into three main tribal formations (Vends, Sklavins and Ants), during the period under review, the early medieval geographical and partially associated cultural isolation of the Western, Eastern and Southern Slavs from each other took place (according to modern classification). At the same time, the separation of individual tribes associated with migration and the creation of new inter-groups began. tribal unions and the formation of Slavic peoples and states with their participation - Sarmatia, Gothia, Gunnia, Avar Khaganate, Great Bulgaria, Khazaria, Samo State, Carantania, Serbia, Croatia, Great Moravian Empire, Russian Kaganate, Novgorod Rus, Kievan Rus.

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In today's lesson you will get acquainted with the ancient Slavic tribes, the peculiarities of their economy and life, and learn the names of the gods worshiped by the Eastern Slavs and their neighbors.

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Lesson:Eastern Slavs inVII - IXcenturies

In the 7th - 9th centuries. The Slavs occupied a vast territory of Eastern Europe. They settled in the territory from Lake Ladoga to the middle reaches of the Dnieper River, from the Bug River to the upper reaches of the Dnieper. A feature of the settlement of the Slavs was that the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs formed in the basins large rivers, where centers of tribal principalities subsequently arose. The Ilmen Slavs settled in the area of Lake Ilmen and the Dvina River. The Dregovichi and Drevlyans settled in the area of the Pripyat River. In the upper reaches of the Dnieper along the Sozh and Seim rivers lived the Radimichi. In the middle reaches of the Dnieper, glades settled. In the Desna River basin there are northerners. In the northeast, in the Oka River basin, there are Vyatichi.

Rice. 1. Settlement of the Eastern Slavs ()

The main occupations of the Slavs were based on the characteristics of the land. Slash-and-burn agriculture was practiced in the forests. The steppe land was developed through fallow land. But still the yield was low due to the harsh continental climate. Other industries of the Slavs were fishing, hunting, and beekeeping was also common. The Novgorod-Ilmen region was rich in forests, and the fur trade flourished there. In the southern regions, hunting for moose and bears was practiced. The abundance of rivers, lakes, and a well-branched water transport system contributed to the development of shipping, trade, and various crafts that provided products for exchange. Large cities and tribal centers such as Kyiv and others were founded at the crossroads of trade routes.

Rice. 2. Slash-and-burn farming ()

On the eve of the formation of statehood, the Eastern Slavs lived as a neighboring community, in which private property took shape. Each family had the right to cleared land - lyadina. In Slavic society, military leaders were identified and a squad was formed. A squad is a special group of the population engaged only in military activities, in particular campaigns. For defense, there was a militia of free community members. The vigilantes not only participated in campaigns of conquest, but also managed the annexed lands. At its head was a prince, to whom the squad and governors were subordinate. Lower in position were smerds or, as they were also called, husbands (heads of patriarchal families who had the right to participate in the army). The servants had an even lower status - these were members of the husbands' families and slaves who did not have the right to participate in the army.

The religion of the Eastern Slavs was complex, varied, with detailed customs. Its origins go back to Indo-European ancient beliefs, to Paleolithic times. The religion that existed among different nations before they adopted Christianity or Islam, it was called paganism (polytheism). The Slavs populated the world with different gods and goddesses. At their head was the great Svarog, the god of the universe. His sons - Svarozhichi - the sun and fire, were carriers of light and warmth. The sun god Dazhdbog was highly revered by the Slavs. The Slavs prayed to the clan and women in labor - the god and goddesses of fertility. This cult was associated with the agricultural activities of the population and therefore was especially popular. God Veles was revered by the Slavs as the patron of cattle breeding, Stribog commanded the winds. As the Slavs merged with some Iranian and Finno-Ugric tribes, their gods migrated to the Slavic pantheon. Thus, in the 8th - 9th centuries, the Slavs revered the Iranian sun god Khoros. With the beginning of military campaigns among the Slavs, the god of thunder and lightning, Perun, borrowed from the Balts, increasingly came to the fore. A special attitude towards dead soldiers appears (funeral pyres, burial mounds, and so on). The Slavs had an annual cycle of agricultural holidays: Kolyada, day spring equinox, Maslenitsa, May 1-2 celebrated the appearance of the first spring shoots, the holiday of Ivan Kupala, and so on. Many of these holidays have survived to this day. In every house the Slavs had idols of gods; there was also a cult of Shurov, small family idols of houses.

The Slavs did not have friendly relations with all their neighbors. Slavic legends tell about the attack of the Turkic-speaking nomads Avars on the Slavic tribe of Dulebs. In the 8th century, the East Slavic tribes of the Polans, Severians, Vyatichi and Radimichi conquered the Khazars, forcing them to pay tribute.

So, living surrounded by various tribes and peoples, the Eastern Slavs formed a special civilization.

Mavrodin V.V. Where did the Russian land come from? M., 1986.
Rybakov B.A. World of history. The initial centuries of Russian history. M., 1984

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When did the Slavs appear on the territory of our country?
How did nature influence the activities and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs?
What were the relationships between the Slavs and neighboring tribes and peoples?

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, differing in temperament strong character, endurance, courage, 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.

Territories and tribes of the Eastern Slavs

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:

Tribes	Places of resettlement	Cities
	The most numerous tribe settled on the banks of the Dnieper and south of Kyiv
Slovenian Ilmenskie	Settlement around Novgorod, Ladoga and Lake Peipsi	Novgorod, Ladoga
	North of the Western Dvina and the upper reaches of the Volga	Polotsk, Smolensk
Polotsk residents	South of the Western Dvina
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
	Lived east of the White Croats
	The territory between the Prut and the Dniester
	Between the Dniester and the Southern Bug
Northerners	Territories along the Desna River	Chernigov
Radimichi	They settled between the Dnieper and Desna. In 885 they joined the Old Russian state
	Along the sources of the Oka and Don

Activities of the Eastern Slavs

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”.

In Slavic farms they bred 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 major cities, breeding centers.

Social order and tribal alliances

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. Private property appeared, but it did not extend 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 concentrate in the hands of elders and military leaders, and they also received most of 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.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs

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. Later from the east to the Don and to Northern Black Sea region the Sarmatians came.

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.

Nomad raids

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 He 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.

Customs and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs

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 - female goddess, Perun is 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, traditions.

The first evidence about the Slavs. The Slavs, according to most historians, separated from the Indo-European community in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. 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. e.

The first written evidence about the Slavs dates back to the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine sources report on the Slavs. Ancient authors mention the Slavs under the name of the Wends (Roman writer Pliny the Elder, historian Tacitus, 1st century AD; geographer Ptolemy Claudius, 2nd century AD).

During the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (III-VI centuries AD), which coincided with the crisis of slave civilization, the Slavs developed the territory of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. They lived in forest and forest-steppe zones, where, as a result of the spread of iron tools, it became possible to conduct settled farming. Having settled the Balkans, the Slavs played a significant role in the destruction of the Danube border of Byzantium.

The first information about the political history of the Slavs dates back to the 4th century. n. e. From the Baltic coast, the Germanic tribes of the Goths 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, the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” unknown to us, mentioned “the time of Busovo.”

Relations with the nomadic peoples of the steppe occupied a special place in the life of the Slavic world. 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. “They died like obras” - these words from light hand Russian chronicler became an aphorism.

The largest political entities VII-VIII centuries in the southern Russian steppes there were the Bulgarian kingdom and the Khazar Khaganate, and in the Altai region there was the Turkic Khaganate. 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., the Bulgarians. 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.

In the VI century. The Slavs 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 Ants, are not ruled by one person, but from ancient times they have lived in the rule of people (democracy), and therefore for them happiness and misfortune in life are considered a matter of common... They believe that only God, the creator of lightning, is the ruler over everyone, and they sacrifice bulls to him and perform other sacred rituals... 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.

The formation 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. Kyiv, 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. n. e.

Territory of the Eastern Slavs (VI-IX centuries).

The Eastern Slavs occupied the territory from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Middle Oka and the upper reaches of the Don in the east, from the Neva and Lake Ladoga in the north. To the Middle Dnieper region in the south. The Slavs, who developed the East European Plain, came into contact with a few Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. There was a process of assimilation (mixing) of peoples. In the VI-IX centuries. The Slavs united into communities that no longer had only a tribal, but also a territorial and political character. Tribal unions are a stage on the path to the formation of statehood of the Eastern Slavs.

In the chronicle story about the settlement of the Slavic tribes, one and a half dozen associations of the Eastern Slavs are named. The term "tribes" in relation to these associations has been proposed by historians. It would be more accurate to call these associations tribal unions. These unions included 120-150 separate tribes, whose names have already been lost. Each individual tribe, in turn, consisted of large quantity childbirth and occupied a significant territory (40-60 km across).

The chronicle's story about the settlement of the Slavs was brilliantly confirmed by archaeological excavations in the 19th century. Archaeologists noted the coincidence of the excavation data (burial rites, women's jewelry - temple rings, etc.), characteristic of each tribal union, with the chronicle indication of the place of its settlement.

The Polyans lived in the forest-steppe along the middle reaches of the Dnieper (Kyiv). To the north of them, between the mouths of the Desna and Rosi rivers, lived the northerners (Chernigov). To the west of the glades, on the right bank of the Dnieper, the Drevlyans “sedesh in the forests.” To the north of the Drevlyans, between the Pripyat and Western Dvina rivers, the Dregovichi settled (from the word “dryagva” - swamp), who along the Western Dvina were adjacent to the Polotsk people (from the Polota River, a tributary of the Western Dvina). To the south of the Bug River were the Buzhans and Volynians, as some historians believe, descendants of the Dulebs. They inhabited the area between the Prut and Dnieper rivers. The Tiverts lived between the Dnieper and the Southern Bug. The Vyatichi were located along the Oka and Moscow rivers; to the west of them lived the Krivichi; along the Sozh River and its tributaries - Radimichi. Northern part The western slopes of the Carpathians were occupied by white Croats. The Ilmen Slovenes (Novgorod) lived around Lake Ilmen.

Chroniclers noted the uneven development of individual tribal associations of the Eastern Slavs. At the center of their narrative is the land of the glades. The land of glades, as the chroniclers pointed out, also bore the name “Rus”. Historians believe that this was the name of one of the tribes that lived along the Ros River and gave the name to the tribal union, the history of which was inherited by the glades. This is just one possible explanation for the term “Rus”. The origin of this name is not completely clear.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs in the northwest were the Baltic Letto-Lithuanian (Zhmud, Lithuania, Prussians, Latgalians, Semigallians, Curonians) and Finno-Ugric (Chud-Ests, Livs) tribes. The Finno-Ugrians neighbored the Eastern Slavs both in the north and in the northeast (Vod, Izhora, Karelians, Sami, Ves, Perm). In the upper reaches of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama lived the Yugras, Meryas, Cheremis-Marys, Muroms, Meshcheras, Mordovians, and Burtases. In the east, from the confluence of the Belaya River with the Kama to the Middle Volga, was the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, its population was Turkic. Their neighbors were the Bashkirs. South Russian steppes in the 8th-9th centuries. occupied by the Magyars (Hungarians) - Finno-Ugric cattle breeders, who, after their resettlement to the area of Lake Balaton, were replaced in the 9th century. Pechenegs. The Khazar Khaganate dominated the Lower Volga and the steppe expanses between the Caspian and Azov seas. The Black Sea region was dominated by Danube Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire.

The path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”

The great waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks” was a kind of “highway” connecting Northern and Southern Europe. It arose at the end of the 9th century. From the Baltic (Varangian) Sea along the Neva River, merchant caravans reached Lake Ladoga (Nevo), from there along the Volkhov River to Lake Ilmen and further along the Lovat River to the upper reaches of the Dnieper. From Lovat to the Dnieper in the area of Smolensk and on the Dnieper rapids they crossed by “portage routes”. West Bank The Black Sea reached Constantinople (Constantinople). The most developed lands of the Slavic world - Novgorod and Kyiv - controlled the northern and southern sections of the Great Trade Route. This circumstance gave rise to a number of historians, following V. O. Klyuchevsky, to assert that trade in fur, wax and honey was the main occupation of the Eastern Slavs, since the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” was “the main core of economic, political, and then cultural life Eastern Slavs."

Economy of the Slavs. The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations that discovered seeds of cereals (rye, wheat, barley, millet) and garden crops (turnips, cabbage, beets, carrots, radishes, garlic, etc.). Man in those days identified life with arable land and bread, hence the name of grain crops “zhito”, which has survived to this day. The agricultural traditions of this region are evidenced by the adoption by the Slavs of the Roman grain norm - quadrantal (26.26 l), which was called a quadrant in Rus' and existed in our system of weights and measures until 1924.

The main farming systems of the Eastern Slavs are closely related to natural and climatic conditions. In the north, in the region of taiga forests (a remnant of which is Belovezhskaya Pushcha), the dominant farming system was slash-and-burn. In the first year, trees were cut down. In the second year, the dried trees were burned and grain was sown using the ash as fertilizer. For two or three years, the plot produced a high harvest for that time, then the land was depleted, and it was necessary to move to a new plot. The main tools there were an axe, as well as a hoe, a plow, a harrow and a spade, which were used to loosen the soil. Harvesting was done with sickles. They threshed with flails. The grain was ground with stone grain grinders and hand millstones.

In the southern regions, the leading farming system was fallow. There was a lot of fertile land there, and plots of land were sown for two, three or more years. As the soil became depleted, they moved (transferred) to new areas. The main tools used here were a plow, a ralo, a wooden plow with an iron ploughshare, i.e., tools adapted for horizontal plowing.

Livestock breeding was closely related to agriculture. The Slavs raised pigs, cows, and small cattle. In the south, oxen were used as draft animals, and horses were used in the forest belt. Other occupations of the Slavs include fishing, hunting, beekeeping (collecting honey from wild bees), which had a large share in northern regions. Industrial crops (flax, hemp) were also grown.

Community

The low level of productive forces in farming required enormous labor costs. Labor-intensive work that had to be carried out within a strictly defined time frame could only be completed by a large team; his task was also to ensure the proper distribution and use of land. That's why big role in life ancient Russian village the community acquired peace, rope (from the word “rope”, which was used to measure the land during the divisions).

By the time the state was formed among the Eastern Slavs, the clan community was replaced by a territorial, or neighborhood, community. The community members were now united, first of all, not by kinship, but by a common territory and economic life. Each such community owned a certain territory on which several families lived. There were two forms of ownership in the community - personal and public. The house, personal land, livestock, and equipment constituted the personal property of each community member. Arable land, meadows, forests, reservoirs, and fishing grounds were in common use. Arable land and meadows were to be divided between families.

Community traditions and orders determined the way of life and characteristic features of life of the Russian peasantry for many, many centuries.

As a result of the transfer of the right to own land by the princes to the feudal lords, some of the communities came under their authority. (A fief is a hereditary possession granted by the prince-senior to his vassal, who is obliged to bear the court fee for this, military service. A feudal lord is the owner of a fief, a landowner who exploited the peasants dependent on him.) Another way to subjugate neighboring communities to feudal lords was to seize them by warriors and princes. But most often the old tribal nobility turned into patrimonial boyars, subjugating the community members.

Communities that did not fall under the power of feudal lords were obliged to pay taxes to the state, which in relation to these communities acted both as the supreme power and as the feudal lord.

Peasant farms and the farms of feudal lords were of a subsistence nature. Both of them sought to provide for themselves from internal resources and were not yet working for the market. However, the feudal economy could not survive completely without a market. With the advent of surpluses, it became possible to exchange agricultural products for handicraft goods; Cities began to emerge as centers of craft, trade and exchange, and at the same time as strongholds of feudal power and defense against external enemies.

City

The city, as a rule, was built on a hill at the confluence of two rivers, as this provided reliable defense against enemy attacks. The central part of the city, protected by a rampart, around which a fortress wall was erected, was called the Kremlin, Krom or Detinets. There were palaces of princes, courtyards of the largest feudal lords, temples, and later monasteries. The Kremlin was protected on both sides by a natural water barrier. A ditch filled with water was dug from the base of the Kremlin triangle. Behind the moat, under the protection of the fortress walls, there was a market. Settlements of artisans adjoined the Kremlin. The craft part of the city was called posad, and its individual areas, inhabited, as a rule, by artisans of a certain specialty, were called settlements.

In most cases, cities were built on trade routes, such as the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” or the Volga trade route, which connected Rus' with the countries of the East. Communication with Western Europe was also maintained via land roads.

The exact dates of the founding of ancient cities are unknown, but many of them existed at the time of the first mention in the chronicle, for example Kiev (the legendary chronicle evidence of its foundation dates back to the end of the 5th-6th centuries), Novgorod, Chernigov, Pereslavl Yuzhny, Smolensk, Suzdal, Murom and others. According to historians, in the 9th century. in Rus' there were at least 24 large cities that had fortifications.

Social order

At the head of the East Slavic tribal unions were princes from the tribal nobility and the former clan elite - “deliberate people”, “ best men». Critical questions Lives were decided at public meetings - veche gatherings.

There was a militia (“regiment”, “thousand”, divided into “hundreds”). At their head were the thousand and sotskys. Special military organization there was a squad. According to archaeological data and Byzantine sources, East Slavic squads appeared already in the 6th-7th centuries. The squad was divided into the senior squad, which included ambassadors and princely rulers who had their own land, and the junior squad, which lived with the prince and served his court and household. The warriors, on behalf of the prince, collected tribute from the conquered tribes. Such trips to collect tribute were called polyudye. The collection of tribute usually took place in November-April and continued until the spring opening of the rivers, when the princes returned to Kyiv. The unit of tribute was the smoke (peasant household) or the area of land cultivated by the peasant household (ralo, plow).

Slavic paganism

The ancient Slavs were pagans. At an early stage of their development, they believed in evil and good spirits. A pantheon has emerged Slavic gods, each of which personified various forces of nature or reflected the social and public relations of the time. The most important gods of the Slavs were Perun - the god of thunder, lightning, war; Svarog - god of fire; Veles is the patron of cattle breeding; Mokosh is a goddess who protected the female part of the household; Simargl is the god of the underworld. The sun god was especially revered, who was called differently by different tribes: Dazhdbog, Yarilo, Khoros, which indicates the absence of stable Slavic inter-tribal unity.

Formation of the Old Russian State

The tribal reigns of the Slavs had signs of emerging statehood. Tribal principalities often united into large super-unions, revealing features of early statehood.

One of these associations was a union of tribes led by Kiy (known from the end of the 5th century). At the end of the VI-VII centuries. there was, according to Byzantine and Arab sources, a “Power of the Volynians”, which was an ally of Byzantium. The Novgorod chronicle reports about the elder Gostomysl, who headed in the 9th century. Slavic unification around Novgorod. Eastern sources suggest the existence on the eve of the formation of the Old Russian state of three large associations of Slavic tribes: Cuiaba, Slavia and Artania. Cuyaba (or Kuyava), apparently, was located around Kyiv. Slavia occupied the territory in the area of Lake Ilmen, its center was Novgorod. The location of Artania is determined differently by different researchers (Ryazan, Chernigov). The famous historian B. A. Rybakov claims that at the beginning of the 9th century. On the basis of the Polyansky Tribal Union, a large political association “Rus” was formed, which included some of the northerners.

Thus, the widespread spread of agriculture using iron tools, the collapse of the clan community and its transformation into a neighboring community, the growth in the number of cities, and the emergence of squads are evidence of the emerging statehood.

The Slavs developed the East European Plain, interacting with the local Baltic and Finno-Ugric populations. The military campaigns of the Antes, Sklavens, and Rus against more developed countries, primarily against Byzantium, brought significant military booty to the warriors and princes. All this contributed to the stratification of East Slavic society. Thus, as a result of economic and socio-political development, statehood began to emerge among the East Slavic tribes,

Norman theory

A Russian chronicler of the early 12th century, trying to explain the origin of the Old Russian state, in accordance with medieval tradition, included in the chronicle a legend about the calling of three Varangians as princes - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. Many historians believe that the Varangians were Norman (Scandinavian) warriors who were hired for service and swore an oath of allegiance to the ruler. A number of historians, on the contrary, consider the Varangians to be a Russian tribe that lived on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and on the island of Rügen.

According to this legend, on the eve of formation Kievan Rus northern tribes The Slavs and their neighbors (Ilmen Slovenes, Chud, Vse) paid tribute to the Varangians, and the southern tribes (the Polyans and their neighbors) were dependent on the Khazars. In 859, the Novgorodians “expelled the Varangians overseas,” which led to civil strife. Under these conditions, the Novgorodians who gathered for the council sent for the Varangian princes: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order (order - Author) in it. Come reign and rule over us.” Power over Novgorod and the surrounding Slavic lands passed into the hands of the Varangian princes, the eldest of whom Rurik, as the chronicler believed, laid the beginning of the princely dynasty. After the death of Rurik, another Varangian prince, Oleg (there is information that he was a relative of Rurik), who ruled in Novgorod, united Novgorod and Kiev in 882. This is how the state of Rus' (also called Kievan Rus by historians) was formed, according to the chronicler.

The legendary chronicle story about the calling of the Varangians served as the basis for the emergence of the so-called Norman theory of the emergence of the Old Russian state. It was first formulated by German scientists G.-F. Miller and G.-Z. Bayer, invited to work in Russia in the 18th century. M.V. Lomonosov was an ardent opponent of this theory.

The very fact of the presence of the Varangian squads, by which, as a rule, the Scandinavians are understood, in the service of the Slavic princes, their participation in the life of Rus' is beyond doubt, as are the constant mutual ties between the Scandinavians and Russia. However, there are no traces of any noticeable influence of the Varangians on the economic and socio-political institutions of the Slavs, as well as on their language and culture. In the Scandinavian sagas, Rus' is a country of untold riches, and service to Russian princes is the surest way to gain fame and power. Archaeologists note that the number of Varangians in Rus' was small. No data has been found on the colonization of Rus' by the Varangians. The version about the foreign origin of this or that dynasty is typical of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Suffice it to recall the stories about the calling of the Anglo-Saxons by the Britons and the creation of the English state, about the founding of Rome by the brothers Romulus and Remus, etc.

In the modern era, the scientific inconsistency of the Norman theory, which explains the emergence of the Old Russian state as the result of foreign initiative, has been fully proven. However, its political meaning is still dangerous today. The “Normanists” proceed from the position of the supposedly primordial backwardness of the Russian people, who, in their opinion, are incapable of independent historical creativity. It is possible, as they believe, only under foreign leadership and according to foreign models.

Historians have convincing evidence that there is every reason to assert: the Eastern Slavs had strong traditions of statehood long before the calling of the Varangians. State institutions arise as a result of the development of society. The actions of individual major individuals, conquests or other external circumstances determine the specific manifestations of this process. Consequently, the fact of the calling of the Varangians, if it really took place, speaks not so much about the emergence of Russian statehood as about the origin of the princely dynasty. If Rurik was a real historical figure, then his calling to Rus' should be considered as a response to the real need for princely power in Russian society of that time. In historical literature, the question of Rurik’s place in our history remains controversial. Some historians share the opinion that the Russian dynasty is of Scandinavian origin, like the name “Rus” itself (“Russians” were the Finns’ name for the inhabitants of Northern Sweden). Their opponents are of the opinion that the legend about the calling of the Varangians is the fruit of tendentious writing, a later insertion caused by political reasons. There is also a point of view that the Varangians-Rus and Rurik were Slavs who originated either from the southern coast of the Baltic (Rügen Island) or from the area of the Neman River. It should be noted that the term “Rus” is repeatedly found in relation to various associations, both in the north and in the south of the East Slavic world.

The formation of the state of Rus' (the Old Russian state or, as it is called after the capital, Kievan Rus) is the natural completion of a long process of decomposition of the primitive communal system among one and a half dozen Slavic tribal unions that lived on the way “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” The established state was at the very beginning of its journey: primitive communal traditions retained their place in all spheres of life of East Slavic society for a long time.

For Eastern Europe, the V-VI centuries are characterized by the beginning of the formation of Slavic tribes, communal-collectivist forms of self-government and the formation of ancient Russian statehood. On the formation of ancient Russian statehood, social development The ancient heritage of Byzantium had a significant influence, especially ancient Greek culture, its Christian spirituality, and conciliar church rituals. In ancient times, the Slavs did not have the opportunity to pursue an independent foreign policy, acting on international arena under own name. At the beginning of the 6th century, the Slavs began to make regular raids on Byzantium, as a result of which Byzantine and Roman authors (Procopius of Caesarea, Jordan) started talking about them. In this era, they already had large inter-tribal alliances, which were formed mainly on a territorial basis and were something more than an ordinary tribal community. The Antes and Carpathian Slavs first developed fortified settlements and other signs of political control over the territory. A political organization is usually understood as: “1) a system of sustainable interaction of components of heterogeneous origin in order to achieve common social goals by political means; 2) an association of people who set themselves the task of achieving a common (or common) political goal on the basis of cooperation within the framework of such an association.” In the definitions given here, two essential features of a political organization are clearly visible: 1) the unification of components (people); 2) the general purpose of creating such an association. Over the course of two centuries (6th-9th centuries), the Eastern Slavs thus occupied a vast territory from the northwestern corner of the Black Sea to Lake Ladoga, and along the northern coast of the Black Sea - intermittently - to the Don and Kuban. The Slavs failed, however, to achieve the formation of their own state. They became part of the states formed by nomadic peoples (Avars and Khazars). But if they did not have the unity of the state, then they had tribal unity. The consciousness of this tribal unity of the different East Slavic tribes was vividly reflected in Russian chronicles of the 9th century. Thus, the socio-economic status of the Eastern Slavs in the second half of the 1st millennium AD is characterized by the decomposition of the primitive communal system, the formation of a class society, the transformation of tribal authorities into bodies of the economically dominant class, and finally the emergence of the state.

At the same time, it should be noted that the development of ancient Russian statehood was significantly influenced by centralized factors of the eastern type of civilizations.

The vast, sparsely populated territory objectively contributed to the establishment of good neighborly relations between the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric, Letto-Lithuanian. At the same time, the absence of natural barriers, mountains, seas, helped the unity of the Slavs in militias, the creation of a centralized statehood, which was necessary to protect vast borders from the invasions of southeastern nomads and Western conquerors.

During the era of the great migration of peoples, which coincided with the crisis of slave civilization, the Slavs mastered the territory of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. They lived in the forest and forest-steppe zone, where, as a result of the spread of iron tools, it became possible to conduct a settled agricultural economy. In the 6th-7th centuries, the Slavs developed a common way of life. The community included 50-60 households, each of which lived as an extended family (father and mother, adult sons with wives and children). All possessions of the community were divided into public and private. House, livestock, personal land, equipment - personal; the main land mass, meadows, forests are common. Slavic villages were small - from one to five courtyards. Settlements of several dozen houses were, apparently, a rare exception. Excavations allow us to imagine the appearance of an ancient Slavic dwelling. This is a small semi-dugout with a floor one and a half meters below ground level, wooden walls, a roof covered with clay, the slopes almost touching the ground. Inside there is a clay or stone oven, heated in black, i.e. without chimney. The housing was not spacious - its area ranged from 10 to 20 m2. The villages were surrounded by earthen ramparts, traces of which are often found by archaeologists. Palisades were probably placed on the ramparts for protection from enemies and wild animals. The villages were usually located along the banks of rivers. This location is supported by the grouping of ancient settlements into “nests” separated by a distance of several tens of kilometers. Inside the “nest” the villages were located much closer to each other.

Agriculture occupied the main place among the Slavs' occupations. But in the 7th century the Slavs did not yet know either two-field or three-field. The Slavs were dominated by shifting (in forest-steppes) and slash-and-burn (in forests) farming systems. The slash-and-burn system is so named because trees were cut down and left to dry on the ground, then uprooted and burned. As with the shifting system, the site was used until exhausted, and then abandoned and a new one was cleared. There was no real plowing - the ground was only loosened. This organization of agriculture forced the Slavs to move to new areas from time to time, which made the development of increasingly remote lands inevitable. Only in the 8th century, in the steppe and forest-steppe regions, along with fallow farming, arable farming spread: the land was plowed and given regular fallow rest. In the forest belt, cutting dominated until the 13th century. The main agricultural crops of the Slavs were wheat, barley, and millet, which produced high yields when cut and fallowed. With the advancement to the north and the spread of arable farming, the crops of rye and oats, which previously occupied an insignificant place, increased.

The transition to arable land caused the creation of new tools. In the 7th-8th centuries, the land was cultivated with a wooden tiller, resting on a runner and cutting the soil horizontally with the help of an iron tiller. In the 9th century, in the forest-steppe zone, it was replaced by a plow, equipped instead of a point with a ploughshare and a moldboard, capable of cutting and turning over the layer. In the forest zone, the main tool was the plow, which loosened but did not turn over the earth. Along with agriculture, the Slavs raised livestock. They kept horses, cows, and pigs. The word "cattle" also meant "money".

The rivers of Eastern Europe abounded in fish, which the Slavs caught in various ways: they set traps, hit them with a spear, etc. Fish formed an important part of the diet of the Eastern Slavs. Having settled forests and forest-steppes, the Eastern Slavs did not ignore forest resources. Hunting and beekeeping (collecting honey and wax from wild bees) required labor and patience no less than cultivating the land. In the forest it was necessary to set up and maintain hunting traps and borti (hollows for bees). And the forest regularly supplied people with furs, honey and wax. They hunted a wide variety of animals, some of which did not survive to the 20th century (for example, “bui tour” - a wild horse and others). It was these “gifts of the forest” that formed the basis of Slavic trade with their neighbors - primarily with the Byzantine Empire. A trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” ran through the East European Plain; Novgorod and Kyiv controlled it. This path became the main road of Ancient Rus' at the end of the 9th century. Not only furs and honey were transported along it, but also loot captured during military campaigns.

One of the oldest was the Volga route, which led to Bulgaria and further along the Caspian Sea to the Arab countries. There were also land routes along which trading people moved. Sources call the overland route from Kyiv to the west through Vladimir, Cherven to Krakow and further to the Czech Republic. Kyiv was also connected by land road to the Carpathian region, where salt was mined. As for crafts, its development also depended on natural conditions, more precisely from those sources of raw materials that our ancestors could have had at their disposal. Ironworking, and therefore metal processing, became widespread. The raw material here was swamp ore, which is deposited on the roots of swamp and lake plants. The cheese-blowing process was used to extract iron from ore. The Eastern Slavs achieved great skill in leather and weaving crafts.

East Slavic craft of the 8th-9th centuries was of a communal nature. In the settlements of the Eastern Slavs, which there is every reason to consider as ancestral villages, archaeologists find craft workshops. Entire settlements of artisans engaged, for example, in metallurgy, have also been discovered. Both craft workshops on the territory of settlements and artisan villages correspond to the stage of community craft.

All matters were resolved on the basis of self-government, at gatherings of the independent male population, called the world. Elders were elected to conduct common affairs. Peace protected the welfare of the entire community and demanded unconditional obedience from each member. No votes were taken. Disagreements had to be settled unanimously. For centuries, mutual responsibility, devotion of community members to their world, mutual assistance in field work, assistance to the sick and orphans have been cultivated. The traditions of community, conciliarity, and secular self-government deeply entered the life and way of life of the Slavic peoples and were adopted by nomadic tribes settling in neighboring lands. Over time, this provided fertile ground for the idea of peasant socialism. To organize defense, communities united into volosts, and cities were built in strategically advantageous places, usually on high banks of rivers. They housed princes and their squads elected from the tribal nobility. The cities were surrounded by wooden and stone fortifications. Craftsmen settled behind their walls (in the settlement). Already in the 6th-7th centuries, large cities arose: Kyiv - among the glades, Chernigov - among the northerners, Novgorod - among the Ilmen Slavs. Gradually, the cities, through the power of the princes and the strength of their squads, subjugated the surrounding volosts and became the centers of the principalities. The right to collect princely tribute from free community members (smerds) for their protection and patronage was used. A special place in the life of the Slavic ethnos was occupied by relations with the nomadic peoples of the steppe, stretching from the Black Sea region to Central Asia.

In the VI-IX centuries, the Eastern Slavs occupied a vast territory of the East European Plain. They united into communities that had not only a tribal, but also a territorial and political character. These unions included 120-150 separate tribes. Each tribe, in turn, consisted of a large number of clans and occupied a significant territory (40-60 km across). Along the middle reaches of the Dnieper lived the Polyane (poly), on the right bank of the Dnieper lived the Drevlyans. The Vyatichi were located along the Oka and Moscow rivers, and the Krivichi lived to the west of them. Along the Sozh River lived the Radimichi. The Ilmen Slavs lived around Lake Ilmen. Neighbors in the northwest were the Baltic Letto-Lithuanian and Finno-Ugric tribes. At the head of the East Slavic tribal unions were princes from the tribal nobility and the former clan elite - “deliberate people”, “best men”. The most important issues were resolved at public meetings - veche gatherings. There was a militia (“regiment”, “thousand”, divided into “hundreds”). At their head were the thousand and sotskys. The squad was a special military organization. It was divided into the older one, from which came ambassadors and princely rulers who had their own land, and the younger one, who lived with the prince and served his court and household. The warriors, on behalf of the prince, collected tribute (“polyudye”) from the conquered.

Thus, the widespread spread of agriculture using iron tools, the collapse of the clan community, the growth in the number of cities, and the emergence of squads are evidence of the emerging statehood. The Slavs developed the East European Plain, interacting with the local Baltic and Finno-Ugric populations.