The main East Slavic tribes and places of their settlement on the East European Plain

The chroniclers noted the uneven development of individual tribes of associations of the Eastern Slavs. At the center of their story is the land of the meadows. The land of the glades, as the chroniclers pointed out, was also called "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, whose history was inherited by the meadows.

For a long time in historiography, there were two points of view on the origin of the term "Rus", associated with an orientation either to its external (Norman) or autochthonous (Slavic) origin. In particular, at present, foreign historians R. Pipes and H. Davidson are of the opinion that the legendary Rurik was from the Scandinavian tribe "Rus", and this determined the name of his new possessions. Although it should be noted that such a tribe has not yet been found in Scandinavia.

Some linguists reject the version of the origin of "Rus" from "Rossi", because, as they argue, in historical development of the Russian language, the inversion of the letter “o” to “u” could not occur. But archaeological data confirm the existence of a Slavic community in the region of the Ros River.

In the historical literature, one can often come across the version, which, in particular, Academician B. Rybakov adheres to, that Rus is the name of one of the Slavic tribes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to confirm or refute any of the versions about the origin of the name "Rus".

Important factor in the formation of the people and the state, they represent neighboring peoples and tribes that differ in their language, way of life, way of life, customs, culture, etc. At various times, neighboring peoples subjugated the Slavic tribes, drew them into the sphere of their economic activity, or, conversely, were under the influence of the Slavs.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs (end of the 9th century) were:

1) in the West:

Baltic tribes: litas, lithuania, yatvingians, etc.;

Western Slavs: Poles (Poles), Slovaks, Czechs, Hungarians (Ugry);

2) in the north-east:

Finno-Ugric tribes: Karelians, Mordovians, Mari, Muroma, etc.;

3) on the Lower Volga:

4) in the east:

Volga Bulgarians;

5) in the south in the Black Sea region:

Pechenegs and other Turkic tribes.

Settling, the Eastern Slavs displaced backgammon or assimilated them. After fixing in new places, the Eastern Slavs create the foundations of their social and economic life.

The surviving literary monuments and archaeological finds indicate that the Slavs, even before their settlement in the East European Plain, were engaged in arable farming, cattle breeding, hunting and beekeeping. Settling in new places, they continued their former occupations and mastered new ones. The Slavs of the forest-steppe zone dominated the arable farming system - fallow, when a piece of land was sown for several years until it was depleted, and then switched to a new one. In the forest area used slash-and-burn farming system: they cut down and uprooted a section of the forest, burned the trees, fertilized the land with ash and also used it for two or three years, and then cleared a new plot. Rye, wheat, barley, millet, oats were grown on the cleared lands, turnips, cabbage, beets, carrots, etc. from garden crops, they were also engaged in cattle breeding: they raised horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats.

As tools they used an ax, a hoe, a knotted harrow, a spade, a sickle, flails, stone grinders and hand millstones. In the southern regions, the main tool was a ralo, and later - a wooden plow with an iron tip - a plowshare.

Oxen was used as working livestock in the south, and horses were used in the forest zone. The economy was of a subsistence nature: mainly agricultural and livestock products were produced, which were necessary to meet vital needs.

crafts played a secondary role in the economy of the Eastern Slavs. These were mainly hunting, fishing and beekeeping.

Craft not yet completely separated from Agriculture. Furriers, weavers and carpenters were the same grain growers, who alternated work in the field with crafts and crafts. However, potters and blacksmiths (apparently because of the flammability of their work) lived at some distance from the villages and did not engage in agriculture (Scheme 4).

beekeeping

Scheme 4.

The appearance of surplus products contributed to active exchange, and later to the emergence and development of trade, which went mainly along numerous rivers and their tributaries.

The path from the "Varangians to the Greeks" was actively used by the Scandinavian peoples, whom the Slavs called Varangians(hence the path itself). The Varangians traded with the coastal tribes, including the Slavs. They not only traded peacefully, but often robbed, and sometimes were hired to serve in squads, including the Slavic princes.

Active trade was conducted by the Slavs with the Khazars, Bulgarians, Arabs and, of course, the Greeks (Byzantines). IN. Klyuchevsky, referring to Arab sources, wrote that Russian merchants carry goods from remote parts of the country to the Black Sea in Greek cities, where the Byzantine emperor takes trade duties from them - tithe.

The main items of foreign trade were furs, wax, honey, servants (slaves). From the East and Byzantium came silks, silver and gold items, luxury items, incense, weapons, spices.

With the development of trade, the emergence of cities among the Slavs is associated. The “Tale of Bygone Years” already names the cities of Kiev, Chernigov, Smolensk, Lyubech, Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Murom, and others. In total, by the 9th century. there were about 24 major cities. Varangians called Slavic land Gardarikoy - a country of cities. Chronicles brought to us the legend of the emergence of Kiev. Kyi, his brothers Shchek and Khoriv and sister Lybid founded their settlements (courtyards) on three hills on the Dnieper. Then they united into one city, which they named Kiev in honor of Kyi.

The first principalities appeared: Cuyabia(Kuyaba - around Kiev), Slavia(near Lake Ilmen with the center in Novgorod). The appearance of such centers testified to the emergence of the Eastern Slavs, who created the prerequisites for the emergence of their state.

In the VI century. Eastern Slavs lived in a tribal system according to the customs characteristic of all barbarian tribes. The main unit of society was genus- a group of relatives of several tens or even hundreds of people who jointly owned land, forests, pastures, etc., worked together and equally divided the result of labor. At the head of the family were elders, and on the most important issues a council of all relatives gathered; 3-5 genera close in origin were tribe. The tribes formed alliances with leaders in charge of.

In the VII-IX centuries. tribal relations among the Eastern Slavs began to disintegrate due to the appearance of metal tools and the transition from slash to plow agriculture, since the joint efforts of all members of the clan were no longer required to manage the economy. The main economic unit was a separate family.

The tribal community is gradually being replaced by a neighboring, territorial one, whose members were no longer blood relatives, but were simply neighbors. The neighboring community to the south was called " peace", in the north - " rope"(in Western Europe -" brand"). In the neighboring community, communal ownership of arable land, forest and hayfields, etc., was preserved, but plots of arable land are already allocated to the family for use - “ allotments". Each family cultivated these plots with their own tools, which received the harvest they had harvested as their property. Over time, the redistribution of arable land ceased, and the allotments became the permanent property of individual families.

In the tribal environment of the 7th - early 9th centuries. stood out " deliberate chad"- leaders, elders, famous wars. Power and wealth were concentrated in their hands. Many of the deliberate fumes» began to live in separate fortified estates. Private property was born.

The improvement of the tools of labor led to the production of not only the necessary in natural economy, but also a surplus product. There was an accumulation surplus product, and on its basis exchange development between individual families. This led to the differentiation of the community, the growth of property inequality, the accumulation of wealth by the elders and other nobility.

The most important governing body among the Slavs continued to be veche- people's government, jointly deciding everything critical issues. But gradually its value decreased.

East Slavs waged numerous wars with their neighbors, repelling the onslaught of nomadic peoples. At the same time, they made trips to the Balkans and Byzantium. Under these conditions, the role of the military leader increased enormously - prince, who, as a rule, was the main person in the management of the tribe. When wars were rare, all the men of the tribe participated in them. In conditions of frequent wars, this became economically unprofitable. The growth of the surplus product made it possible to support the prince and his squad. The military squad nobility declared themselves the owners of lands or a tribal union, taxing fellow tribesmen tribute (tax). Another way of subordinating neighboring communities was the transformation of the old tribal nobility into boyars - patrimonials and the subordination of community members to them.

By the 7th - 9th centuries. at the head of the East Slavic tribal unions stood princes from the tribal nobility and the former tribal elite - “deliberate people”, “best husbands”.

The princes and warriors grew rich at the expense of military booty: they turned the captured prisoners of war into slaves, forcing them to work on their lands.

In the VI - IX centuries. The slaves of the Eastern Slavs were mostly prisoners captured in the war. At that time, the Slavs had customary law, according to which it was forbidden to enslave their fellow tribesmen, for example, for debts, etc. Slaves were used mainly in the household, on the most hard work. Slavery among the Slavs was patriarchal in nature, when slaves do not form a class, but are considered junior incomplete members of the family.

Thus, the process of differentiation (stratification) of society took place among the Eastern Slavs. The prerequisites for the formation of the state were created.

Turning to their fellow tribesmen, the Eastern Slavs said: “father”, “mother”, “uncle”, “son”, “daughter”, “grandson”, “in-law”, “brother-in-law”, etc. Perhaps personal names were the privilege of leaders, elders and outstanding warriors. These names are borrowed from the Western Slavs (Yaroslav, Mstislav) and the Varangians (Igor, Oleg, Rurik) or were nicknames like the Nightingale the Robber.

With the adoption of Christianity in 988 (already in the times of Kievan Rus), the Slavs had two names. "Present" - given at baptism (Jewish or Greek names), and mundane - "from the evil eye": a pagan nickname, a Scandinavian or West Slavic name. Moreover, in the life of a person they called it a “fake” name. And many did not understand that Prince Vladimir the Red Sun was actually Vasily, Yaroslav the Wise was Yuri (Gregory), and Vsevolod the Big Nest was called Dmitry.

The Slavs had their pagan holidays associated with the seasons and with agricultural work. At the end of December caroling- Mummers went from house to house with songs and jokes, glorified the owners, who were supposed to give presents to the mummers. The big holiday was the farewell to winter and the meeting of spring - Maslenitsa. On holiday Ivan Kupala rituals with fire and water, divination, round dances, and songs were performed. In autumn, after the end of the field, they celebrated harvest festival: baked a big honey loaf.

Much attention was paid wedding and funerary rituals. The Slavs believed in the immortality of the soul and afterlife, which will develop happily if the living correctly guide the deceased to another world.

According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Radimichi, Vyatichi, Northerners and Krivichi burned the dead, put the ashes and remains of the bones in a vessel and placed them on poles in small log cabins near the roads. Vyatichi sometimes buried log cabins-coffins with burnt ashes in the ground. In many places mounds were built over the graves, next to which dangling- military competitions in memory of the deceased and funeral feasts - funeral feasts.

In the ninth century The Slavs began to bury the dead without burning them. Food, tools, weapons, jewelry were placed next to the deceased.

It is known that the Eastern Slavs still had a blood feud: the relatives of the murdered man took revenge on the killer with death.

Like all peoples who were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system, the Slavs were pagans. They worshiped the phenomena of nature, deifying them. Yes, he was the sky god. Svarog, god of the sun Dazhdbog(other names: Dazhbog, Yarilo, Khoros), the god of thunder and lightning - Perun god of the wind Stribog goddess of fertility Mokosh. In the VI century, according to the testimony of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, the Slavs recognized one god as the ruler of the universe - Perun, the god of thunder, lightning, war.

At that time there were no public worship, there were no temples, no priests. Usually images of gods in the form of stone or wooden figures (idols) were placed on certain open places – temples, sacrifices were made to the gods - requirements.

The Slavs honored the spirits: coastlines and mermaids who lived in the dark whirlpools of rivers and lakes, keepers of the hearth of brownies, goblin, who screamed like an owl in the oak forests. An echo of the ancient beliefs is the cult of schurs (churs) - ancestors. In a moment of mortal danger, the Slavs shouted: “Chur me!”, Hoping for the help of their ancestor. On special parental days, bathhouses were heated for the shchurs and food and drink were placed.

In general, the religion of the Eastern Slavs was polytheistic(polytheism - polytheism).

Topic 3. EDUCATION AND EVOLUTION
EAST SLAVIC ANCIENT STATE.
FEUDAL Fragmentation of RUSSIA

1. Background of education ancient Russian state. « Norman theory».

East Slavic tribes

East Slavic tribes and their neighbors

The Slavs appeared in Eastern Europe around the middle of the 1st millennium and lived on the lands located between the rivers Oder, Vistula, Dnieper, and from there they moved south (South Slavs), west (Western Slavs) and east ( East Slavs). Byzantine writers called the Slavs sklavins and antami

Modern East Slavs – Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians. In the early Middle Ages, they constituted a single Old Russian (or East Slavic) nationality, which was characterized by a common language, a homogeneous material and spiritual culture. That is, East Slavs- an ethnohistorical concept. The history of the Eastern Slavs begins from the period when the East Slavic language (Indo-European family) emerged from the common Slavic (Proto-Slavic) language. It happened in the 7th-8th centuries.

In the VIII-IX centuries. Slavs occupied the territory from Lake Peipsi and Ladoga in the north to the Black Sea in the south - East European or Russian plain. A characteristic feature is the development river system, rivers are slowly flowing, but long. The largest river system Dniprovska. The territory of the Slavs is mostly forested.

East Slavic tribes

Buzhan- an East Slavic tribe that lived on the river. Bug.

Volynians- a union of tribes that inhabited the territory on both banks of the Western Bug and at the source of the river. Pripyat.

Vyatichi- an alliance of tribes that lived in the basin of the upper and middle reaches of the Oka and along the river. Moscow.

Drevlyans - tribal union, which occupied in the 6-10 centuries. the territory of Polissya, the Right Bank of the Dnieper, west of the glades, along the course of the Teterev, Uzh, Ubort, Stviga rivers.

Dregovichi- tribal union of Eastern Slavs.

Krivichi- tribal union of the Eastern Slavs 6-11 centuries. They occupied the territory in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga, Western Dvina, as well as in the area of ​​Lake Peipus, Pskov and Lake. Ilmen.

Polochane- Slavic tribe, part of the tribal union of the Krivichi; lived along the banks of the river. Dvina and its tributary Polot, from which they got their name. The center of the Polotsk land was the city of Polotsk. Polotsk.

Glade - a tribal union of the Eastern Slavs, who lived on the Dnieper, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern Kiev. One of the versions of the origin of Russia, mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, is associated with the glades.

Radimichi- East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the eastern part of the Upper Dnieper, along the river. Sozh and its tributaries in the 8th-9th centuries.

Russ- in the sources of 8-10 centuries. the name of the people who participated in the formation of the Old Russian state.

northerners-union of tribes that lived in the 9th-10th centuries. by pp. Desna, Seim, Sula.

Slovenian Ilmen - tribal union of Eastern Slavs in the territory Novgorod lands, mainly in the lands near the lake. Ilmen, next to the Krivichi.

Tivertsy-a union of tribes that lived in the 9th - early. 12th century on the river Dniester and at the mouth of the Danube.

Uchi- East Slavic union of tribes that existed in 9 - ser. 10th century According to The Tale of Bygone Years, convict lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Bug and on the Black Sea.

1. EASTERN SLAVES: SETTLEMENT AND WAY OF LIFE.

The origin of the Eastern Slavs is complex scientific problem, the study of which is difficult due to the lack of reliable and complete written evidence about the area of ​​​​their settlement and economic life, life and customs. The first rather meager information is contained in the works of ancient, Byzantine and Arabic authors.

ancient sources. Pliny the Elder and Tacitus (1st century AD) report Wends living between the Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. At the same time, the Roman historian Tacitus notes the militancy and cruelty of the Wends, who, for example, destroyed captured foreigners. Many modern historians see in the Wends the ancient Slavs, who still retain their ethnic unity and occupy approximately the territory of present-day South-Eastern Poland, as well as Volhynia and Polissya.

Byzantine historians of the 6th century. were more attentive to the Slavs, because. they, having grown stronger by this time, began to threaten the Empire. Jordan elevates contemporary Slavs - Wends, Sklavins and Antes - to one root and thereby fixes the beginning of their separation, which took place in the 11th-111th centuries. tribes, as well as interaction with the multi-ethnic environment in which they settled (Finno-Ugrians, Balts, Iranian-speaking tribes) and with which they contacted (Germans, Byzantines). It is important to consider that in the formation of the three branches of Slavdom - eastern, western and southern - representatives of all groups recorded by Jordan took part.

Old Russian sources. East Slavic tribes we find in the Tale of Bygone Years (PVL) the monk Nestor (beginning of the 12th century). He writes about the ancestral home of the Slavs, which he defines in the Danube basin. (According to the biblical legend, Nestor associated their appearance on the Danube with the "Babylonian pandemonium", which, by the will of God, led to the separation of languages ​​​​and their "scattering" around the world). He explained the arrival of the Slavs to the Dnieper from the Danube by the attack on them by militant neighbors - the "Volokhovs", who ousted the Slavs from their ancestral home.

The second route of the Slavs' advance into Eastern Europe, confirmed by archaeological and linguistic material, passed from the Vistula basin to the area of ​​Lake Ilmen.

Nestor narrates about the following East Slavic tribal unions:

1) glades who settled in the Middle Dnieper "in the fields" and therefore called themselves that way;

2) the Drevlyans who lived from them to the north-west in dense forests;

3) northerners who lived to the east and northeast of the meadows along the Desna, Sula and Seversky Donets;

4) Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina;

5) Polochans - in the basin of the river. Cloths;

6) Krivichi - in the upper reaches of the Volga and Dnieper;

7-8) Radimichi and Vyatichi, according to the chronicle, descended from the genus "Poles" (Poles), and were brought, most likely, by their elders - Radim, who "came and sat down" on the river. Sozhe (tributary of the Dnieper) and Vyatko - on the river. Oka;

9) Ilmen Slovenes lived in the north in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River;

10) Buzhans or Dulebs (since the 10th century they were called Volynians) in the upper reaches of the Bug;

11) white Croats - in the Carpathian region;

12-13) and the Tivertsy - between the Dniester and the Danube.

Archaeological data confirm the boundaries of the settlement of tribal unions indicated by Nestor.

Occupations of the Eastern Slavs . Agriculture. The Eastern Slavs, mastering the vast forest and forest-steppe spaces of Eastern Europe, carried with them an agricultural culture. Slash-and-burn (slash-and-burn) agriculture was widespread. On the lands liberated from the forest as a result of deforestation and burning, crops were grown for 2-3 years, using the natural fertility of the soil, enhanced by ash from burnt trees. After the land was depleted, the site was abandoned and a new one was developed, which required the efforts of the entire community. In the steppe regions, shifting agriculture was used, similar to undercutting, but associated with the burning of field grasses rather than trees.

From U111 in. in the southern regions, field arable farming based on the use of draft cattle and wooden plow, which survived until the beginning of the 20th century, is gaining ground.

The basis of the economy of the Slavs, including the Eastern ones, was arable farming. Occupations of the Eastern Slavs

1. Slash-and-burn agriculture. They grew rye, oats, buckwheat, turnips, etc.

2. Cattle breeding. Bred horses, bulls, pigs, poultry.

3. beekeeping– collection of honey from wild bees

4. Military campaigns to neighboring tribes and countries (primarily to Byzantium)

Other activities. Along with cattle breeding, the Slavs were also engaged in their usual crafts: hunting, fishing, beekeeping. Crafts are developing, which, it is true, have not yet separated from agriculture. Special meaning for the fate of the Eastern Slavs will have international trade, which developed both on the Baltic-Volga route, along which Arab silver entered Europe, and on the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", connecting the Byzantine world through the Dnieper with the Baltic region.

lowest level social organization the neighboring (territorial) community served - the verv. The basis of the ruling layer was the military service nobility Kiev princes- squad. By the ninth century the retinue layer advanced to the leading positions. The prince and his retinue, who participated in military campaigns and returned with booty, were in a privileged position

social device. "Military Democracy". The social relations of the Eastern Slavs are being "restored" more difficult. The Byzantine author Procopius of Caesarea (U1 century) writes: "These tribes, Slavs and Antes, are not ruled by one person, but since ancient times they have lived in the government of the people, and therefore decisions are made jointly regarding all happy and unfortunate circumstances." Most likely, we are talking here about meetings (veche) of community members, at which the most important issues of the life of the tribe were decided, including the choice of leaders - "military leaders". At the same time, only male warriors participated in veche meetings. Thus, during this period, the Slavs experienced the last period of the communal system - the era of "military democracy", preceding the formation of the state. This is also evidenced by such facts as the sharp rivalry between military leaders, recorded by another Byzantine author of the 11th century. - Mauritius the Strategist, the emergence of slaves from prisoners, raids on Byzantium, which, as a result of the distribution of looted wealth, strengthened the prestige of military leaders and led to the formation of a squad consisting of professional military men, associates of the prince.

The transition from a tribal community to an agricultural one. In addition, there were changes in the community: the collective of relatives who own all the lands in common is being replaced by a community consisting of large patriarchal families united by a common territory, traditions, beliefs and independently managing the products of their labor.

Tribal reigns. Information about the first princes is contained in the PVL. The chronicler notes that tribal unions, although not all of them, have their own "princeships". So, in relation to the meadows, he recorded the legend of the princes, the founders of the city of Kiev: Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid.

More reliable are the data of the Arab encyclopedist al-Masudi (X century), who wrote that long before his time, the Slavs had political association which he named Valinana. Most likely we are talking about the Volhynian Slavs (annalistic dulebs), whose union was crushed, according to the data of the PVL, by the Avar invasion in the beginning. U11 c. The works of other Arab authors contain information about the three centers of the Eastern Slavs: Kuyavia, Slavia, Artania. First some domestic historians identified with Kiev, the second - with Novgorod or its more ancient predecessor. The location of Artania continues to cause controversy. Apparently they were pre-state formations, including a number of tribal unions. However, all these local principalities were little connected with each other, competed with each other and therefore could not withstand powerful external forces: the Khazars and the Varangians.

Beliefs of the Eastern Slavs . The worldview of the Eastern Slavs was based on paganism - the deification of the forces of nature, the perception of natural and human world as a whole. The origin of pagan cults occurred in ancient times - in the era of the Upper Paleolithic, about 30 thousand years BC. With the transition to new types of management, pagan cults were transformed, reflecting the evolution public life person. At the same time, the most ancient layers of beliefs were not replaced by newer ones, but were layered on top of each other. Therefore, the restoration of information about Slavic paganism is extremely difficult. In addition to this circumstance, the reconstruction of the picture of the paganism of the Slavs is also difficult because to this day there are practically no written sources preserved. For the most part, these are Christian anti-pagan writings.

Gods. In ancient times, the Slavs had a widespread cult of the Family and women in childbirth, closely associated with the worship of ancestors. Genus - divine image the tribal community contained the entire universe - heaven, earth and the underground dwelling of the ancestors. Each East Slavic tribe had its own patron god.

The priesthood (magicians, sorcerers) who perform sacrifices and other religious ceremonies. Paganism is the worship of the animated forces of nature. It takes the form of polytheism (polytheism)

The main gods of the Slavs were:

Rod - the progenitor of gods and people

Yarilo - god of the sun

Stribog - the god of the wind

Svarog - god of the sky

Perun - god of thunder and lightning

Mokosh - the goddess of moisture and the patroness of spinning

Veles - "cattle god"

Lel and Lada - gods patronizing lovers

Brownies, kikimors, goblin, etc.

The sacrifices were made in special places- temples

In the future, the Slavs increasingly worshiped the great Svarog - the god of heaven and his sons - Dazhdbog and Stribog - the gods of the sun and wind. In time everything big role Perun begins to play - the god of thunder, the "creator of lightning", who was especially revered as the god of war and weapons in the princely retinue environment. Perun was not the head of the pantheon of gods, only later, during the formation of statehood and the strengthening of the importance of the prince and his squad, the cult of Perun began to strengthen. The pagan pantheon also included Veles or Volos - the patron of cattle breeding and the guardian of the underworld of the ancestors, Makosh - the goddess of fertility and others. Totemic ideas were also preserved, associated with the belief in a kindred mystical connection of the genus with any animal, plant, or even object. In addition, the world of the Eastern Slavs was "inhabited" by numerous coastlines, mermaids, goblin, etc.

Priests. There is no exact data about the pagan priests, apparently they were the annalistic "Magi" who fought in the 11th century. with Christianity. During cult rituals that took place in special places - temples (from the Old Slavonic "drop" - an image, an idol), sacrifices were made to the gods, including human ones. A feast was arranged for the dead, and then the corpse was burned on a large fire. pagan beliefs determined the spiritual life of the Eastern Slavs.

Level of evolution. In general, Slavic paganism could not satisfy the needs of the states that were emerging among the Slavs, because it did not have a developed social doctrine capable of explaining the realities of the new life. The fractional nature of mythology prevented the holistic understanding of the natural and social environment by the Eastern Slavs. The Slavs never had a mythology explaining the origin of the world and man, telling about the victory of heroes over the forces of nature, etc. By the 10th century, the need to modernize the religious system became obvious.

Thus, migrations, contacts with local population and the transition to settled life in the new lands led to the formation of the East Slavic ethnos, consisting of 13 tribal unions.

Agriculture became the basis of the economic activity of the Eastern Slavs, and the role of crafts and foreign trade increased.

In the new conditions, in response to the changes taking place both within the Slavic world and in external environment a transition is planned from tribal democracy to military democracy, from a tribal community to an agricultural one.

The beliefs of the Eastern Slavs are also becoming more complex. With the development of agriculture, the deification of individual forces of nature comes to replace the syncretic Rod - the main god of the Slavic hunters with the development of agriculture. However, the inconsistency of existing cults with the needs of the development of the East Slavic world is increasingly felt.

So, the Slavs U1-ser. 1X centuries, while maintaining the foundations of the communal system (communal ownership of land and livestock, arming of all free people, regulation of social relations with the help of traditions, i.e. customary law, veche democracy), underwent both internal changes, so is the pressure external forces, which in their totality created the conditions for the formation of the state.

The emergence of statehood among the Slavs dates back to the early Middle Ages. This was the time (IV-VIII centuries) when, as a result of the migration of "barbarian" tribes living in the north and east of Europe, a new ethnic and political map of the continent was formed. The migration of these tribes (Germanic, Slavic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric, Iranian) was called the Great Migration of Peoples.

The Slavs joined the migration process in the VI century. AD Prior to that, they occupied the territory from the upper Oder to the middle reaches of the Dnieper. The settlement of the Slavs took place in the IV-VIII centuries. in three main directions: to the south - to the Balkan Peninsula; to the west - to the Middle Danube and the interfluve of the Oder and Elbe; to the east - north along the East European Plain. Accordingly, the Slavs were divided into three branches - southern, western and eastern. The Slavs settled a vast territory from the Peloponnese to the Gulf of Finland and from the middle Elbe to the upper Volga and upper Don.

In the course of settlement among the Slavs, the tribal system was decomposed and a new feudal society began to gradually form.

On the territory that became part of Kievan Rus, 12 Slavic unions of tribal principalities are known. The glades, Drevlyans, Volynians (another name is Buzhans), Croats, Tivertsy, Ulichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Dregovichi, Krivichi, Ilmen Slovenes, and northerners lived here. These unions were communities that were no longer consanguineous, but territorial and political in nature.

social order pre-state Slavic societies - military democracy. The political side of the emergence and development of feudalism among the Slavs in the VIII-X centuries. was the formation of early medieval states.

The state of the Eastern Slavs was called "Rus".

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What tribes did the East Slavic peoples have?

According to the information, most of which was obtained as a result of the study of ancient written sources and archaeological finds, the tribes of the Eastern Slavs separated from the Indo-European community around 150 BC, after which their numbers and influence began to increase rapidly.

How did the tribes of the Eastern Slavs originate?

The first mentions of the numerous tribes of the Wends, as well as the Sclavinians and Antes (this is how the first Slavic ethnic groups were called in those days) are present in the manuscripts of Greek, Byzantine, Roman, and also Arabic authors. O early times you can also get information from Russian chronicles.

The very fragmentation of this people into eastern, western and southern, according to the statements of some scientists, is due to their displacement by other peoples, which was not uncommon in that period (the times of the great migration of peoples).

South Slavic (Bulgarian, Slovenian, as well as Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian) tribes are those communities that chose to remain in Europe. Today they are considered the progenitors of Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, Bulgarians, as well as Slovenes and Bosniaks.

To the tribes of the Western Slavs (Slenzhans, Polans, Pomeranians, as well as Bohemians and Polabs), scientists rank the Slavs who moved to the northern latitudes. From these communities, according to the authors of the most popular versions of the appearance of the Slavic peoples, came Czechs, Poles and Slovaks. The southern and western Slavic tribes were, in turn, captured and assimilated by representatives of other peoples.

The East Slavic tribes, to which scientists include Tivertsy, white Croats, northerners, Volhynians, Polochans, Drevlyans, as well as streets, Radimichi, Buzhans, Vyatichi and Dregovichi, consist of Slavs who moved to the territory of the so-called East European Plain. The descendants of the above tribes, today's historians and Slavophile researchers consider Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians.

Table: East Slavic tribal unions

Scheme: Eastern Slavs in the era of the “Great Migration of Nations”

How did the Slavic tribes coexist with other peoples?

Most of Slavic tribes were forced to move to the territory of central Europe, in particular, to the lands of the once great Roman Empire, which collapsed in 476. At the same time, the conquerors of this empire formed during this period a new statehood, which, although based on the experience of the legacy of the Roman Empire, was different from it. At the same time, the territories chosen by the East Slavic tribes were not so culturally developed.

Some tribes of the Slavs settled on the shores of Lake Ilmen, subsequently founding the city of Novgorod on this place, others decided to continue their journey and settled on the banks of the Dnieper River, founded the city of Kiev there, which later became the mother of Russian cities.

By about the sixth or eighth century, the Eastern Slavs were able to occupy the entire territory of the East European Plain. Their neighbors were Finns, Estonians, Lithuanians, Lyish, Mansi, Khanty, as well as Ugrians and Komi. It is worth noting that according to the available historical data, the settlement and development of new territories took place peacefully, without any military action. The Eastern Slavs themselves were not at enmity with the above peoples.

Opposition of the Eastern Slavs to the nomads

But in the territories located in the east and southeast, a completely different situation developed at the same time. In these regions, the plain was adjacent to the steppe and the neighbors of the Slavs there became a nomadic people called the Turks. Regular raids by steppe nomads ravaged Slavic settlements for about a thousand years. At the same time, the Turks formed their states on the southeastern and eastern borders of the Eastern Slavs. Their largest and most powerful state Avar Khaganate, existed in the mid-500s and fell in 625, after the collapse of Byzantium. However, in the seventh-eighth century, the Bulgar kingdom was located on the same territory. Most of the Bulgars, who settled near the middle reaches of the Volga, formed a state that went down in history as the Volga Bulgaria. The remaining Bulgars, who settled near the Danube, formed the Danube Bulgaria. A little later, due to the assimilation of representatives of the South Slavic tribes with Turkic settlers, new people who called themselves Bulgarians.

The territories liberated by the Bulgars were occupied by new Turks - the Pechenegs. This people was later founded Khazar Khaganate, in the steppe territories located between the banks of the Volga and the Azov and Caspian Seas. Later, the tribes of the Eastern Slavs were enslaved by the Khazars. At the same time, the Eastern Slavs pledged to pay tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. Such relations of the Slavic eastern tribes with the Khazars continued until the ninth century.

The modern population of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus belongs to a large group of East Slavic peoples who have a common origin, cultural, religious and everyday traditions. The issues of social structure, culture and life of the East Slavic tribes are quite studied. But historians cannot give an unambiguous answer to the question of when they appeared and what is the territory of their settlement.

Tracing the history of the Slavic peoples is quite difficult., since reliable written sources date back to the 5th-6th centuries AD. e. For a comprehensive study of this issue, scientists resort to the results of research in the field of archeology, linguistics, and ethnography. Based on them, you can briefly talk about the origin of the Slavs. The most important idea about the appearance of the Slavs is obtained during the comparison of all types of data.

Based on the data obtained by linguists, speakers of East Slavic languages ​​belong to a large community of Indo-European peoples. The time when the Slavic tribes separated from the Indo-European peoples is the 2nd millennium BC. e. At that time Indo-Europeans were divided into three large branches:

1. Proto-Germanic peoples occupying the territories of Western and Southern Europe. These included the Celts, Germans, Romans.
2. Balto-Slavic peoples who occupied the vast lands of Central Europe between the rivers Elbe, Vistula, Dnieper and Danube.
3. Iranian and Indian peoples settled in the Asian expanses.

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. there was a division of the Balto-Slavic peoples into two independent branches: the Balts and the Slavs. By the 6th century AD in Central and Eastern Europe about 150 Proto-Slavic tribes lived, united in three groups:

• Wends inhabited the lands in the Vistula river basin;
• sklavins settled in the interfluve of the Dniester, Danube and Vistula;
• antes settled the lands between the rivers Dniester and Dnieper.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, an ancient Byzantine historian wrote that these groups had a common language, religious and legal norms, cultural and everyday traditions. Modern historians believe that to name the ancestors modern peoples Eastern Europe is quite easy, since they were representatives of all three Proto-Slavic groups.

In the 6th-7th centuries. n. uh. a single Proto-Slavic nation breaks up into several branches, this process was influenced by the events of the Great Migration of Nations. The migration of the Slavic tribes took place in three directions:

• southern direction (Balkan Peninsula);
• northwestern (downstream of the Vistula and Oder rivers);
• northeast (to the north and east of the East European Plain).

As a result of these migration processes, contemporary bands Slavic peoples: Western Slavs (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs); southern Slavs (Montenegrins, Serbs, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Croats, Slovenes); Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians).

The resettlement of the people

As a result of migration in the northeast direction, the Eastern Slavs in ancient times settled the vast territory of the East European Plain. In the VIII-IX centuries. about 150 Slavic tribes moved to this territory, reaching Lake Ladoga in the north, the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka in the east, and the Black Sea steppes in the south.

By the 9th century n. uh. in Eastern Europe, 14 large tribal unions were formed, which united smaller tribes. The table and map in the history atlas for the 10th grade will help you remember the names and geographical location of tribal unions.

Each tribal union had its own language, cultural and household traditions, and farming methods. The fragmentation of the East Slavic tribes was facilitated by differences in the natural and climatic conditions of the occupied lands. Their list, if followed from north to south, is as follows:

The resettlement of our ancestors was mostly peaceful. Coming to new territories, the Slavs either assimilated small local tribes, or peacefully coexisted and exchanged cultural and everyday traditions with the indigenous population. Such relations were maintained with Western neighbors:

• Baltic tribes: Estonians, Litas, Lithuanians, Latgalians, Yotvingians;
• West Slavic tribes: Poles, Slovaks, Czechs.

In the northeast of the East Slavic tribes, the indigenous Finno-Ugric population lived: Karelians, all, Chud, Merya, Muroma, Meshchera.

Quite tense relations developed among the East Slavic tribal unions with the eastern and southern neighbors, the Turkic-speaking tribes.

In the east, in the upper reaches of the Volga, there was the state of Volga Bulgaria, formed by part of a large tribe of Bulgarians. Part of this people migrated to the Balkan Peninsula, mixed with the local Slavic population and formed the Bulgarian kingdom.

On the lower Volga, there was a powerful state of the Khazar Khaganate, whose tributaries for quite a long time were some Slavic tribes: Polyany, Vyatichi, Radimichi and Northerners. They were supposed to send tribute to the Khaganate in the form of skins of fur-bearing animals.

Oral sources mentioned raids on the Slavic tribe Buzhan Avars- a nomadic Turkic-speaking people who managed to create a state association of the Avar Khaganate, which lasted until the end of the 8th century.

The tribes living in the forest-steppe zone were periodically subjected to raids by nomadic peoples moving from east to west along the Black Sea steppes. These include: Ugrians (Hungarians), Pechenegs, Cumans.

Strengthening the positions of the East Slavic tribal unions led to the formation of large associations with signs of statehood. In Arabic sources dating back to the 10th century, three superunions of the Eastern Slavs are mentioned: Slavia with its center in Novgorod; Kuyabia, the center of which was Kiev. The location of the third superunion - the country of Artania - is not known for certain. Some researchers place it in the Rostov region. Also called the land in the region of Chernigov and Ryazan.

According to the main written source on ancient Russian history- The Tale of Bygone Years - the state of the Eastern Slavs originated in the north in the lands of the Ilmen Slovenes in the middle of the 9th century. This event is associated with the calling to reign in Novgorod of the Varangian Rurik, who, by the end of his reign, subjugated most of the northeastern Slavic tribes and neighboring Finno-Ugric peoples. His successor, Prince Oleg, continued to expand the influence of the Varangian princely dynasty to the south, conquering Kiev in 882. This date is considered the time of the formation of the ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus.

The settlement of the Slavs in Eastern Europe took place in two directions: to the north into a zone of dense forests, lakes and swamps; and east into the forest-steppe, where forests alternated with large open expanses of black earth. This difference in natural conditions left an imprint on life, economic activity and customs of the Slavs.

Economic activity

The main activity of the Slavic population of Eastern Europe was agriculture. In the north, due to natural conditions, the slash-and-burn type of land cultivation began to predominate. It consisted of the following: in the first year, the farmers uprooted a section of the forest, burned the remaining stumps and roots, fertilizing the soil with their ashes, and on next year the area was planted with agricultural crops. Such a plot was depleted in 2-3 years, and the peasants moved to the new land.

In the south, the ancient Slavs were engaged in a shifting type of agriculture, which consisted in burning grasses in a certain area and then using it for 4-5 years. After that, the site was left at 20–25 to restore its fertility.

No less important occupation of the ancient population of Eastern Europe in ancient times was cattle breeding. Its specificity varied depending on the geographical location of the tribe. In the north, the population preferred the breeding of cattle (oxen, cows), which were used as draft animals in agricultural work. East Slavic pastoralists in the southern lands preferred the breeding of horses, among which were both draft breeds and riding varieties.

In addition to cattle, pigs, goats, and poultry were bred.

In the north of the ancient Slavic ecumene beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees), fishing and hunting were also common. It should be noted that honey and skins of fur animals were the main commodities in trade with neighbors and foreign merchants.

Crafts developed quite actively: blacksmithing, pottery, jewelry, leather. The East Slavic tribes and their neighbors were actively trading with each other.

social organization

Quite difficult living conditions and the need to work in a team contributed to preservation in the East Slavic society of the communal system. Initially, it had a tribal character, but with the development of farming methods and tools, tribal relations were transformed into neighborly ones. The neighboring community existed on the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus until the beginning of the 20th century.

With the development of social relations, polygamous relations are being replaced by monogamous families, which have become integral part neighboring community and the basis of the social structure of the East Slavic ethnos.

Features of life

lived in dwellings of a semi-dugout type with a two or three-pitched roof. Inside there was one room with a stove without a chimney (smoke came out through the door and a hole in the roof of the building). Several yards were combined into a village, which was located in the bends of the rivers, surrounded by an earthen rampart and surrounded by a palisade. This protected the inhabitants of the settlement from animals and enemies.

Household utensils were made of wood or clay. Iron was rarely used. Basically, tools and weapons were made from it.

Clothes were sewn from linen and cotton fabrics, which were spun by women in each family. Things were decorated with embroidery, by which it was possible to determine in what territory its owner lives.

Religion and beliefs

Our ancestors until the 10th century professed paganism. They deified nature, believed in spirits and supernatural powers. Each tribe had its own pantheon of gods and a patron god. One can distinguish a number of gods common to all East Slavic tribes: Perun - the god of thunder and lightning; Genus - fertility; Yarilo (Dazhbog, Hora) - the sun; Makosh - household; Veles - cattle breeding and wealth; Svarog - the god of the sky; Simargl -underworld. There was no main god in the Slavic pantheon. Only with the strengthening of princely power does the rise and strengthening of the cult of Perun take place, which becomes the god of war and the patron saint of combatants.

Most often, the gods were depicted in the form of stone or wooden idols installed in special places - temples. They were places for religious ceremonies, often accompanied by sacrifices. For quite a long time human sacrifices were common. Important role priests played in the pagan cult.

By the 10th century, our ancestors settled in Eastern Europe. Their hard work, perseverance, peacefulness allowed them to develop actively and contributed to the emergence of the ancient Slavic state - Kievan Rus.