Rus is the name of one of the oldest Slavic tribes.
historical reality
The hypothesis of the existence of Slavic tribe of Russ / Ross "- unsuccessful attempt criticism of the chronicle version of the origin of Russia from the Varangians.
The desire to find Rus/Rus/Ros in the territory of Eastern Europe in the period preceding the legendary "calling of the Varangians" often forced even venerable scientists to interpret the information of historical sources in a very peculiar way.
Chronicle formula "Glade even more ı not calling Russia " speaks for itself: the original name "Rus" for the Slavs is not. Glade, according to the chronicler, one of the Eastern European Slavic tribes. But the original Rus is the newcomers-Varangians, "persons of Scandinavian nationality." "Idosha across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia. Sitse bo you call the Varangians Rus, as if all friends are called their own, the friends are Urmani, Anglians, Ini and Gotha, so and si, tells us the chronicler. However, the chronicler most likely did notwas the author of a politically independent, therefore, in the interests of the Scandinavian dynasty, he could well “deprive Russia of the Slavs”. In addition, the author is "confused in the testimony", because in another passage he states:« And the slovensk language and the Russian one . « True, the chronicler already clarifies in the next sentence:“From the Varangians, more nicknamed Rus, and the first besha Slovenian; even the clearing is called, but the Slovenian speech was. But in these two sentences, we can simply talk about different eras.
In the Estonian atlas of 1859 Sweden - ROOTSI (and even now)
However, an independent expert on geopolitics of the tenth century. very clearly separates the Ross and their Slavic tributaries. We are talking about Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his treatise "On the management of the empire". Moreover, the learned emperor does not leave the slightest chance for doubts about the “non-Slavic” nature of the Ross. In its text, the names of the Dnieper rapids are given in Russian and Slavic, and Old Swedish is easily guessed in Russian.
However, not everyone liked and likes the "Swedish trail". Such opponents of the "Scandinavian trace" are called "anti-Normanists". Unambiguous indications of sources do not bother them at all, and they deny any significant role of the Scandinavians in the formation of Russia. The most detailed thesis “Rus– unconditional Slavs” was presented by Academician B.A. Rybakov in a voluminous article of 1953 "Ancient Rus (On the question of the formation of the core of the Old Russian people in the light of the works of I.V. Stalin)". B.A. Rybakov built a rather complex historical and archaeological structure, trying to prove that in the 6th - 7th centuries. there was a certain Slavic tribe "Rus", which lived between Kyiv and the river. Ros (the name of the river, of course, is associated with the name of the people).
The only source of this period that gives at least a hint of the Rus / Rus in Eastern Europe is a certain Pseudo-Zacharia - the anonymous author of the Syriac translation of "Church History" by Zechariah Rhetor. In the description of the peoples living north of the Caucasus, this author, in the same passage with dog people and Amazons, mentions a certain people “Eros” - giants who, due to the size of their limbs, cannot ride. B.A. Rybakov accepts A.P. Dyakonov that the Syrian "eros" conveys the Greek "ros / rus". The Slavism of these Ross / Russ for the indisputable authority of Soviet Slavic and Russian studies was a priori and undeniable.
This concept of B.A. Rybakova has been repeatedly criticized for more than half a century since its publication, and has been considered by experts for many years as an example of historiography in the style of "if the facts do not confirm the theory, then so much the worse for the facts." However, in the popular literature and the network sphere, the opinion of B.A. Rybakov remains very authoritative, and therefore the mentioned concept is still popular.
A thousand years ago, the chroniclers of ancient Kyiv claimed that they, the people of Kiev, are Rus, and that the state of Rus came from Kyiv. The Novgorod chroniclers, in turn, argued that Russia is they, and that Russia came from Novgorod. What kind of tribe is Rus, and to what tribes and peoples did it belong.
Traces of these tribes, which left a deep mark on the history of Europe and Asia, can be found in geographical names from the Rhine to the Urals, from Scandinavia to the Middle East. Ancient Greek, Arabic, Roman, Germanic, Gothic historians wrote about them. There was Russia in Germany in the district of Gera, and only on the orders of Hitler during the war with Russia this name was canceled. There was Russia in the Crimea on the Kerch Peninsula back in the 7th century AD. Only in the Baltics there were four Russ: the island of Rügen, the mouth of the Neman River, the coast of the Gulf of Riga, in Estonia Rotalia-Russia with the islands of Ezel and Dago. In Eastern Europe, apart from Kievan Rus were: Russia in the Carpathians, in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, in the Caspian Sea, at the mouth of the Danube, Purgas Russia on the lower Oka. In Central Europe in the Danube region: Rugia, Ruthenia, Russia, the Ruthenian brand, Rutonia, Rugiland in the territory of present-day Austria and Yugoslavia. Two principalities "Rus" on the border of Thuringia and Saxony in Germany. The city of Russia in Syria, which arose after the first crusade. Roger Bacon (an English author of the 13th century) mentions the "Great Russiya", which encircles Lithuania on both sides of the Baltic Sea, including the modern Kaliningrad region. In the same century, the Tefton Germans came here, and this territory became German Prussia.
German historians, authors of the Norman theory, declare that Russia is one of the Germanic tribes. Russian scientists claim the opposite: Russia is one of the Slavic tribes. But the closest to the truth, after all, is the Arab scholar and historian, a contemporary of Ancient Russia and a third-party, independent observer Al-Masudi, who wrote: “The Rus are numerous peoples subdivided into various tribes, among them the most powerful is Ludaana.” But the word "ludaana" is unambiguously explained from the Slavic languages as "people", this Slavic tribes who lived on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea from East Germany between the Elbe and the Oder to the coast of the White Sea. The western part of these lands was called Slavia (“Slavic Chronicle” by Helmgold, 1172), and stretched from Greece to the Baltic (Scythian) Sea. Al-Istarkhi “The Book of the Ways of States” speaks about the same: “And the most distant of them (Russes) is a group called as-Slavia, and a group of them called al-Arsania, and their king sits in Ars.” Lutici got their name, most likely, from the word "fierce, cruel, merciless." It was they who stood at the forefront of the offensive of the Balkan Slavs to the north and west, forcing the Germans to cross the Rhine and leave for Italy and Gaul (present-day France). In VIII, the Franks defeated the Russian-Slavic tribe of the Varins, known from Scandinavian and Russian legends as the Varangians-Varangians, and forced some of them to leave for the eastern coast of the Baltic. At the beginning of the 10th century, having gathered all the power German Empire, Emperor Henry I declared "Drang nah Osten" (pressure to the east) against the Slavs, who then lived in the territory of present-day East Germany. The Russian-Slavic tribes: Vagrs, Obodrites (Reregs), Polabs, Glinyans, Lyutichs (they are Wiltsi: Khizhans, throughpenyans, ratari, Dolenchans), having fallen under the cruel yoke of the German barons, began to leave Slavia (East Germany) to the east in search of freedom and will. Many of them settled near Novgorod and Pskov, others went further towards the Urals, to the Russian North. Those who remained in place were gradually assimilated by the Teutons, who rushed from Germany to the richest Slavic lands.
In the work of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus “On the Governance of the State”, the names of the Dnieper rapids are listed in Slavonic and Russian. The Russian names of the rapids sound like Scandinavian ones: Essupi "do not sleep", Ulvorsi "island of the threshold", Gelandri "noise of the threshold", Aifor "pelicans", Varuforos "threshold with a backwater", Leanti "boiling water", Strukun "small threshold". Slavic names: Do not sleep, Ostrovuniprag, Gelandri, Tawny owl, Vulniprag, Verutsi, Naprezi. This suggests that the Russian and Slavic languages are still different, the Russian language of Constantine Porphyrogenitus differs from Slavic, but not so much that it would be classified as a Germanic language. The literature mentions many tribes of the Rus, leading their history from the shores of the Baltic. Rugs, horns, rutuli, rotals, rutens, rosomones, roxalans, roszi, heruli, ruyans, rens, wounds, aorses, ruzzi, gepids, and they spoke different languages: Slavic, Baltic, Celtic.
Still, Al-Masudi is right, who wrote that the Rus are numerous peoples, subdivided into various tribes. The Russians were northern peoples: Slavs, Scandinavians, northern Celts "flavi rutens", that is, "red rutens", and at the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD, Finno-Ugric peoples (the names of the Rus from Igor's treaty with the Greeks: Kanitsar, Iskusevi, Apubksar). The name "Rus, Rus" tribes received regardless of nationality. Back in the 10th century, the northern Italian historian Liutprand explained the name of the tribes "Rus" from the Greek language as "red", "red". And there are numerous confirmations of this. Almost all the names of Russian tribes come from the word "red" or "red" (rotals, rutens, roztsy, ruyans, Rus, etc.), or from the Iranian word "rus", which means light, blond, blond. Many ancient authors who wrote about the Rus characterize them as light-skinned, red-haired, red-haired. For the Greeks, red was hallmark supreme power, and only kings and emperors could use it. To emphasize his innate right to power, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine added to his name the title Porphyrogenitus, that is, born red or red. Therefore, the Greeks especially distinguished the northern red-haired tribes, calling them Rus, regardless of the language this tribe spoke. At the beginning of our era, it was the Byzantine Greeks who brought the light of civilization to Eastern Europe, giving names to European peoples in their own way. Therefore, on the map of Europe, the name Rus appears precisely in the zone of influence of the Byzantine Empire.
Such a light-skinned and red-haired type of people could have formed only with a long existence in the north, in a cold climate and, as modern scientists have determined, with a large consumption of fish. The archaeological culture of “kyekkenmedings” or heaps of kitchen waste left at the sites of fishermen and hunters along the shores of the North and Baltic Seas is quite suitable for these conditions. They left behind huge piles of fish bones, shells and bones of marine animals. These are the creators of the so-called "pitted" ceramics. They decorated their pots with one or more rows of small, round pits along the rim and strokes along the walls. Using this ceramics, one can unmistakably trace the paths of the Russian tribes. Most likely, at the beginning they spoke the Baltic language, the middle language between the Germanic and Slavic languages. Their ancient language had many words with Slavic roots. In the work of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus "On the Russes coming from Russia on one-trees to Constantinople" the names of the seven Dnieper rapids in Slavonic and Russian are mentioned. Of the seven names, two have the same sound, both in Slavic and in Russian: Essupi (do not sleep) and Gelandri (threshold noise). Two more Russian names have a Slavic root and can also be explained in the Slavic language: Varuforos (the Slavic root "var" in the meaning of "water", from which the meaning "cook" is preserved in modern Russian, and Strukun with the meaning "flow, flowing" ). As a result, it turns out that out of seven Russian words, four, and this is 57%, that is, more than half have Slavic roots. But, having taken up science before the Slavs, German scientists, in view of the loud military glory of the Russian tribes, ranked the Baltic languages as Germanic and called them "East Germanic". With the same success, the languages \u200b\u200bof the northern Russian tribes, including Scandinavian, can be called "Northern Slavic" languages. It's in our time Swedish language became closer to the Germanic languages, subjected to the strongest influence of German culture, imposed on him from outside. The same thing happened with the Norwegian language. Even the Gothic historian Jordanes mentions the Norwegians under their original name "Navego". Most likely, this name came from the totem of the patron of the tribe and had a root in the name of a fish (for example, “navaga”) or a sea animal (for example, “narwhals”). At the turn of the 2nd millennium AD, this Baltic tribe also underwent the strongest Germanization. The name "navego" was rethought in the German manner and began to sound like "Norwegians" from German word“road to the north”, but what does the Norwegian people and the “road to the north” have to do with it?
It is most expedient to single out the ancient Russian-Baltic languages in separate group Indo-European languages and give it the name "Baltic", which is completely true.
The abundance of food: fish and sea animals, the climatic optimum on the shores of the Baltic Sea, contributed to the rapid growth of the population, the excess of which, wave after wave, began to go south. In the upper reaches of the Volga and Oka, Russian tribes mixed with the Eastern Slavs, and with a small number of Siberian populations who came from beyond the Urals. From this mixture appeared the Russian-Slavic tribes, the creators of the cultures of "pit-comb" ceramics. Their most ancient sites are found near Moscow (Lyalovskaya site), and throughout the Volga-Oka interfluve from the 4th millennium BC. The distribution of pit-comb ceramics shows the widespread settlement of Russian-Slavic tribes throughout the forest belt of Eastern Europe, including the Scandinavian Peninsula. They spoke the Slavic language, but, unlike the Balkan and Danubian Slavs, they had bright, Blue eyes and light blond or red hair, all signs of Russian tribes. And in terms of culture they were close to the Russian-Baltic tribes. It was about them that Procopius of Caesarea wrote: “They (Antes) are very tall and of great strength. The color of their skin and hair is very white or golden, and not quite black, but they are all dark red.
And so Jewish prophet Ezekiel says about the people of Ros:
1. “You are a son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: thus says the Lord God: here I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosa, Meshech and Tubal!
2. And I will turn you and lead you, and I will bring you out from the ends of the north and bring you to the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel, chapter 39).
Under the concept: Russian tribes fell all the peoples of northern Europe who spoke Slavic languages: Rugs, Ruyans, Vagry-Varangians, Obodrites-Bodrichi-Reregs, Wilts, Lutichi, etc. In the Baltic languages: Chud, Goths, Swedes, Navego (future Norwegians), Izhora, etc. In Celtic languages: Aestii, Ruthenians, etc. In Finno-Ugric languages (assimilated Baltic, Celtic and Russian-Slavic tribes). The North Iranian Scythians, who have lived in the north of Eastern Europe since ancient times, also belonged to the Russian tribes. Therefore, such confusion has been created in the literature about Russian tribes that no one can still unravel it. Some Russ burned their dead relatives in a boat, others buried in simple soil pits, others buried a whole log house and buried with his living wife. Some Russ wore short jackets, others did not wear jackets or caftans, but wore a “kisa” - a long piece of cloth wrapped around the body, third Russ wore wide trousers, each of which was one hundred “cubits” of matter. Of course, the Goths, who came from the southern shores of the Baltic, also belonged to the Russian tribes. In the Lithuanian language, Russians are still referred to by the word "guti", that is, "Goths" (Tatishchev). One of the self-names of the Goths was “gut-tiuda”, but the name “tiuda”, which is recognized by many modern historians, denotes the Baltic tribe “Chud”. This tribe, together with the Slavs and the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples, played a huge role in the development of medieval culture in the territory from the White Sea to Spain. The Chud tribes spoke the Baltic language, close to Russian-Slavic. In the modern Russian language from that time, the words “wonderful”, “miracle”, “eccentric” remained, that is, people who are very close in culture and language, but who have their own wonderful customs. For example, from communication with the ancient, Finno-Ugric tribe Merya, who spoke a foreign, incomprehensible language, the words “vile”, “abomination” remained in the Russian language. From contact with the Finno-Ugric tribe "Mari", the word "Mara", that is, "death", remained in the Russian language. Meeting with them for the Slavs meant physical or ethnic death, loss of life or loss of their language and culture.
At the beginning of our era, the Chud people (Tiuds) lived along the entire Baltic coast, they included the Goths (Gut-Tiuds) and the Swedes (Sweet-Tiuds). The name of the Gothic king Theodoric can be translated as Tiudo-rix, that is, "Chudian king." All the facts indicate that Chud is a very ancient Russian-Baltic tribe, from which both the Goths and the Swedes spun off, stood out.
According to the legends of the Udmurt people, the richest Cheganda (Pyanobor) archaeological culture of the 2nd century BC - 3rd century AD on the territory of Udmurtia was created by the light-eyed Chud, who came from the north. This is also confirmed by archeology: “corded” ceramics with cord impressions disappear, and Baltic “pitted” ceramics are widely distributed. This period of time completely fits into the time when the Goths advanced from the southern coast of the Baltic to the Black Sea region. In the book "Getika" by the Gothic historian Jordanes (VI century AD) it is written that the Goths, when moving south, ousted from their places the kindred tribe of the Ulmerugs, that is, the island rugs. Since then, the Rugs considered the Goths their worst enemies and repeatedly defeated them in battles. Jordan himself did not consider the Rug Germans, they were originally a Russian-Slavic tribe. Breaking through Germany to the west, the Goths in the battles literally flooded their lands with blood, beating the Germanic tribes one by one and all together. Since then, the name of the Baltic tribe is ready for the Germans acquired the meaning of God.
It can be clarified: the richest Cheganda (Pyanobor) archaeological culture (II century BC - V century AD) in the lower reaches of the Kama was created by the Russian-Slavic tribe of the Rugs, ousted in the Black Sea region by the Goths. Probably, several generations of Goths lived in the Kama region, gathering forces to break through to the most fertile lands of the Black Sea region.
Further, Jordan writes that the king is ready Filimer, before attacking the spas, which blocked the Goths from entering the steppe expanses, sent half of his army to the east. They crossed the river (presumably the Kama, because steppes are already spreading in the lower reaches of the Kama), left and disappeared in endless swamps and bottomless swamps. These lands can only be the vast swamps of Western Siberia. Traces of these ready in our time are found by archaeologists, in the form of "accidentally got there" Scandinavian products, throughout the forest-steppe part of Western Siberia. They reached Tuva, becoming princes and kings for the local peoples. They passed on their culture and runic writing to the Yenisei Kirghiz, Khakass and ancient Tuvans. The name "runic" is translated from the Gothic language as "secret".
According to the descriptions of Chinese historians, the Mongolian family of Borjigins, to which Genghis Khan belonged, came to Mongolia from the north, from the territory of present-day Tuva and was very different from the local Tatars. They were tall, grey-eyed and fair-haired. It is quite possible that Genghis Khan is a direct descendant of the Rus-Goths, who left the territory of the Kama region to the east in the second century BC. The Mongols wrote, moreover, in Scandinavian runic writing. Probably, remembering their Russian origin, the Borjigins (Chingizids) did not destroy the Russian princes in Russia, as they completely destroyed the Tatar, Bulgarian, Finno-Ugric, Kypchak, Kuman princes, but accepted them practically as equals. The name "Urus Khan" - "Russian Khan", is often mentioned among the supreme rulers of the Mongol Hordes. The son of Batu Khan (Batu), Sartak, considered it an honor to become a twin brother of the Russian prince Alexander Nevsky.
The Goths, torn in the Black Sea region, fell under the blow of the Huns, and left for Western Europe, where, having changed the whole course of European history, they gradually disappeared among the Italians, French and Spaniards.
If we talk about which tribes belonged to Russia, which created the state of Ancient Russia, then we can say unequivocally - Slavic Russia, which spoke the Slavic language. This conclusion can be reached by analyzing the modern Russian language. The word “work” has the same root as the word “slave”, to work means to perform the function of a slave, to be a slave. But the word "dream" of the same root with the word "sword". Dreaming means thinking how to achieve everything you want with the sword: happiness, fame, wealth and power. Most Russian folk tales tell very exciting stories about how the youngest son found a treasure sword and, having gone to distant lands, got everything for himself: wealth, fame, a bride and a kingdom in addition. This fully corresponds to the characteristics that ancient authors gave when describing the Rus (for example, Ibn-Ruste "Dear values"). When a son is born to them, he (Rus) gives the newborn a naked sword, puts it in front of the child and says: “I do not leave you any property as an inheritance, and you have nothing but what you get with this sword”, “Rus they have no real estate, no villages, no arable land and feed only on what they get in the land of the Slavs”, “but they have many cities, they are warlike, brave, pugnacious”. But the "Rus" themselves ... belong to the Slavs" (Ibn-Khordadbeg, 9th century AD).
One of the names of the Russian-Baltic tribe of the Swedes is "svet-tiudy", that is, "bright Chud". Ibn-Ruste writes that among the Slavs, bordering on the Pechenegs, the king is called "sweet-malik", that is, "Swede-amalik" (a Swede from the royal family of Amal), and he eats only mare's milk. Most likely, what happened is that, unlike Slavic Russia, Swedish Rus came under the strongest influence of the Sarmatians-Finno-Ugrians and the Scythians-Iranians. They moved from boats to horses and became typical nomads, widely known from Russian chronicles as "Polovtsy". Polovtsy - from the word "sex", which, again, means "red", and the nomadic Turks could not be fair-haired in their southern nature. Until the Mongol invasion, the Polovtsians (Swedes - who became nomads) were the masters of the Black Sea steppes. Even after the Mongol invasion, the Polovtsian (Swedish) khans ruled in the Black Sea steppes along with Mongolian khans. Until now, the Polovtsian burial mounds in the Black Sea region local population calls "Swedish graves". Yes, and the famous Polovtsian Khan Sharukan, among medieval historians, is mentioned as the leader of the Goths (Swedes). It is quite possible that therefore the Polovtsian khans and Russian princes quickly found mutual language and jointly tried to resist the Mongol invasion. Gradually, the Cuman Swedes dissolved among the Slavs and became part of the Ukrainian people.
The Chud and Izhora tribes were Russian-Baltic, they lived from the region of present-day St. Petersburg and Estonia to the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama. At the turn of the second millennium, having experienced the strongest influence of the Finno-Ugric peoples, they partially took their language and became Estonians, Udmurts and Komi, but the majority remained Russian, having mastered the related Slavic-Russian (modern Russian) language, which is closer to them. In Udmurtia, the Russian-Baltic Chud tribes assimilated by the Finno-Ugric peoples make up more than 30% of the Udmurts, and are known as Chudna and Chudza. One of the ancient centers of settlement of the Russian-Baltic tribe Chudza was the area of the city of Izhevsk, and the village of Zavyalovo, whose lands are located around Izhevsk, was called Deri-Chudya.
A large Russian-Slavic tribe "Ves", traces of which can be found on geographical map from the Baltic to the eastern slopes of the Altai: rivers whose names have the Indo-European ending "-man" and settlements that begin or end with "ves" or "vas". It was only partially assimilated by the Finno-Ugric peoples - these are the current Vepsians. The overwhelming majority of villages were originally part of the Russian people. In the ingenious work of the ancient Russian chronicler "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", the word "all" is used in the meaning of "native village". In the famous Words: “How the prophetic Oleg is now assembled ...” the epithet “prophetic” has nothing to do with the word “broadcast” or “predict”. Oleg did not predict anything, it was the Magi who predicted death from his beloved horse. Most likely, the word “prophetic” meant that Prince Oleg was from the Russian-Slavic tribe Ves or was Prince Vesi, and the name Oleg itself comes from the Iranian word Khaleg (creator, creator). Part of the Russian-Slavic tribe Ves, who lived in Siberia, was cut off by the Finno-Ugric peoples advancing from the Kazakh steppes from the bulk of their fellow tribesmen and was called "Cheldons". They were widely known in the Urals and Siberia, and in a small number have survived to this day under the same name. The name "chel-don" consists of two words. The word "chel" - from the self-name of the Slavs - a man, and the ancient Ural word "don" - which means prince. It is quite possible that the Slavs cheldons, before the arrival of the Ugrians, were a princely tribe in Western Siberia and the Urals. After the annexation of Siberia to Russia, the local peoples called the first Russian settlers the word “pajo”, meaning “prince” or “king”, apparently in memory of the ancient Russian-Slavic tribe All that lived in Siberia before the arrival of the Ugrians. The very name "all" comes from the word "message", "broadcast", that is - to speak. From time immemorial, she lived in the whole and on the territory of Udmurtia. They left the ruins of the city - the Vesyakar fortress on the Cheptse River and the legends of the Udmurt people about the hero Vesya.
In Germany, since the Middle Ages, it was believed that the state of Ancient Russia was created by the Rugs, about which Tacitus wrote (1st - 2nd century AD): a distinctive feature of all these tribes is round shields, short swords and obedience to kings. Apparently, after coming from the territory of present-day Sweden to the southern coast of the Baltic, the circles were divided. One half went to the Kama region, the second - to the lands of present-day East Germany. Actively participating in all the wars of the middle of the first millennium of our era, often, as part of both opposing sides, the rugs scattered throughout Europe, and wherever the rugs appeared at the beginning, the name Rus or Ros appeared on the map. For example: Russia in Styria in southern Austria, Russia on the Kerch Peninsula in the Crimea. But where there were rugs, there were always their eternal rivals - the Goths, and it is impossible to say unequivocally who created the next Russia. This once again confirms the assumption that the Greeks gave the name "Rus" regardless of the tribal affiliation of the creators of the next Rus, and regardless of the language they spoke. In the place where Tacitus places the “Germanic” tribes of Rug and Lemoviev, “suddenly” the Slavic tribes of Lugi (Luzhichane) and Glinyan appear. It can be confidently asserted that the “Germanic” tribes of Rugov and Lemoviev are German vowels of the originally Russian-Slavic tribes of Lugov (Luzhichan) and Glinyan (clay in German sounds like “lem” - Lehm, clay - they are Lemovii). Part of the Russian-Slavic tribe of the Rugs (Luzhichans), who created the state of Ancient Russia (Kyiv and Novgorod), still live in their ancient ancestral home - in Slavia, that is, in East Germany.
http://www.mrubenv.ru/article.php?id=4_5.htm
This short list includes onlyofficially recognized tribes.
Vyatichi- the union of East Slavic tribes who lived in the second half of the first millennium AD. e. in the upper and middle reaches of the Oka. The name Vyatichi supposedly came from the name of the ancestor of the tribe, Vyatko. However, some associate this name by origin with the morpheme "veins" and Venedi (or Venets / Venti) (the name "Vyatichi" was pronounced as "Ventichi").
In the middle of the 10th century, Svyatoslav annexed the lands of the Vyatichi to Kievan Rus, but until the end of the 11th century, these tribes retained a certain political independence; campaigns against the Vyatichi princes of this time are mentioned. Since the XII century, the territory of the Vyatichi became part of the Chernigov, Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities. Until the end of the 13th century, the Vyatichi retained many pagan rituals and traditions, in particular, they cremated the dead, erecting small mounds over the burial place. After Christianity took root among the Vyatichi, the rite of cremation gradually went out of use.
Vyatichi retained their tribal name longer than other Slavs. They lived without princes, the social structure was characterized by self-government and democracy. AT last time Vyatichi are mentioned in chronicles under such a tribal name in 1197.
Buzhan(Volynians) - a tribe of Eastern Slavs who lived in the basin of the upper reaches of the Western Bug (from which they got their name); since the end of the 11th century, the Buzhans have been called Volynians (from the locality of Volyn).
Volynians- East Slavic tribe or tribal union, mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years and in the Bavarian chronicles. According to the latter, the Volynians owned seventy fortresses at the end of the 10th century. Some historians believe that the Volhynians and Buzhans are descendants of the Dulebs. Their main cities were Volyn and Vladimir-Volynsky. Archaeological research indicates that the Volynians developed agriculture and numerous crafts, including forging, casting and pottery.
In 981, the Volhynians were subordinated to the Kyiv prince Vladimir I and became part of Kievan Rus. Later, the Galicia-Volyn principality was formed on the territory of the Volynians.
Drevlyans- one of the tribes of Russian Slavs, lived along Pripyat, Goryn, Sluch and Teterev.
The name Drevlyane, according to the chronicler, was given to them because they lived in the forests. Describing the morals of the Drevlyans, the chronicler exposes them, in contrast to his fellow tribesmen - the glades, as extremely rude people (“I live bestially, kill each other, poison everything is unclean, and they never had a marriage, but a maiden washes by the water”).
Neither archaeological excavations, nor the data contained in the chronicle itself, confirm such a characterization. From archaeological excavations in the country of the Drevlyans, it can be concluded that they had a well-known culture. A well-established burial rite testifies to the existence of certain religious ideas about afterlife: the absence of weapons in the graves testifies to the peaceful nature of the tribe; finds of sickles, shards and vessels, iron products, remnants of fabrics and skins indicate the existence of arable farming, pottery, blacksmithing, weaving and leather crafts among the Drevlyans; many bones of domestic animals and spurs indicate cattle breeding and horse breeding; many items made of silver, bronze, glass and carnelian, of foreign origin, indicate the existence of trade, and the absence of coins gives reason to conclude that the trade was barter.
The political center of the Drevlyans in the era of their independence was the city of Iskorosten; at a later time, this center, apparently, moved to the city of Vruchiy (Ovruch)
Dregovichi- an East Slavic tribal union that lived between Pripyat and the Western Dvina.
Most likely the name comes from the Old Russian word dregva or dryagva, which means "swamp".
Under the name of Drugovites (Greek δρονγονβίται), the Dregovichi are already known to Konstantin Porfirorodny as a tribe subordinate to Russia. Being aloof from the "Road from the Varangians to the Greeks", the Dregovichi did not play a prominent role in the history of Ancient Russia. The chronicle mentions only that the Dregovichi once had their own reign. The capital of the principality was the city of Turov. The subjugation of the Dregovichi to the Kyiv princes probably happened very early. On the territory of the Dregovichi, the principality of Turov was subsequently formed, and the northwestern lands became part of the principality of Polotsk.
Duleby(not duleby) - an alliance of East Slavic tribes on the territory of Western Volhynia in the 6th - early 10th centuries. In the 7th century they were subjected to the Avar invasion (obry). In 907 they participated in Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad. They broke up into tribes of Volhynians and Buzhans, and in the middle of the 10th century they finally lost their independence, becoming part of Kievan Rus.
Krivichi- a numerous East Slavic tribe (tribal union), which occupied the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina in the 6th-10th centuries, southern part Lake Peipsi basin and part of the Neman basin. Sometimes the Ilmen Slavs are also classified as Krivichi.
The Krivichi were probably the first Slavic tribe to move from the Carpathians to the northeast. Limited in their distribution to the northwest and west, where they met stable Lithuanian and Finnish tribes, the Krivichi spread to the northeast, assimilating with the Finns who lived there.
Having settled on the great waterway from Scandinavia to Byzantium (the path from the Varangians to the Greeks), the Krivichi took part in trade with Greece; Konstantin Porphyrogenitus says that the Krivichi make boats on which the Rus go to Tsargrad. They participated in the campaigns of Oleg and Igor against the Greeks as a tribe subordinate to the Kyiv prince; Oleg's contract mentions their city of Polotsk.
Already in the era of the formation of the Russian state, the Krivichi had political centers: Izborsk, Polotsk and Smolensk.
It is believed that the last tribal prince of the Krivichi Rogvolod, together with his sons, was killed in 980 by the Novgorod prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In the Ipatiev list, the Krivichi are mentioned for the last time under 1128, and the Polotsk princes are named Krivichi under 1140 and 1162. After that, the Krivichi are no longer mentioned in the East Slavic chronicles. However, the tribal name Krivichi was used for quite a long time in foreign sources (up to late XVII century). The word krievs entered the Latvian language to designate Russians in general, and the word Krievija to designate Russia.
The southwestern, Polotsk branch of the Krivichi is also called Polotsk. Together with the Dregovichi, Radimichi and some Baltic tribes, this branch of the Krivichi formed the basis of the Belarusian ethnic group.
The northeastern branch of the Krivichi, settled mainly on the territory of modern Tver, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions, was in close contact with the Finno-Ugric tribes.
The border between the territory of settlement of the Krivichi and Novgorod Slovenes is determined archaeologically by the types of burials: long barrows near the Krivichi and hills among the Slovenes.
Polochane- an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands in the middle reaches of the Western Dvina in today's Belarus in the 9th century.
Polochans are mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, which explains their name as living near the Polota River, one of the tributaries of the Western Dvina. In addition, the chronicle claims that the Krivichi were descendants of the Polotsk people. The lands of the Polochans stretched from the Svisloch along the Berezina to the lands of the Dregovichi. The Polochans were one of the tribes from which the Polotsk principality was later formed. They are one of the founders of the modern Belarusian people.
Glade(poly) - the name of the Slavic tribe, in the era of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs settled along the middle course of the Dnieper, on its right bank.
Judging by the chronicles and the latest archaeological research, the territory of the land of the glades before the Christian era was limited to the course of the Dnieper, Ros and Irpin; in the north-east it adjoined the derevskaya land, in the west - to the southern settlements of the Dregovichi, in the south-west - to the Tivertsy, in the south - to the streets.
Calling the Slavs who settled here glades, the chronicler adds: “outside in the field, gray-haired.” The meadows differed sharply from the neighboring Slavic tribes both in moral properties and in the forms of social life: “The glade for their father, the customs of the name is quiet and meek, and ashamed of his daughters-in-law and sisters and mothers .... marriage customs having a husband.
History catches the meadows already at a rather late stage political development: the social system is made up of two elements - communal and princely-druzhina, the former being strongly suppressed by the latter. With the usual and ancient occupations of the Slavs - hunting, fishing and beekeeping - cattle breeding, agriculture, "woodworking" and trade were more common among the glades than among other Slavs. The latter was quite extensive not only with Slavic neighbors, but also with foreigners in the West and East: it can be seen from the coin treasures that trade with the East began as early as the 8th century - it stopped during the strife of the specific princes.
At first, about the middle of the 8th century, the glades, who paid tribute to the Khazars, due to their cultural and economic superiority, soon moved from a defensive position in relation to their neighbors to an offensive one; the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, northerners and others by the end of the 9th century were already subject to the glades. They also adopted Christianity earlier than others. The center of the Polyana ("Polish") land was Kyiv; its other settlements are Vyshgorod, Belgorod on the Irpen River (now the village of Belogorodka), Zvenigorod, Trepol (now the village of Trypillya), Vasilev (now Vasilkov) and others.
The land of the glades with the city of Kyiv became the center of the possessions of the Rurikovichs from 882. The last time in the annals the name of the glades is mentioned in 944, on the occasion of Igor's campaign against the Greeks, and is replaced, probably already at the end of the Χ century, by the names Rus (Ros) and Kiyane. The chronicler also names the Slavic tribe on the Vistula, mentioned for the last time in the Ipatiev Chronicle under 1208, as glades.
Radimichi- the name of the population that was part of the union of East Slavic tribes that lived in the interfluve of the upper reaches of the Dnieper and the Desna.
About 885 radimichi became part of Old Russian state, and in the XII century they mastered most of Chernigov and the southern part of Smolensk lands. The name comes from the name of the ancestor of the Radima tribe.
northerners(more correctly - the North) - a tribe or tribal union of the Eastern Slavs who inhabited the territories east of the middle reaches of the Dnieper, along the Desna, Seim and Sula rivers.
The origin of the name of the north is not fully understood. Most authors associate it with the name of the Savir tribe, which was part of the Hunnic association. According to another version, the name goes back to the obsolete Old Slavic word meaning "relative". The explanation from the Slavic siver, north, despite the similarity of sound, is considered extremely controversial, since the north has never been the most northerly of the Slavic tribes.
Slovenia(Ilmen Slavs) - an East Slavic tribe that lived in the second half of the first millennium in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the upper reaches of the Mologa and made up the bulk of the population of Novgorod land.
Tivertsy- an East Slavic tribe that lived between the Dniester and the Danube near the Black Sea coast. They are first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years along with other East Slavic tribes of the 9th century. The main occupation of the Tivertsy was agriculture. The Tivertsy took part in the campaigns of Oleg against Tsargrad in 907 and Igor in 944. In the middle of the 10th century, the lands of the Tivertsy became part of Kievan Rus.
The descendants of the Tivertsy became part of the Ukrainian people, and their western part underwent Romanization.
Uchi- an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands along the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the Southern Bug and the Black Sea coast during the 8th-10th centuries.
The capital of the streets was the city of Pereseken. In the first half of the 10th century, the streets fought for independence from Kievan Rus, but nevertheless they were forced to recognize its supremacy and become part of it. Later, the streets and neighboring Tivertsy were driven north by the arriving Pecheneg nomads, where they merged with the Volhynians. The last mention of the streets dates back to the annals of the 970s.
Croatians- an East Slavic tribe that lived in the vicinity of the city of Przemysl on the San River. They called themselves white Croats, in contrast to the tribe of the same name with them, who lived in the Balkans. The name of the tribe is derived from the ancient Iranian word "shepherd, guardian of cattle", which may indicate its main occupation - cattle breeding.
Bodrichi(encouraged, rarogs) - Polabian Slavs (lower reaches of the Elbe) in the VIII-XII centuries. - the union of the Wagrs, Polabs, Glinyakov, Smolensk. Rarog (among the Danes Rerik) - main city peppy. Mecklenburg in East Germany.
According to one version, Rurik is a Slav from the Bodrich tribe, the grandson of Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Umila and the Bodrich prince Godoslav (Godlav).
Vistula- a West Slavic tribe that lived at least from the 7th century in Lesser Poland. In the 9th century, the Vistulas formed a tribal state with centers in Krakow, Sandomierz and Straduv. At the end of the century, they were subjugated by the king of Great Moravia Svyatopolk I and were forced to be baptized. In the 10th century, the lands of the Vistulas were conquered by the Polans and incorporated into Poland.
Zlichane(Czech. Zličane, Polish. Zliczanie) - one of the ancient Czech tribes. Inhabited the territory adjacent to the modern city of Kourzhim (Czech Republic). It served as the center of formation of the Principality of Zlichansk, which embraced at the beginning of the 10th century. East and South Bohemia and the region of the Duleb tribe. The main city of the principality was Libice. The princes of Libice Slavniki competed with Prague in the struggle for the unification of the Czech Republic. In 995, the Zlichans were subjugated by the Přemyslids.
Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs, Sorbs (German Sorben), Wends - the indigenous Slavic population living in the territory of Lower and Upper Lusatia - areas that are part of modern Germany. The first settlements of the Lusatian Serbs in these places were recorded in the 6th century AD. e.
The Lusatian language is divided into Upper Lusatian and Lower Lusatian.
The dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron gives a definition: "Sorbs are the name of the Wends and, in general, the Polabian Slavs." Slavic people inhabiting a number of areas in Germany, in the federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony.
Lusatian Serbs are one of the four officially recognized national minorities in Germany (along with gypsies, Frisians and Danes). It is believed that about 60,000 German citizens now have Lusatian Serb roots, of which 20,000 live in Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg) and 40,000 in Upper Lusatia (Saxony).
Lyutichi(Vilts, Velets) - an alliance of West Slavic tribes living in early middle ages in what is now eastern Germany. The center of the union of the Lyutichs was the sanctuary "Radogost", in which the god Svarozhich was revered. All decisions were made at a large tribal meeting, and central authority was absent.
The Lyutichi led the Slavic uprising of 983 against the German colonization of lands east of the Elbe, as a result of which colonization was suspended for almost two hundred years. Even before that, they were ardent opponents of the German king Otto I. It is known about his heir, Henry II, that he did not try to enslave them, but rather lured them with money and gifts to his side in the fight against Poland, Boleslav the Brave.
Military and political successes intensified the adherence to paganism and pagan customs in the Lutiches, which also applied to related Bodrichs. However, in the 1050s, civil war broke out among the Lutici and changed their situation. The union quickly lost power and influence, and after the central sanctuary was destroyed by the Saxon duke Lothar in 1125, the union finally broke up. Over the following decades, the Saxon dukes gradually expanded their holdings to the east and conquered the lands of the Luticians.
Pomeranians, Pomeranians - West Slavic tribes who lived from the 6th century in the lower reaches of the Odra on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It remains unclear whether there was a residual Germanic population prior to their arrival, which they assimilated. In 900, the border of the Pomeranian area passed along the Odra in the west, the Vistula in the east and the Notech in the south. They gave the name of the historical area of Pomerania.
In the 10th century, the Polish prince Mieszko I included the lands of the Pomeranians into the Polish state. In the 11th century, the Pomeranians revolted and regained their independence from Poland. During this period, their territory expanded westward from the Odra into the lands of the Luticians. At the initiative of Prince Vartislav I, the Pomeranians adopted Christianity.
From the 1180s, German influence began to grow and German settlers began to arrive on the lands of the Pomeranians. Because of the devastating wars with the Danes, the Pomeranian feudal lords welcomed the settlement of the devastated lands by the Germans. Over time, the process of Germanization of the Pomeranian population began. The remains of the ancient Pomeranians who escaped assimilation today are the Kashubians, numbering 300 thousand people.
Ruyan(wounds) - a West Slavic tribe that inhabited the island of Rügen.
In the VI century, the Slavs settled the lands of present-day eastern Germany, including Rügen. The Ruyan tribe was ruled by princes who lived in fortresses. The religious center of the Ruyans was the sanctuary of Yaromar, in which the god Svyatovit was revered.
The main occupation of the Ruyans was cattle breeding, agriculture and fishing. There is information according to which the Ruyans had extensive trade relations with Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
The Ruyans lost their independence in 1168 when they were conquered by the Danes, who converted them to Christianity. Ruyan King Jaromir became a vassal of the Danish king, and the island became part of the bishopric of Roskilde. Later, the Germans came to the island, in which the blush dissolved. In 1325, the last Ruyansk prince Wislav died.
Ukraine- a West Slavic tribe that settled in the 6th century in the east of the modern German federal state of Brandenburg. The lands that once belonged to the Ukrainians are now called the Uckermark.
Smolensk(Bulgarian Smolyan) - a medieval South Slavic tribe that settled in the 7th century in the Rhodopes and the valley of the Mesta River. In 837 the tribe revolted against the Byzantine supremacy, concluding an alliance with the Bulgarian Khan Presian. Later, the Smolensk people became one of the constituent parts of the Bulgarian people. The city of Smolyan in southern Bulgaria is named after this tribe.
Strumyane- a South Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands along the Struma River in the Middle Ages.
Timochan- a medieval Slavic tribe that lived in the territory of modern eastern Serbia, west of the Timok River, as well as in the regions of Banat and Sirmia. The Timochans joined the first Bulgarian kingdom after the Bulgarian Khan Krum conquered their lands from the Avar Khaganate in 805. In 818, during the reign of Omurtag (814-836), they rebelled along with other border tribes, as they refused to accept the reform that limited them local government. In search of an ally, they turned to the Holy Roman Emperor Louis I the Pious. In 824-826 Omurtag tried to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, but his letters to Louis remained unanswered. After that, he decided to suppress the uprising by force and sent soldiers along the Drava River to the lands of the Timochan, who again returned them to the rule of Bulgaria.
Timochan merged into the Serbian and Bulgarian peoples in the late Middle Ages.
For this interesting material we are grateful to sai "Rusich":
http://slavyan.ucoz.ru/index/0-46
The communal structure of the Slavic tribes. The life of individual Slavic tribes: Ulichi and Tivertsy, Dulebs or Buzhans and Volynians, Drevlyans, Polyans, Northerners, Krivichi, Polochans, Novgorodians. Novgorod possessions. The social structure of Novgorod. Customs. Character of the Novgorod community
The communal structure of the Slavic tribes. Chronicles and other sources that have come down to us report very little information about the primitive structure of the Slavic societies in Russia, nevertheless, one can make a fairly clear concept of this device, according to at least in its main features. From a consideration of all the evidence that has come down to us, it turns out that the primitive, pre-Rurik device public life Slavs in Russia were communal, not tribal. The chronicler generally says about the ancient structure of social life among the Russian Slavs: “From the very beginning, the Novgorodians, and the Smolnyans, and the Kiyans, and all the authorities, seem to agree on a thought at the veche, and what the elders think, the suburbs will become.” The communal veche system among the Slavs penetrated into all aspects of public life. Each tribe is a union of cities, the city is a union of streets, the street is a union of families. Consequently, the primitive structure of Slavic societies in Russia was veche, and veche during tribal life is inappropriate, there the head of the entire structure is the ancestor, and not the veche. The very history of the settlement of the Slavs in Russia also points to a communal, and not a tribal, structure. Nestor says: “Volohom bo. who found in Slovenian on the Danubian, sat down in them and forced them. Slovene ovii who came sedosha on the Vistula and were nicknamed lyakhov, and from those lyakhs they were called glade, lyakhov druzii lutichi, inimazowshan, ini pomoryans. It’s the same with these Slovenians, who came and gray-haired along the Dnieper and swung across the clearing, and the friends of the Drevlyans, after graying in the forests; and the friends of gray hair between Pripet and the Dvina and draped dregovichi; the line of graying along the Dvina and naming the Polochans for the sake of the river, even flows into the Dvina, in the name of Polot, from sowing the Polochans are called. Sloveni, sedosha near Lake Ilmen, called by his name, and made hail and narekosh and Novgorod; and the friends of the sedoshi along the Desna and the Seven, and along the Sula, and naked the north. This is how the Slovenian language was born.” These words of Nestor show that the Slavs did not suddenly populate the Russian land, but gradually - “sedosha, he says, on the Vistula, on the Dnieper, sedosha on the Desna”, etc. From this evidence of the chronicle, it is clear that the Slavs were not old-timers in Russia, but moved in this direction from the Danube. And if they were aliens in Russia, then tribal life could not be carried out. It is known that tribal life is the property of native, domestic tribes that develop through natural generation in a country freely occupied by their ancestors and previously owned by no one, where the family, and then the clan, multiply in the open, without rivalry, without contact with strangers. Such societies or tribes usually live scattered, each family or clan separately; in such societies there are no cities, but only villages. This is how the Slavs lived before they migrated from the Danube. Roman and Greek writers testify that the Slavs on the Danube lived in a tribal way of life, without cities and villages, scattered over a large area by separate families. So, Procopius, who lived in the 6th century from P. X., says that the Slavs did not constitute a state, lived in thin huts and often changed their homes. This is an eyewitness account. The Greek writer of the VI century Mauritius confirms the same; he writes that the Slavs willingly settle in forests near rivers and lakes, do not have cities, lead a lonely life, love freedom, each of their clans has ancestors. The Slavs, Mauritius says further, pursue each other with hatred, do not know how to fight in the open field, fight in all directions. This is how the life of the Rodovic Slavs is portrayed by writers worthy of trust. But, moving to another place, the Slavs had to change their way of life, because the new conditions of their life were unfavorable for tribal life. We know that the land they moved to was occupied by non-Slavic tribes. So, according to the testimony of Greek and Roman writers, the lands to the east of the Danube, perhaps along the Arrival and Oka, were occupied by the Scythians, Sarmatians and other tribes, and in the north of the Arrival and Oka up to the Baltic Sea and the North Ocean, according to our Chronicles, tribes of Latvian and Finnish origin lived. These foreigners would completely erase the nationality of the Slavs if they continued to live in Russia just as they lived on the Danube, scattered, each family separately. Thus, in order to protect themselves from the natives and preserve their nationality, the Slavs, at the first appearance in Russia, had to leave their tribal life, settle in masses and build cities, so the Scandinavians called the local country occupied by the Slavs, the country of cities - "Gordorikia" . About the common life of the Slavs, Nestor says: “And the glade and the Drevlyans live in the world, the north and the Radimichi, and the Vyatichi, and the Croats. Duleby live along the Bug, where the Volynians are now, and tell the Tivertsy to sit down along the Dniester, sit down to the Danube, be a lot of them, sit down along the Dniester to the sea, the essence of their city to this day. And the existence of cities is already a clear sign of communal life; city life, at whatever stage of development it may be, cannot but be communal, for the first and main condition of communality is inseparable from it - to live together and be governed by one authority, to support the fortification of the city with a common force, to defend the city, to have common streets, squares, be in constant contact with citizens; without these conditions it is impossible to imagine urban life, and these conditions represent the main principles of communality, denying tribal life in its very foundations and constituting the root and foundation of any social development. Of course, between settlers there can sometimes exist a tribal way of life, evidence of which we meet in the Germanic tribes, who, during their migrations, for the most part kept the forms of tribal life in the social structure for quite a long time, so that some traces of this device are even still noticeable in other German societies. . But for such an order of affairs, many mediating circumstances and a special structure of the people, their special attachment to tribal life, are needed. The Slavic tribes in Russia had neither a special attachment to tribal life, nor favorable circumstances for this. The Germanic tribes who moved to different countries of Europe passed on their family names to the newly occupied areas, for example, Nordling, Northumberland in Saxony and England; on the contrary, the Slavic tribes themselves took names from the areas they occupied: the meadow - from the fields, the Drevlyans - from the forest, the northerners - from the fact that they used to live in the north, and then moved to the south, the Polochans - from the Polota river, on which they settled, Novgorodians - from Novgorod. It is obvious that the Slavs among us did not value their Danube tribal life; the Germans, on the other hand, valued their tribal life so much that they even arranged artificial births, for example, Dietmarsen births, when in fact the settlers were not relatives among themselves. In the history of the Russian Slavs there was no mention of artificial childbirth. The preservation of tribal life among the Germans was favored by the fact that the Germanic tribes made their migrations during the dominance of tribal life in their homeland, therefore German settlers for the most part they set off on a journey with strict observance of tribal forms, under the leadership of the ancestor. The German migrations were arbitrary; on the contrary, the Slavs began to move from the Danube when their tribal life was greatly shocked and even upset by the Romans, who gradually occupied their lands and built their cities there. The Slavs began to move beyond the Danube not of their own free will, but under duress, as a result of violence, as Nestor directly says: "Volokh, who found in Slovenia on the Danube." Moreover, one should not lose sight of the fact that the close and prolonged proximity of the Slavs to the Greeks and Romans on the Danube greatly shocked their tribal life and developed in them the need for a social structure. That already the Danube Slavs had to change their tribal way of life in many ways, shows their history on the Danube; thus, at the end of the 8th and at the beginning of the 9th century, cities with a purely communal structure appeared in the kingdom of Bulgaria and among the Serbs. Although history noticed them only in this era, but in all likelihood they were even earlier. Therefore, moving to Eastern Europe, the Slavs had already lost faith in the superiority of tribal life on the Danube. Turning to our history, we see that when the Slavic tribes came to Russia, they already had a communal structure; consequently, tribal life was shaken even on the Danube. The tribes, moving to Russia, brought with them some education, which is evidenced by the fact that they were already engaged in agriculture; in comparison with the native Finnish and Latvian tribes, they were incomparably higher in their development, which is best evidenced by the fact that most of the Latvian and Finnish tribes were subordinate to the Slavs even before Rurik, and, moreover, not so much, it seems, by war as by colonization, the construction of Slavic cities between the Finnish and Latvian tribes. So, history already finds Rostov, Suzdal, Beloozero and other Slavic cities among the settlements of Vesi, Meri and Murom, and this Finnish region, before the eyes of history, became so glorified that already in the XII century. it was difficult to distinguish them from the Slavs in some places - a clear sign that the Slavs came to Russia, already at a certain stage of development, that their social structure was not tribal, but communal, so that they accepted any foreigner into their society and made it equal. Tribal life did not allow this: here, anyone who entered the land of a foreign clan had to become either a slave or die, as was the case with the Germans; on the contrary, among the Slavs in Russia we do not see that a non-relative is excluded. The Slavs accepted Finns into their society as equals; so, it is known that the Chud also participated in the invitation of the Varangian-Russians, along with the Slavs, - therefore, it was recognized as equal with the Slavs; the same condition for accepting foreigners into society clearly indicates the communal structure among the Slavs in Russia - only the community does not distinguish between fellow tribesmen and foreigners. In general, it can be accepted with certainty that the Slavs changed their way of life on the Danube and mainly from the influence of neighboring Greeks and Romans. Finally, sure sign The social condition of the Slavs can also be served by the special conditions of land ownership. We, in Russia, and the Serbs on the Danube had two types of ownership: communal and private land ownership. In the first form, the land was the property of the whole society, and each member of it had the right to own and use without the right to alienate; in the second form, the land was the full property of the owner with the right of alienation. Such an order of ownership is possible only with a communal structure. In tribal life, the land belongs to the whole clan, and its members use it. In ancient Germany, all members of the clan divided among themselves all the land that belonged to one known kind, and not a single owner remained for several years on the same land. This has been preserved in some places to this day, while among the Slavic tribes in Russia there was no mention of such an annual division. With us, each member of society owned the land of the community in such a way that he could pass it on to his children. Communal ownership differed from private ownership only in that the owner of communal land had to be a member of society.
So, the device of the Slavs in Russia was communal, not tribal. Two reasons had an impact on the change in the clan life of the Slavs: 1) proximity to the Greeks and Romans, which shook the clan life of the Slavs even at the time when they lived on the Danube; 2) resettlement in a foreign land occupied by Finnish and Latvian tribes made the Slavs face the need to live in a foreign land in communities and build cities so as not to mix with the natives. According to Nestor, only one of the Slavic tribes who migrated to Russia, the meadows, survived the tribal life: owning the skin of his kind. But even the clearing did not hold on to the forms of tribal life for long. Nestor says further that the clan of Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv rose above all the Polyansky families, and that the city of Kyiv was built by them. From this it can be seen that the glade later abandoned the tribal life and began to adhere to the communal life, because the predominance of one clan over others is impossible in the tribal life, just as the construction of the city is a direct negation of the tribal life.
Life of individual Slavic tribes. We have seen that the social structure of the Slavs in Russia was communal, not tribal. Now let's see how this or that tribe developed community. The Slavic tribes who came to Russia from the Danube occupied the space of the earth from the Black Sea to the White and Baltic Seas. Naturally, with such a settlement, they did not all live in the same way: some of them rather felt the need for a communal way of life and developed it, while others, on the contrary, could remain with the old tribal way of life. Let's start with the tribes that lived in the south of Russia; These include:
Streets and tivertsy. These tribes lived along the Black Sea coast, from the lower Danube to the Dnieper. Threatened from the west by the same enemy that forced them to move to Russian soil, and from the east by various nomads, the Uchi and Tivertsy soon after the resettlement were forced to turn to communal life. The Bavarian geographer, belonging to the second half of the 9th century, counts 318 cities near the streets, and 148 cities among the Tivertsy. The existence of cities among these tribes proves that their life was communal. But how developed it was among them, how each city was organized, we do not know in detail. Nestor only says that they were strong, so that Oleg could not subdue them, although he fought with them for 10 years. Igor waged war with them with great difficulty; under one of their cities, Peresechny, his troops stood for about three years. But it is not known whether these tribes were conquered by him, it is only known that they paid tribute to Igor.
Dulebs or Buzhans (“zane sedosha along the Bug”) and Volhynians lived along the river. Bug in the north of the streets and Tivertsy. We have little information about their internal structure. According to Nestor, these tribes moved very early and in the middle of the 7th century were conquered by the Avars, who treated the conquered too cruelly. To the north of the Dulebs and Volynians lived wild Lithuanians and even wilder warlike Yotvingians, a tribe that, despite all efforts to subdue it, lasted about 500 years. Neighborhood with these tribes, of course, forced the Dulebs and Volhynians to live only in societies and have cities. Thus, we have, albeit indirectly, an indication in the annals that the Dulebs and Volynians lived in communities, but besides this we have another historical evidence - the myths that we find in the epics of St. Vladimir. In them, the streets and Volynians appear to be extremely wealthy people. Further in these myths there are indications of the internal structure of these tribes; from these regions, St. Vladimir had two heroes who had a special character from other heroes - these are Dyuk Stepanovich and Churilo Plenkovich. Churilo Plenkovich, a handsome young man, accompanied by a wealthy retinue, goes to Kyiv to Vladimir, who receives him very affectionately and asks him who he is. my father asks you to accept me into his service. Vladimir accepted him, but after a while he decided to visit the old Captivity himself. Here he finds with him a magnificent dwelling, around which huge buildings flaunted; everywhere one could see amazing wealth and splendor. There is another legend about Duke Stepanovich. Galician Duke, after the death of his father, came to the service of Vladimir with a magnificent retinue and boasted of his wealth in such a way that he amazed everyone. At a dinner with Vladimir, he sharply spoke out against the poverty of the people of Kiev. The irritated prince sent an ambassador to find out about Dyukov's wealth. The messenger, returning, said that Duke's wealth was really immense: "to rewrite it, you need two carts of pens and ink, and God knows how much paper." But neither Duke Stepanovich nor Churilo Plenkovich are anywhere called princes. Therefore, the streets, Tivertsy, Dulebs and Volhynians did not have princes, but some rich people lived here, on whom other inhabitants were completely dependent.
To the east of the Dulebs and to the northeast of the Tivertsy lived the Drevlyans, who lived next to the glades near the upper reaches of the Irsha and Teterev. About the social structure in this tribe, Nestor retained some precious news when describing the war of the Drevlyans with Igor and Olga. From these reports it can be seen that the prince was the head of the Drevlyansk tribe, he was the main trustee of the whole land, he grazed the derevian land, according to the chronicle, tried to spread it, about the order and dress of the whole country. But along with the prince, the best men also participated in the administration, whom Nestor directly calls holding the land; so, when describing the secondary embassy of the Drevlyans to Olga, he says: "The Drevlyans have chosen the best men, who hold the land of the village." It is remarkable that the chronicler calls these holders of the Drevlyansk land the best men, and not the elders, a clear sign of community life in strong development. Further, together with the prince and the best men, the whole tribe of the Drevlyans also participated in the management. So the chronicler, describing Igor's secondary attack on the Drevlyansk land, says: "The Drevlyans, having thought with their Prince Mal, sent to Igor saying: why are you going again." Or the Drevlyansk embassy says to Olga: "Derevyanye land has been sent." Here the community appears in all its development; ambassadors directly say that they are sent from all the village land, and not from the prince or the elders; consequently, the land of the villages constituted something whole, a community, a moral person. The social structure of the Drevlyans is exactly the same as the social structure of the Serbs, as it appears from Dushanov Zakonnik and other ancient monuments. The Serbs, like the Drevlyans, had their own prince or zhupan, their rulers or the best people, holding the land, as they are called in Serbian monuments, as well as their popular assemblies or veche, called cathedrals. And the Serbian communal system, according to the latest science, is recognized as communal or, as the Serbs call it, optina, obkina (Dr. Krstić). Therefore, it is clear that the Drevlyansk device described by Nestor was communal. Another note about the best people. In the best people one cannot see ancestors or elders, but only landowners, as the Serbs have volosts. The existence of private property serves as the best proof that their way of life was not tribal, but communal. For peoples living in a tribal way of life, the land belongs to the whole clan, and there can be no private property. Such was the ownership of the land by the Germans. On the contrary, in communal life there are two types of ownership: communal, when the land belongs to the whole community, and its member only uses the income from the plot of land occupied by him, without the right to sell, and private, owned by one person as property (patrimony) and formed in this way : land in some place, for example, in a forest, remains uncultivated due to inconvenience and does not bring any income; to make it profitable, one must expend capital and one must have the power to protect it, which is impossible for a man of limited means. When land is owned by communal rights, then one part protects it, and the other cultivates it; but among the people of the community there may be strong, better people - they can take land in the forest, cultivate it and protect it with wealth. Consequently, landed private property can exist only in a community, and, moreover, one that is sufficiently developed.
To the east of the Drevlyans, right along the western bank of the Dnieper, there lived a clearing. About this tribe, about its social structure, Nestor left enough evidence. According to Nestor, the meadows came from the Danube under the influence of tribal life: they, at the initial settlement, sat down near the Dnieper along the Danube, scattered, each clan separately, in the mountains and in the forests, and were engaged in hunting, as Nestor directly says: “ Glade living person and guiding their generations, and living each with his own kind and in their places, each owning his own kind; and byahu catching the beast. But the foreign land soon forced the meadows to retreat from their tribal way of life. Between them, one clan soon grew stronger, adjoining its settlements directly to the Dnieper, and the oldest representatives of this clan, the brothers Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv, became the chief commanders, princes of all the Polyan clans, and built the first city of Kyiv in this region. After the death of Kiy and his brothers, the power acquired by them passed into their family: "... and still the brothers, according to Nestor, often keep their family reigning in the Fields." Thus, even in the first generations of the Danube settlers, the Polyansky clans were united into one whole, and at the same time their original tribal structure underwent a strong change. And when the descendants of Kiy, who ruled the glades, died out, the communal principles in this tribe received full development- the clearing has already begun to be controlled by the veche; so that Nestor already compares them with Novgorodians: “Novgorodians and Smolnyans, and Kiyans, and all the authorities, seem to agree on a thought at a veche, what the elders think, the suburbs will become the same.” Thus, with the suppression of Kyiv's offspring, the entire tribe of the Polyans formed an alliance of communities, and the former tribal eldership turned into a new eldership - communal, based as much on eldership, as much on power and wealth; not the clan and not its representative - the ancestor, but the city, which served as the first basis of the community, became the elder, while its settlements, suburbs became the younger ones. Tribal life here has decisively lost its former significance, society has taken a completely different path, its benefits have completely diverged from the benefits of the clan. The clan demanded separation and removal from others, and the society was looking for communication and connection into one whole and found it in the subordination of the suburbs to the older city. Among the glades, it was not the ancestor who became the representative and leader of the whole tribe, but the eldest city in that region - Kyiv; about childbirth, as representatives of tribal life, there is no mention in the entire subsequent history of the Polyansky tribe. The first news about the communal structure near the meadows, attested by history, we meet during the attack of Kozars. Nestor says: “The best Kozare, sitting on these mountains, Iresh Kozari:“ pay tribute to us ”. Thought clearing and vdasha sword from the smoke. Here is the first Kiev veche known to us. We meet the second veche during the invasion of Askold and Dir.
With the communal arrangement, the meadows began to grow stronger, which was greatly facilitated by the benefits of the area they occupied on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The meadows became representatives of communal life, the beginnings of which began to penetrate into their family life. The very structure of the family near the meadows was special. Marriage was determined by an agreement that determined the amount of dowry for the bride, and the agreement was the child of the community. Family relations among the glades were distinguished by special strictness, certitude: marriage customs for the name: I don’t want to be a son-in-law for the bride, but I spend the evening, and in the morning I bring to her what’s in the future. The polyan religion itself was influenced by the communal structure. According to Procopius, the Slavs on the Danube did not change their ancient customs and strictly observed them, while the glade, having moved, changed their religion. Initially, their religion consisted of worshiping lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, but later we see other gods from them - Perun, Stribog, Volos, and others, whom they borrowed from Lithuanians and Finnish tribes. This borrowing of foreign gods, unthinkable in tribal life, serves irrefutable proof that the tribe of the Slavs passed from alienation and isolation to a community on the widest scale.
To the east of the glades, on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, lived northerners. This tribe, according to Nestor, was made up of deportees who came from the Krivichi; Nestor calls the Krivichi the Polotsk settlers, and the Polotsk originates from the Ilmen Slavs or Novgorodians. Thus, the northerners belonged to the same generation as the Novgorodians, Polochans and Krivichs and were colonists of the Ilmen colonists, which, in addition to Nestor's testimony, is also proved by the very name of the northerners, i.e. aliens from the north. This news
- the origin of the northerners indicates their communal structure, for the colonists of the community members could not be non-community members; besides, we have no news that the northerners had princes in antiquity, and this points even more to the communal structure in this tribe, because in the princes, although not always true, one could still assume the ancestors. A number of Severyansk cities from Lyubech to Pereyaslavl, already in the 10th century, known for their trade to the Byzantines, as clearly evidenced by Konstantin Porfirorodny, who says that annually boats from Lyubech and Chernigov converge at Kyiv for departure to Constantinople, point to the communal structure among the northerners. In addition to Constantinople, the northerners also conducted extensive trade with Kazaria and Kama
Nestor gives us some information about the life and customs of the northerners. So he says that they used to gather for games that took place between their villages, where men and women converged: ". The existence of such a custom suggests that the life of the northerners was communal: they do not need each other, they do not live in isolation, as they usually live in tribal life. The approval of marriage contracts has the same character of communal life for them: the bride was given to the groom in the presence of a large gathering of people, however, not without prior consent between them. This custom has been preserved in general terms to the present day in the provinces: Kursk, Oryol and some districts of Chernigov. Weddings were held at common gatherings on the occasion of some solemn holiday or at a fair, and if the groom announced his bride, then she was considered his real bride and the groom could no longer refuse her. In addition to the evidence of marriage customs among the northerners, Nestor also reports on funeral rites. In these rituals, the influence of communal life is also noticeable. Just as publicity is required when entering into a marriage or entering a family, so publicity is also required when leaving a family, i.e. upon the death of any of its members. The funeral consisted in the fact that the dead man was burned, and his ashes, collected in some kind of vessel, were placed in such places where several roads intersected, after which a feast was performed: and I will put the dead man on the treasure, I will burn it, and according to this, having collected the bones, I will put it in a small vessel and put it on a pillar, on the tracks. Trizna is a communal, not a tribal rite; there were games in honor of the deceased, and in addition to his relatives and friends, everyone could attend. For this feast, a third of the property left after the deceased was separated.
The tribesmen and ancestors of the northerners - the Krivichi, who, as we have already seen, belonged to the same generation with the Novgorodians, according to Nestor, lived near the headwaters of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volga. This tribe was one of the largest and occupied a country, although not rich in earthly products, but most advantageous in location: the Dnieper showed the Krivichi the way to Constantinople, the Western Dvina and the Neman opened the way for them to Baltic Sea and Western Europe, and the Volga opened the gates to Kama Bulgaria and Khozaria. The benefits of the location of their Krivichi were not slow to take advantage; Emperor Konstantin Porfirorodny, a writer of the 10th century, testifies to the trade of the Krivichi with Byzantium: according to him, merchant boats from Smolensk came to Constantinople every year in the month of June or about this time; in the north, the Krivichi traded with the Novgorodians in Kholma and with the Chud in Izborsk, from where they reached the Baltic Sea by Lake Peipsi and Narva; in the east along the Volga, the Krivichi apparently traded with Kama Bulgaria and Kazaria, for, according to Ibn Fotslan, under the name of Slavic merchants who came to Itil and lived there in a special settlement called Khazeran, one should understand no other Slavs, as Novgorodians and Krivichi, who came to Bulgaria and Khozaria along the Volga from the north-west. But it seems to be predominant trading activity Krivichi was sent to the Lithuanian country, where they had no rivals for their trade and where they could have a connection with the Baltic Sea through the Neman. The closest and active relations of the Krivichi with the Lithuanians and in general with the Latvian tribes are indicated by the habit of the Latvians that has survived to this day to call all Russians Krivichi, and the Russian land - Krivi land. Nestor testifies about the communal structure among the Krivichi or Smolnyans in their main city, he says that the Smolnyans, like the Novgorodians, were ruled in antiquity by the veche and that the veche of the older city of Smolensk was the head of all the Krivsky suburbs.
The Polochans, fellow tribesmen and ancestors of the Krivichi, lived along the Polota and Western Dvina rivers; their oldest city, Polotsk, was located at the confluence of the Polota with the Dvina, then along the Dvina their villages reached almost to its mouths in the Baltic Sea, because, according to the Livonian chronicle, there were the Polotsk cities of Kukeynos and Bersik. Further, to the south of the Dvina, through the land of Lithuania, the Polotsk settlements reached the Neman and beyond the Neman to the southwest, perhaps to the Bug and Vistula, which is hinted at by the purely Polotsk names of the Diena and Nareva rivers, and the cities of Poltoveska or Pultusk. Nestor’s testimony that the non-Slavic tribes there: Lithuania, Zimgola, Kors and Lib paid tribute to Russia, also points to the same deepening of the Polotsk in the Lithuanian and Latvian lands; and the whole subsequent history of Lithuania clearly shows that the Polotsk people have long been the dominant people in Lithuania and have been in close relations with the Lithuanian and Latvian tribes, so there is no doubt that most of the cities of the Lithuanian land, and precisely the oldest of them, were built by the Polotsk people and Krivichi, who gradually colonized this region with Slavic settlements, in the same way as the Novgorodians colonized the lands of Chud, Meri and Vesi. We have two testimonies about the social structure of the Polotsk people from Nestor: in the first, he calls the Polotsk land a reign, therefore, he recognizes princes among the Polotsk people, and in the second he says that the Polotsk people, as if they agree on a thought in a veche, and what the elders think, on that and the suburbs will become; the same is confirmed by Bykhovets in the Lithuanian chronicle; in his words: “the men of Polotsk were celebrating like the great Novgorod.” From the testimonies of Nestor and Bykhovets, it is clear that the social structure of the Polochans was communal, the same as that of the Drevlyans and Serbs. As for the Polotsk trade, in all likelihood, it was directed along the Western Dvina to the Baltic Sea, where the Polotsk people were masters right up to the sea coast, as can be concluded from the fact that, according to the Livonian chronicles, the Germans for the initial settlement on this coast asked the consent of the Polotsk princes. The Western Dvina was one of the tortuous trade routes along which the Russian Slavs traded with Western Europe since ancient times; Nestor points to it as one of the oldest ways of communication with the West. We have no news or even hints about the Eastern and Greek trade of Polochan. In all likelihood, the Polotsk people did not go to trade either in Constantinople, or in Bulgaria, or in Kozaria, because the roads to these countries lay in the possessions of the Krivichi, Novgorodians, Polyans and Severians, with whom the Polotsk people exchanged goods received from the West. SLAVIC TRIBES IN RUSSIA
Slavic tribes
Vyatichi is a union of East Slavic tribes that lived in the second half of the first millennium AD. e. in the upper and middle reaches of the Oka. The name Vyatichi supposedly came from the name of the ancestor of the tribe, Vyatko. However, some associate this name by origin with the morpheme "veins" and Venedi (or Venets / Venti) (the name "Vyatichi" was pronounced as "Ventichi").
In the middle of the 10th century, Svyatoslav annexed the lands of the Vyatichi to Kievan Rus, but until the end of the 11th century, these tribes retained a certain political independence; campaigns against the Vyatichi princes of this time are mentioned.
Since the XII century, the territory of the Vyatichi became part of the Chernigov, Rostov-Suzdal and Ryazan principalities. Until the end of the 13th century, the Vyatichi retained many pagan rituals and traditions, in particular, they cremated the dead, erecting small mounds over the burial place. After Christianity took root among the Vyatichi, the rite of cremation gradually went out of use.
Vyatichi retained their tribal name longer than other Slavs. They lived without princes, the social structure was characterized by self-government and democracy. The last time the Vyatichi are mentioned in the annals under such a tribal name was in 1197.
Buzhans (Volynians) - a tribe of Eastern Slavs who lived in the basin of the upper reaches of the Western Bug (from which they got their name); since the end of the 11th century, the Buzhans have been called Volynians (from the locality of Volyn).
Volynians - East Slavic tribe or a tribal union, mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years and in the Bavarian annals. According to the latter, the Volhynians owned seventy fortresses at the end of the 10th century. Some historians believe that the Volhynians and Buzhans are descendants of the Dulebs. Their main cities were Volyn and Vladimir-Volynsky. Archaeological research indicates that the Volynians developed agriculture and numerous crafts, including forging, casting and pottery.
In 981, the Volynians were subordinated to the Kyiv prince Vladimir I and became part of Kievan Rus. Later, the Galicia-Volyn principality was formed on the territory of the Volynians.
Drevlyans - one of the tribes of Russian Slavs, lived along Pripyat, Goryn, Sluch and Teterev.
The name Drevlyane, according to the chronicler, was given to them because they lived in the forests.
From archaeological excavations in the country of the Drevlyans, it can be concluded that they had a well-known culture. A well-established burial rite testifies to the existence of certain religious ideas about the afterlife: the absence of weapons in the graves testifies to the peaceful nature of the tribe; finds of sickles, shards and vessels, iron products, remnants of fabrics and leather indicate the existence of arable farming, pottery, blacksmithing, weaving and leather crafts among the Drevlyans; many bones of domestic animals and spurs indicate cattle breeding and horse breeding; many items made of silver, bronze, glass and carnelian, of foreign origin, indicate the existence of trade, and the absence of coins suggests that the trade was barter.
The political center of the Drevlyans in the era of their independence was the city of Iskorosten; at a later time, this center, apparently, moved to the city of Vruchiy (Ovruch)
The Dregovichi are an East Slavic tribal union that lived between the Pripyat and the Western Dvina.
Most likely the name comes from the Old Russian word dregva or dryagva, which means "swamp".
Under the name of Drugovites (Greek δρονγονβίται), the Dregovichi are already known to Konstantin Porfirorodny as a tribe subordinate to Russia. Being aloof from the "Road from the Varangians to the Greeks", the Dregovichi did not play a prominent role in the history of Ancient Russia. The chronicle mentions only that the Dregovichi once had their own reign. The capital of the principality was the city of Turov. The subjugation of the Dregovichi to the Kyiv princes probably happened very early. On the territory of the Dregovichi, the principality of Turov was subsequently formed, and the northwestern lands became part of the principality of Polotsk.
Duleby (not duleby) - an alliance of East Slavic tribes on the territory of Western Volhynia in the 6th - early 10th centuries. In the 7th century they were subjected to the Avar invasion (obry). In 907 they took part in Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad. They broke up into tribes of Volhynians and Buzhans, and in the middle of the 10th century they finally lost their independence, becoming part of Kievan Rus.
Krivichi is a numerous East Slavic tribe (tribal association), which occupied the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina, the southern part of the Lake Peipsi basin and part of the Neman basin in the 6th-10th centuries. Sometimes the Ilmen Slavs are also classified as Krivichi.
The Krivichi were probably the first Slavic tribe to move from the Carpathians to the northeast. Limited in their distribution to the northwest and west, where they met stable Lithuanian and Finnish tribes, the Krivichi spread to the northeast, assimilating with the living Tamfins.
Having settled on the great waterway from Scandinavia to Byzantium (the path from the Varangians to the Greeks), the Krivichi took part in trade with Greece; Konstantin Porphyrogenitus says that the Krivichi make boats on which the Rus go to Tsargrad. They participated in the campaigns of Oleg and Igor against the Greeks as a tribe subordinate to the Kyiv prince; Oleg's contract mentions their city of Polotsk.
Already in the era of the formation of the Russian state, the Krivichi had political centers: Izborsk, Polotsk and Smolensk.
It is believed that the last tribal prince of the Krivichi Rogvolod, together with his sons, was killed in 980 by the Novgorod prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In the Ipatiev list, the Krivichi are mentioned for the last time under 1128, and the Polotsk princes are named Krivichi under 1140 and 1162. After that, the Krivichi are no longer mentioned in the East Slavic chronicles. However, the tribal name Krivichi was used for quite a long time in foreign sources (until the end of the 17th century). The word krievs entered the Latvian language to designate Russians in general, and the word Krievija to designate Russia.
The southwestern, Polotsk branch of the Krivichi is also called Polotsk. Together with the Dregovichi, Radimichi and some Baltic tribes, this branch of the Krivichi formed the basis of the Belarusian ethnic group.
The northeastern branch of the Krivichi, settled mainly in the territory of modern Tver, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions, was in close contact with the Finno-Ugric tribes.
The boundary between the territory of settlement of the Krivichi and Novgorod Slovenes is determined archaeologically by the types of burials: long mounds near the Krivichi and hills among the Slovenes.
The Polochans are an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands in the middle reaches of the Western Dvina in today's Belarus in the 9th century.
Polochans are mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years, which explains their name as living near the Polota River, one of the tributaries of the Western Dvina. In addition, the chronicle claims that the Krivichi were descendants of the Polotsk people. The lands of the Polochans stretched from the Svisloch along the Berezina to the lands of the Dregovichi. The Polochans were one of the tribes from which the Polotsk principality was later formed. They are one of the founders of the modern Belarusian people.
Glade (poly) - the name of the Slavic tribe, in the era of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, who settled along the middle course of the Dnieper, on its right bank.
Judging by chronicle news and the latest archaeological research, the territory of the land of the glades before the Christian era was limited to the course of the Dnieper, Ros and Irpen; in the north-east it was adjacent to the derevskaya land, in the west - to the southern settlements of the Dregovichi, in the south-west - to the Tivertsy, in the south - to the streets.
Calling the Slavs who settled here glades, the chronicler adds: “outside in the gray field.” The glades differed sharply from the neighboring Slavic tribes both in moral properties and in the forms of social life: and to sisters and to their mothers .... marriage customs having a husband.
History finds the glades already at a rather late stage of political development: the social system is composed of two elements - communal and princely-druzhina, the former being strongly suppressed by the latter. With the usual and ancient occupations of the Slavs - hunting, fishing and beekeeping - cattle breeding, agriculture, "woodworking" and trade were more common among the meadows than other Slavs. The latter was quite extensive not only with Slavic neighbors, but also with foreigners in the West and East: the coin treasures show that trade with the East began as early as the 8th century - it stopped during the strife of the specific princes.
At first, about the middle of the 8th century, the glades, who paid tribute to the Khazars, due to their cultural and economic superiority, from a defensive position in relation to their neighbors, soon turned into an offensive one; Drevlyans, Dregovichi, northerners and others by the end of the 9th century were already subject to the glades. They also adopted Christianity earlier than others. Kiev was the center of the Polyana (“Polish”) land; its other settlements are Vyshgorod, Belgorod on the Irpen River (now the village of Belogorodka), Zvenigorod, Trepol (now the village of Trypillya), Vasilev (now Vasilkov) and others.
Zemlyapolyan with the city of Kyiv became the center of the possessions of the Rurikovichs from 882. The last time in the annals the name of the glades was mentioned in 944, on the occasion of Igor's campaign against the Greeks, and was replaced, probably already at the end of the Χ century, by the name Rus (Ros) and Kiyane. The chronicler also names the Slavic tribe on the Vistula, mentioned for the last time in the Ipatiev Chronicle under 1208, as glades.
Radimichi - the name of the population that was part of the union of East Slavic tribes that lived in the interfluve of the upper reaches of the Dnieper and the Desna.
Around 885 Radimichi became part of the Old Russian state, and in the XII century they mastered most of Chernigov and the southern part of Smolensk lands. The name comes from the name of the ancestor of the Radima tribe.
The Northerners (more correctly, the North) are a tribe or tribal union of Eastern Slavs who inhabited the territories east of the middle reaches of the Dnieper, along the Desna and Seimi Sula rivers.
The origin of the name of the north is not fully understood. Most authors associate it with the name of the Savir tribe, which was part of the Hunnic association. According to another version, the name goes back to the obsolete Old Slavic word meaning "relative". The explanation from the Slavic siver, north, despite the similarity of sound, is considered extremely controversial, since the north has never been the most northerly of the Slavic tribes.
Slovenes (Ilmen Slavs) are an East Slavic tribe that lived in the second half of the first millennium in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the upper reaches of the Mologa and made up the bulk of the population of Novgorod land.
The Tivertsy are an Eastern Slavic tribe that lived between the Dniester and the Danube near the Black Sea coast. They are first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years along with other East Slavic tribes of the 9th century. The main occupation of the Tivertsy was agriculture. The Tivertsy took part in the campaigns of Oleg against Tsargrad in 907 and Igor in 944. In the middle of the 10th century, the lands of the Tivertsy became part of Kievan Rus.
The descendants of the Tivertsy became part of the Ukrainian people, and their western part underwent Romanization.
The Ulichs are an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands along the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the Southern Bug and the Black Sea coast during the 8th-10th centuries.
The capital of the streets was the city of Pereseken. In the first half of the 10th century, the streets fought for independence from Kievan Rus, but nevertheless they were forced to recognize its supremacy and become part of it. Later, the streets and neighboring Tivertsy were driven north by the arriving Pecheneg nomads, where they merged with the Volhynians. The last mention of the streets dates back to the annals of the 970s.
Croats are an Eastern Slavic tribe that lived in the vicinity of the city of Przemysl on the San River. They called themselves white Croats, in contrast to the tribe of the same name with them, who lived in the Balkans. The name of the tribe is derived from the ancient Iranian word "shepherd, guardian of cattle", which may indicate its main occupation - cattle breeding.
Bodrichi (encouraged, rarogs) - Polabian Slavs (lower reaches of the Elbe) in the VIII-XII centuries. - the union of the Wagrs, Polabs, Glinyakov, Smolensk. Rarog (among the Danes Rerik) is the main city of the Bodrichs. Mecklenburg in East Germany.
According to one version, Rurik is a Slav from the Bodrich tribe, the grandson of Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Umila and the Bodrich prince Godoslav (Godlav).
The Wislans are a West Slavic tribe that has lived in Lesser Poland since at least the 7th century. In the 9th century, the Wislans formed a tribal state with centers in Krakow, Sandomierz and Straduv. At the end of the century, they were subjugated by the king of Great Moravia Svyatopolk I and were forced to be baptized. In the 10th century, the lands of the Vistulas were conquered by the Polans and incorporated into Poland.
Zlichane (Czech Zličane, Polish Zliczanie) is one of the ancient Czech tribes. They inhabited the territory adjacent to the modern city of Kourzhim (Czech Republic). East and South Bohemia and the region of the Duleb tribe. The main city of the principality was Libice. The princes of Libice Slavniki competed with Prague in the struggle for the unification of the Czech Republic. In 995, the Zlichans were subjugated by the Přemyslids.
Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs, Sorbs (German Sorben), Wends - the indigenous Slavic population living in the territory of Lower and Upper Lusatia - areas that are part of modern Germany. The first settlements of the Lusatian Serbs in these places were recorded in the 6th century AD. e.
The Lusatian language is divided into Upper Lusatian and Lower Lusatian.
The dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron gives a definition: "Sorbs are the name of the Wends and, in general, the Polabian Slavs." Slavic people inhabiting a number of areas in Germany, in the federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony.
