East Slavs. Eastern Slavs in the 6th–8th centuries

The first evidence of the Slavs. The Slavs, according to most historians, separated from the Indo-European community in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The ancestral home of the early Slavs (Proto-Slavs), according to archaeological data, was the territory to the east of the Germans - from the Oder River in the west to the Carpathian Mountains in the east. A number of researchers believe that the Proto-Slavic language began to take shape later, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e.

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

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

The first information about the political history of the Slavs dates back to the 4th century. n. e. From the Baltic coast, the Germanic tribes of the Goths made their way to the Northern Black Sea region. The Gothic leader Germanaric was defeated by the Slavs. His successor Vinitar deceived 70 Slavic elders headed by God (Bus) and crucified them. Eight centuries later, the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, unknown to us, mentioned the "time of Busovo".

A special place in the life of the Slavic world was occupied by relations with the nomadic peoples of the steppe. Along this steppe ocean, stretching from the Black Sea to Central Asia, wave after wave of nomadic tribes invaded Eastern Europe. At the end of the IV century. the Gothic tribal union was broken by the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Huns, who came from Central Asia. In 375, the hordes of the Huns occupied the territory between the Volga and the Danube with their nomads, and then moved further into Europe to the borders of France. In their advance to the west, the Huns carried away part of the Slavs. After the death of the leader of the Huns, Atilla (453), the Hunnic state disintegrated, and they were thrown back to the east.

In the VI century. the Turkic-speaking Avars (the Russian chronicle called them obrams) created their own state in the southern Russian steppes, uniting the tribes that roamed there. The Avar Khaganate was defeated by Byzantium in 625. “Proud in mind” and in body, the great Avars-Obras disappeared without a trace. “They died like obras” - these words, with the light hand of the Russian chronicler, became an aphorism.

The largest political formations of the VII-VIII centuries. in the southern Russian steppes there was the Bulgarian kingdom and the Khazar Khaganate, and in the Altai region - the Turkic Khaganate. The states of the nomads were unstable conglomerates of the steppes, who hunted for military booty. As a result of the collapse of the Bulgarian kingdom, part of the Bulgarians, led by Khan Asparuh, migrated to the Danube, where they were assimilated by the southern Slavs who lived there, who took the name of Asparuh's warriors, that is, Bulgarians. Another part of the Bulgarian-Turks with Khan Batbai came to the middle reaches of the Volga, where a new power arose - Volga Bulgaria (Bulgaria). Its neighbor, who occupied from the middle of the 7th century. the territory of the Lower Volga region, the steppes of the North Caucasus, the Black Sea region and partly the Crimea, was the Khazar Khaganate, which levied tribute from the Dnieper Slavs until the end of the 9th century.

In the VI century. Slavs repeatedly made military campaigns against the largest state of that time - Byzantium. From that time, a number of works by Byzantine authors have come down to us, containing original military instructions on the fight against the Slavs. So, for example, the Byzantine Procopius from Caesarea wrote in his book “War with the Goths”: “These tribes, Slavs and Antes, are not controlled by one person, but since ancient times they live in democracy (democracy), and therefore they consider happiness and unhappiness in life to be a matter of common ... They believe that only God, the creator of lightning, is the lord over all, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed ... Both of them have the same language ... And once even the name of the Slavs and Antes was the same Same".

Byzantine authors compared the way of life of the Slavs with the life of their country, emphasizing the backwardness of the Slavs. Campaigns against Byzantium could only be undertaken by large tribal unions of the Slavs. These campaigns contributed to the enrichment of the tribal elite of the Slavs, which accelerated the collapse of the primitive communal system.

The formation of large tribal associations of the Slavs is indicated by the legend contained in the Russian chronicle, which tells about the reign of Kyi with the brothers Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid in the Middle Dnieper. Kyiv, founded by the brothers, was allegedly named after the elder brother Kyi. The chronicler noted that other tribes had the same reigns. Historians believe that these events took place at the end of the 5th-6th centuries. n. e.

The territory of the Eastern Slavs (VI-IX centuries).

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

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

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

Glade lived in the forest-steppe along the middle reaches of the Dnieper (Kyiv). To the north of them, between the mouths of the Desna and Ros rivers, lived northerners (Chernigov). To the west of the glades, on the right bank of the Dnieper, the Drevlyans “sedesh in the forests”. To the north of the Drevlyans, between the rivers Pripyat and the Western Dvina, the Dregovichi settled (from the word "dryagva" - a swamp), which along the Western Dvina neighbored the Polochans (from the Polota River, a tributary of the Western Dvina). To the south of the Bug River, there were Buzhans and Volynians, according to some historians, the descendants of the Dulebs. The interfluve of the Prut and the Dnieper was inhabited, convict. Tivertsy lived between the Dnieper and the Southern Bug. Vyatichi were located along the rivers Oka and Moscow; to the west of them lived the Krivichi; along the Sozh River and its tributaries - Radimichi. The northern part of the western slopes of the Carpathians was occupied by white Croats. Ilmen Slovenes (Novgorod) lived around Lake Ilmen.

The chroniclers noted the uneven development of individual tribal associations of the Eastern Slavs. At the center of their story is the land of the meadows. The land of the glades, as the chroniclers pointed out, was also called "Rus". Historians believe that this was the name of one of the tribes that lived along the Ros River and gave the name to the tribal union, the history of which was inherited by the meadows. This is just one of the possible explanations for the term "Rus". The question of the origin of this name is not fully understood.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs in the north-west were the Baltic Letto-Lithuanian (Zhmud, Lithuania, Prussians, Latgalians, Semigallians, Curonians) and Finno-Ugric (Chud-Ests, Livs) tribes. The Finno-Ugric peoples coexisted with the Eastern Slavs both from the north and the northeast (Vod, Izhora, Karelians, Sami, all, Perm). In the upper reaches of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama lived Yugras, Merya, Cheremis-Mars, Murom, Meshchera, Mordvins, Burtases. In the east, from the confluence of the Belaya River into the Kama to the Middle Volga, the Volga-Kama Bulgaria was located, its population was the Turks. The Bashkirs were their neighbors. South Russian steppes in the VIII-IX centuries. occupied by the Magyars (Hungarians) - Finno-Ugric pastoralists, who, after their resettlement in the region of Lake Balaton, were replaced in the 9th century. Pechenegs. The Khazar Khaganate dominated the Lower Volga and the steppe spaces between the Caspian and Azov Seas. The Black Sea region was dominated by Danubian Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks"

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

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

The main agricultural systems of the Eastern Slavs are closely connected with natural and climatic conditions. In the north, in the area of ​​taiga forests (the remnant of which is Belovezhskaya Pushcha), the dominant system of agriculture was slash-and-burn. Trees were cut down the first year. In the second year, dried trees were burned and, using the ashes as fertilizer, they sowed grain. For two or three years, the plot gave a high harvest for that time, then the land was depleted, and it was necessary to move to a new plot. The main tools there were an ax, as well as a hoe, a plow, a knotted harrow and a spade, with which they loosened the soil. Harvested with sickles. They threshed with chains. The grain was ground with stone grinders and hand millstones.

In the southern regions, fallow was the leading system of agriculture. There were many fertile lands, and plots of land were sown for two or three or more years. With the depletion of the soil, they moved (shifted) to new areas. The main tools used here were a plow, a ralo, a wooden plow with an iron plowshare, that is, tools adapted for horizontal plowing.

Cattle breeding was closely related to agriculture. The Slavs bred pigs, cows, and small cattle. Oxen was used as working livestock in the south, and horses were used in the forest belt. Other occupations of the Slavs include fishing, hunting, beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees), which had a large share in the northern regions. Industrial crops (flax, hemp) were also grown.

Community

The low level of productive forces in the management of the economy required huge labor costs. Labor-intensive work that had to be carried out within strictly defined deadlines could only be performed by a large team; it was also his task to oversee the correct distribution and use of land. Therefore, a large role in the life of the ancient Russian village was acquired by the community - peace, rope (from the word "rope", which was used to measure the land during divisions).

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

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

As a result of the transfer by the princes of the right to own land to the feudal lords, part of the communities fell under their authority. (A feud is a hereditary possession granted by a senior prince to his vassal, who is obliged to carry out court, military service for this. A feudal lord is the owner of a feud, a landowner who exploits peasants dependent on him.) Another way of subordinating neighboring communities to feudal lords was their capture by combatants and princes. But most often, the old tribal nobility, subjugating the community members, turned into boyars-patrimonials.

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

Peasant farms and farms of feudal lords had a natural character. Both those and others sought to provide for themselves at the expense of internal resources and had not yet worked for the market. However, the feudal economy could not live completely without a market. With the appearance of surpluses, it became possible to exchange agricultural products for handicraft goods; cities began to take shape as centers of crafts, trade and exchange, and at the same time as strongholds of the power of the feudal lords and defense against external enemies.

City

The city, as a rule, was built on a hill, at the confluence of two rivers, as this provided a reliable defense against enemy attacks. The central part of the city, protected by a rampart, around which a fortress wall was erected, was called the kremlin, krom or citadel. There were palaces of princes, courtyards of the largest feudal lords, temples, and later monasteries. From two sides the Kremlin was protected by a natural water barrier. From the side of the base of the Kremlin triangle, they dug a moat filled with water. Bargaining was located behind the moat under the protection of the fortress walls. The settlements of artisans adjoined the Kremlin. The handicraft part of the city was called a settlement, and its individual districts, inhabited, as a rule, by artisans of a certain specialty, were called settlements.

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

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

social order

At the head of the East Slavic tribal unions were princes from the tribal nobility and the former tribal elite - “deliberate people”, “best men”. The most important issues of life were decided at public meetings - veche gatherings.

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

Slavic paganism

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

Formation of the Old Russian state

The tribal reigns of the Slavs had signs of the emerging statehood. Tribal principalities often united into large superunions, which revealed features of early statehood.

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

Thus, the widespread use of agriculture with the use of iron tools, the collapse of the tribal community and its transformation into a neighboring one, the growth in the number of cities, the emergence of squads are evidence of the emerging statehood.

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

Norman theory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Origin

In modern science, there are 2 points of view on the origin of the Slavs: 1) Slavs - the indigenous population of Vos. Europe. They come from the creators of the Zarubinets and Chernyakhov archeological cultures who lived here. 2) The Slavs moved to the territory of Vostochnoerop. plains from the Center. Europe. From this territory they spread throughout Europe. Vost. Slavs crossed from the Danube to the Carpathians, from there to the Dnieper. In Vost. In Europe, the Slavs met with Finno-Ugric tribes and settled among them.

resettlement

The Slavs settled throughout the East European Plain: on the Dnieper - a meadow, to the north of them - the northerners, to the north-west - the Drevlyans; on the river Pripyat - Dregovichi; on the river Sozh - radimichi; in the region of Smolensk and to the north - Krivichi; on the Ilmen-lake and the river. Volkhov - Ilmen Slovenes; in the northeast (regions of Vladimir and Moscow) - Vyatichi; in the south-west - streets, Tivertsy, Volhynians.

Household structure

The main occupation of the Slavs was slash-and-burn (cutting trees, burning, uprooting stumps) and shifting agriculture (burning grass, fertilizing the land with ash). The Slavs were engaged in animal husbandry. An important role was played by hunting for furs. They hunted squirrel, marten, sable. They were engaged in beekeeping (collecting honey from wild bees). They traded furs, honey, wax, exchanging them for fabrics and jewelry. The main trade route of Ancient Russia was the route "From the Varangians to the Greeks": Neva - Lake Ladoga. - Volkhov - Ilmen-lake - r. Lovat - portages to the tributaries of the Dnieper - the Dnieper - the Black Sea. The abundance of rivers, lakes, a well-branched water transport system contributed to the development of navigation, trade, and various crafts producing products for exchange. Large cities, tribal centers, such as Kyiv and others, were founded at the crossroads of trade routes.

social order

In VII - IX, the Eastern Slavs were decomposing the tribal system: the transition from a tribal community to a neighboring one. The community members lived in separate houses - semi-dugouts. Private property existed, but livestock remained in common ownership, there was no inequality within the communities yet. A tribal nobility stood out - leaders (knezes, princes) and elders. They surrounded themselves with squads (a special kind of population engaged only in military activities, attack, for defense the militia of free community members was used). Each tribe had its own prince. A pre-class society emerged. At the head was the prince, to whom the squad and governors were subordinate. Below were the smerds (heads of patriarchal families who had the right to participate in the army). Even lower were the servants - members of the families of smerds and serfs who did not have the right to participate in the army. One of the tribal princes-leaders of the VI century was Kiy, in Russian he is called the founder of Kyiv.

Religious beliefs

The origins of religion go to the Indo-European ancient beliefs. The religion that existed among different peoples before they adopted Christianity or Islam was called paganism (polytheism). At the head of the Slavic gods was the great svarog - the god of the universe. His sons - svarozhichi - the sun and fire, were carriers of light and heat. The god of the sun is Dazhdbog. The Slavs prayed to the family and women in childbirth - to the god and goddesses of fertility. This cult was associated with agricultural occupations. The god Veles was revered as the patron of cattle breeding, Stribog commanded the winds. When the Slavs merged with the Finno-Ugric tribes, their gods also migrated to the Slavic pantheon. In the 8th-9th centuries, the sun god Khors was revered among the Slavs. With the beginning of military campaigns among the Slavs, the god of thunder and lightning Perun came to the fore. There is a special attitude towards the dead soldiers (funeral pyres, burial mounds, and so on). In every house the Slavs had idols of the gods.

Answer plan: 1) the origin of the Slavs; 2) written sources about the Eastern Slavs; 3) territory of settlement; 4) economic and social system; 5) religious beliefs; 6) relations with other tribes and peoples; 7) prerequisites for the formation of the state.

The Slavs belong to the Indo-European family of peoples. Their ancestors inhabited the vast expanses of Eurasia. The territory of settlement of the Slavic tribes was originally the Central and Eastern European lands, and the natural borders were the Oder River in the west, the Dnieper River in the east, the Baltic coast in the north, and the Carpathians in the south.

A significant increase in the number of Slavs led to their migration in the VI century. Another reason for the displacement of the Slavs was the social stratification that began among them, the emergence of the nobility, which in ever-increasing quantities needed land.

The basis of the economic life of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture, settled cattle breeding, hunting, and fishing. From agricultural crops cultivated wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, peas, beans, buckwheat, hemp. The soil was cultivated initially with a hoe and plow. The harvest was harvested with a sickle. The use of a plow with an iron share made it possible to significantly increase production volumes, which led to the appearance of surplus grain and the possibility of using hired labor.

The religion of the Eastern Slavs was paganism. They deified the forces of nature and worshiped them. Svarog was revered as the god of heaven and fire, Perun was the god of thunder, and Veles was the god of cattle. Sacrifices were performed in honor of the gods.

The tribal community was soon replaced by a neighboring one, which was based not on kinship, but on economic ties. In the VI-VIII centuries. the Eastern Slavs were in the process of forming the first tribal military alliances headed by leaders (princes). In an effort to strengthen their power over the free community members, the princes imposed tribute on them. The need to collect tribute was explained by the interests of maintaining a military squad, which guarantees the peaceful work of community members. Along with this, there was a process of formation of a new ruling class - large owners of land: people close to the prince from his squad, as well as representatives of the tribal nobility, occupied fertile lands that previously belonged to the community. At the same time, in the conditions of the strengthening of princely power, the relative independence of the community members was preserved, as well as such elements of military democracy as veche, blood feud, etc.

All this created objective conditions for the formation of the Old Russian state.

In the VII-IX centuries. among the Eastern Slavs, the process of decomposition of the tribal system was going on: the transition from a tribal community to a neighboring one. The community members lived in semi-dugouts designed for one family. Private property already existed, but land, forest land, and livestock remained in common ownership.
At this time, a tribal nobility stood out - leaders and elders. They surrounded themselves with squads, i.e. armed force, independent of the will of the people's assembly (veche) and capable of forcing ordinary members of the community into obedience. Each tribe had its own prince. The word "prince" comes from the common Slavic " knez, meaning "leader». One of these tribal princes was Kiy (5th c.), who reigned in the Glade tribe. The Russian chronicle The Tale of Bygone Years called him the founder of Kyiv. Thus, the first signs of statehood were already appearing in Slavic society.

Religion, life and customs of the Eastern Slavs. The ancient Slavs were pagans. They believed in evil and good spirits. A pantheon of Slavic gods developed, each of which personified various forces of nature or reflected the social relations of that time. The most important gods of the Slavs were Perun - the god of thunder, lightning, war, Svarog - the god of fire, Veles - the patron of cattle breeding, Mokosh - the goddess who protected the female part of the tribe. The god of the sun was especially revered, which was called differently among different tribes: Dazhd-god, Yarilo, Horos, which indicates the absence of stable Slavic intertribal unity.

The Slavs lived in small villages along the banks of the rivers.. In some places, for protection from the enemy, the villages were surrounded by a wall, around which a ditch was dug. This place was called a city.

The Slavs were hospitable and good-natured. Each wanderer was considered an honored guest. According to Slavic orders, it was possible to have several wives, but only the rich had more than one, because. for each wife, a ransom had to be paid to the parents of the bride. Often, when a husband died, the wife, proving her loyalty, killed herself. The custom of burning the dead and erecting large earthen mounds over the funeral pyres was widespread everywhere - mounds. The more noble the deceased, the higher the hill was built. After the burial, they celebrated the "feast", i.e. arranged feasts, fighting games and horse races in honor of the deceased.
Birth, marriage, death- all these events in a person's life were accompanied by incantations. The Slavs had an annual cycle of agricultural holidays in honor of the sun and various seasons. The purpose of all rituals was to ensure the harvest and health of people, as well as livestock. In the villages there were idols depicting deities to whom "the whole world" (that is, the whole community) offered sacrifices. Groves, rivers, lakes were considered sacred. Each tribe had a common sanctuary, where members of the tribe converged on especially solemn holidays and to solve important matters.

About the resettlement of East Slavic tribes the most ancient Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" can tell a lot. She tells us about the glades who lived in the Middle Dnieper region in the Kyiv region, their neighbors - the Drevlyans, who settled in the swampy and wooded Pripyat Polissya. At the northern end of the East Slavic world lived the Ilmen Slovenes, who settled along the shores of Lake Ilmen; Dregovichi lived between Pripyat and the Western Dvina; their neighbors were krivichi, a huge array of which eventually broke up into three branches: Smolensk, Polotsk and Pskov Krivichi; the neighbors of the meadows from the side of the steppe were the northerners, in the Sozh river basin lived the Radimichi, and in the Oka basin - the Vyatichi. At the southernmost tip of the East Slavic territory, almost on the Black Sea coast, Ulichi and Tivertsy settled.

For a long time, historians did not trust this annalistic geographical scheme, but archeology at the beginning of the 20th century confirmed it. Helped here ... women's jewelry. It turned out that one of the most common types of women's jewelry among the Eastern Slavs - temporal rings, varies throughout the Russian Plain. It turned out that certain varieties of these decorations correspond to a certain settlement of one or another East Slavic “tribe”. Later, these observations were confirmed by the study of other elements of the material culture of the Eastern Slavs.

Spread over such a vast area, the Eastern Slavs encountered, entered into one or another relationship with the peoples who inhabited Eastern Europe before them or came here at the same time. It is known that the Balts lived up to the area of ​​modern Moscow, as evidenced by the study of place names (geographical names), which turn out to be very stable, persisting for centuries. The regions of the northeast were inhabited by the Finno-Ugric peoples, and the south was inhabited by Iranian-speaking tribes - the descendants of the Sarmatians already known to us. Military clashes were replaced by periods of peaceful relations, assimilation processes were going on: the Slavs, as it were, drew these peoples into themselves, but they themselves changed, acquiring new skills, new elements of material culture. Synthesis, the interaction of cultures is the most important phenomenon of the time of the settlement of the Slavs on the Russian Plain, perfectly illustrated by the data of archaeological excavations.

Relations with those ethnic groups were more difficult who were able to create already quite strong unions of tribes or even early state formations. One of these formations in the middle of the 7th century. was created by the Bulgarians. As a result of internal troubles and external pressure, part of the Bulgarians, led by Khan Asparukh, migrated to the Danube, where they subjugated the local South Slavic tribes. Another part of the Bulgarians, led by Khan Batbay, moved to the northeast and settled in the middle reaches of the Volga and on the lower Kama, creating the state of Bulgaria. This state has long posed a real threat to the Eastern Slavs.

The Khazars were also Turkic tribes, which in the second half of the VII century. began to push the Bulgarians. Over time, they also settle on the ground, create their own early state formation, which covered the vast territories of the North Caucasus, the Lower Volga region, the Northern Black Sea region and partly the Crimea. Center Khazar Khaganate, as this formation began to be called (the Khazar ruler was called the kagan), was located in the lower reaches of the Volga. There were not so many ethnic Khazar Turks, but the main population was representatives of the so-called Saltov-Mayak culture, which consisted of representatives of the diverse ethnic population of Eastern Europe, including the Slavs. Basically, the population of the kaganate was pagan, but the Khazar elite converted to Judaism. Part of the East Slavic tribes, adjacent to the borders (very vague) of the kaganate, had, according to the chronicle, to pay tribute to the Khazars.

Terrible danger for the Eastern Slavs overhanging from the northwest. The scarce land of the Scandinavian Peninsula pushed into Europe large detachments of "seekers of glory and prey, penitents of the seas" - the Normans, who were called in Russia Varangians. The detachments were led by the Vikings, who came mostly from noble families. Hardened in battles and sea voyages, armed with an effective weapon - an ax with a pointed bayonet, the Normans were a terrible danger to many European countries. The peak of Varangian raids on Slavic territories falls on the 9th century.

In the fight against enemies the military organization of the Slavic population, which has its roots in the depths of centuries, grew stronger. Like many other peoples, this is a system of hundreds, when each tribe put up a hundred warriors led by a “Sotsky”, and the union of tribes was supposed to put up a thousand, from where the position of “thousand” comes from. One of the military leaders was the prince. The word "prince" is a common Slavic, borrowed, according to linguists, from the ancient German language. This word originally meant the head of the family, the elder. From the sources we know about the tribal leaders-princes. Over time, with the growth of the population, the tribe, subdivided into several clans, broke up into a number of related tribes, which formed a tribal union. Such tribal unions were most likely the annalistic “tribes” of the Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, etc. These unions were headed by leaders who towered over the leaders of the individual tribes that were part of the union.

Historical evidence about such princes contains an annalistic legend about Kyi and his descendants. The chronicle says: “And up to now the brothers (Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv. - Auth.) Keep their princelings more often in the fields, and in the ancients, their own, and their Dregovichi, and their Slovenes in Novgorod, and the other on Polot, etc. Polotsk."

The Arab historian Masudi reports about the ancient Slavic prince Majak, and the Gothic historian Jordan, already known to us, about Prince God. Thus, in addition to the leaders of the tribes, there were also leaders of the unions of the tribes. These princes had various functions. The prince of the tribe could be elected for a time, during the period of hostilities. His power is small compared to the power of the leader of the tribal union. The power of the latter is constant, the functions are more diverse. Such a prince had to deal with the internal construction of the union, collect, organize and lead the army, and be in charge of foreign policy in general. These princes also performed some religious and judicial functions. In this they were helped by the council of elders, or, as ancient Russian monuments often call it, the elders of the city (the chronicles use the terms “elders” and “startsy of the city” as equivalent). In the annalistic reports, the elders of the city act as authorized leaders of society, with whom the princes were forced to reckon. Even in the second half of the X century. - the turning point of the reign of Vladimir - they still participated in the management and influenced the course of events. Elders-advisers took part in the princely duma, princely feasts, which performed an important social function - communication between the population and the prince. The elders of the city are a tribal nobility who dealt with civil affairs.

In military affairs, the prince was helped by a squad. It also originates in the bowels of the primitive communal system, without violating the pre-class social structure in any way. The squad grew together with the prince and, like the prince, performed certain socially useful functions. The prince among the combatants was not a master, but the first among equals.

Another essential element socio-political structure was Veche. Tribal vecha - people's meetings - arise in ancient times. The Byzantine writer-historian Procopius of Caesarea (VI century) wrote about them, telling about the Antes and Sclaves. The study of the oldest documents about the veche indicates that the entire population, including the nobility, participated in it. The People's Assembly acted continuously throughout the IX-XI centuries, but over time, as the tribal ties disintegrated, it became more active. The fact is that tribal ties fetter a person, tribal protection, which in ancient times was a boon for any member of the clan, eventually becomes a brake on the development of democratic government.

This triad - the prince, the council of elders and the popular assembly - can be found in many societies that have experienced an archaic stage of development.

Ancestral home and origin of the Slavs

The first written references in the sources about the Slavs refer to 6th century(Gothic historian Jordanes, Byzantine writer Procopius of Caesarea).

Some researchers consider the tribes known to early medieval authors to be the Proto-Slavs. Wends, Antes and Slavins .

Like most European languages, Slavic belong to the Indo-European language family, forming an independent group. The archaeological culture, which scientists, of course, associate with the Slavs, is called Prague (named after the characteristic stucco ceramics excavated near the city of Prague).

Question about ancestral home Slavic ethnos remains debatable. Most researchers, relying on archeological and linguistic data, believe that the ancestral home of the Slavs was the basins of the Danube, Vistula and Oder rivers.

The era of the Great Migration of Peoples (IV-VII centuries AD) also affected part of the Slavic tribes. In the VI-VII centuries. there is a division of the previously single Slavic ethnic group into three main groups:

· western;

· southern;

· eastern .

The latter was formed by the Slavic tribes who settled in the territory of the East European Plain during this period. In the process of settlement, the Eastern Slavs assimilated the aboriginal Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes.

The oldest chronicle source - "The Tale of Bygone Years" (beginning of the 12th century) mentions the following East Slavic unions of tribes:

· glade (middle reaches of the Dnieper), Drevlyans (in the forests south of the Pripyat River);

· Ilmen Slovenes (basin of the Volkhov River and Lake Ilmen);

· Polochans (the course of the Polota River);

· Krivichi (upper reaches of the Dnieper and Volga);

· Dregovichi (swamps between Pripyat and Western Dvina);

· northerners (basins of the Desna and Seversky Donets rivers),

· radimichi (interfluve of the Dnieper and Desna);

· Vyatichi (upper reaches of the Oka and the Moskva River basin).

It is also reported about the streets, Tivertsy, White Croats and Volynians, who lived in the south and south-west of the East European Plain.

Occupations of the Eastern Slavs

The Eastern Slavs were a settled people, and agriculture was the basis of their economic activity. In the VI-IX centuries. they cultivated

1) rye;

2) wheat;

3) millet;

4) buckwheat;

5) oats and barley.

Common in forested areas slash (slash-and-burn) agriculture. A section of the forest was burned, the earth fertilized with ash was used for several years, and after the depletion of the soil, they were abandoned for a while.

In the steppe regions dominated shifting (burning herbs), a c 8th century – arable farming .

Eastern Slavs used two-field crop rotation , in which the land was divided into two parts - spring sowing and fallow. In the forest-steppe zone in the VIII-IX centuries. starts to be used and three-field , in which one part of the field is occupied by spring crops, the second by winter crops, and the third remains fallow.

The most common agricultural tools were:

1) knotty harrow,

2) ralo,

3) plow,

4) from the 8th–9th centuries . in the forest-steppe zone began to apply plow.

Most of the East European Plain belongs to the zone of risky farming, so the following played an important role in their economy: cattle breeding (large and small cattle, pigs, poultry), hunting, fishing and beekeeping (collection of honey and wax from wild bees), those. crafts.

Eastern Slavs predominantly led natural economy . However, an important change in their life VIII-IX centuries. there was a gradual separation crafts from agriculture. Separated first metal processing and pottery, then other crafts appear - stone-cutting, plumbing, cooperage, jewelry, etc. Craftsmen made tools and weapons from iron. Owning tricks grains, filigree, enamels, they made wonderful decorations. The Slavs were craftsmen in bone processing.

International trade developed on the Baltic-Volga route, as well as on the well-known route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", which connected Northern Europe (Varangians) with the Byzantine Empire (Greeks). They sold: furs, furs, wax, honey, slaves. Bought: fabrics, wines, luxury items.

The social system of the Eastern Slavs

AT 6th-9th centuries Eastern Slavs lived primitive communal system . The main form of social organization has long been tribal community (clan). Kindred worked together. Land, cattle, lands, tools of labor were in collective possession and use.

FROM 8th century . in the southern regions, a new form of social organization begins to take shape - neighborhood (territorial) community. Among the Eastern Slavs it was called rope. While maintaining collective ownership of land and lands, there appears individual (family) plowing. AT individual possession and use are transferred to the tools and results of labor, as well as livestock.

Several neighboring communities located close to each other usually made up a tribe, and the tribes, in turn, united into large tribal unions (meadows, Vyatichi, Dregovichi, etc.).

Administrative centers tribal unions were fortified castles (near the meadows - Kyiv, among the Slovenes of Ilmen - Novgorod, among the Polotsk - Polotsk, etc.).

The formation of a neighborhood community contributed to the emergence of property and social inequality. Gradually begins to stand out know (deliberate child). It can be attributed princes (military leaders) elders, magi (servants of the pagan gods).

The most important issues affecting the interests of the entire team were resolved at veche – meetings community members (adult male warriors).

Existed among the Eastern Slavs and patriarchal slavery . They took prisoners in order to get a ransom for them or sell them into slavery. If this could not be done, then the captives were released into the wild or remained among the Slavs in the position of free.

The social system of the Eastern Slavs of the VI-IX centuries. historians call "military democracy".

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

More reliable are the data of the Arab encyclopedist al-Masudi (X century), who wrote that long before his time, the Slavs had a political association, which he called Valinan. Most likely, we are talking about the Volhynian Slavs, (annalistic dulebs), whose union was crushed, according to the data of the PVL, by the Avar invasion in the 7th century. The works of other Arab authors contain information about three centers of Eastern Slavism: Kuyavia, Slavia, Artania . Some Russian historians associate the first with Kyiv, the second - with Novgorod or its more ancient predecessor, the location Artania continues to cause controversy. Apparently, they were pre-state formations, including several tribal unions. All these local principalities were little connected with each other and could not withstand powerful external forces: the Khazars and the Varangians.

The Slavs lived in unfortified settlements with semi-dugout dwellings, or small wooden log cabins with stoves-heaters.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs

The main part of the territory of the East European Plain before the settlement of the Slavs (VI-VII centuries) was occupied by Finno-Ugric (meshchera, merya, whole, muroma, chud, mordva, korela) and Baltic (Lithuania, Zhmud, Aukshayty, Letgola, Prussians, etc.) tribes.

All of them during this period lived in conditions of the primitive communal system engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, gathering, and fishing. Most of these tribes were gradually assimilated Slavs.

In the east and southeast, the Slavs coexisted with semi-nomadic peoples - Volga Bulgars and Khazars , which by that time had already formed states (Volga Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate).

An active part in the life of the Eastern Slavs was taken by the Scandinavians, whom the Slavs called Varangians.

An important economic and cultural partner of the East Slavic tribal unions was Byzantine Empire - the most powerful state of the early Middle Ages.

Paganism

Dominant religious form among the Eastern Slavs until the end of the 10th century. remained paganism (polytheism, polytheism). Slavs deified forces of nature, having a direct impact on their lives and worshiped Shchur and Rod - ancient ancestors; women in labor - goddesses of prosperity and fertility.

To IX century . is already being drawn up pantheon Slavic pagan deities (Svarog - the god of heavenly fire, Yarilo - Sun God; Stribog - the god of the air element; Veles or Volos - patron of cattle, as well as music and songs; Mokosh - the patroness of women, hearth and economy, etc.). A special place was occupied by the god of thunder and lightning Perun , which eventually turned into a princely retinue god of war. Peculiar minor deities among the Eastern Slavs were brownies (ancestral spirits - patrons of the home), goblin, water, navi (mermaids) kikimoras, ghouls , shishigs, etc. The Slavs also worshiped wells, stones and lakes, groves and individual trees (sacred oak). Sacrifices, sometimes human, were made to the gods in specially designated places - temples. Princes often acted as high priests, but there were also special priests - wizards and sorcerers who prayed and performed various rituals at the temples. On the basis of paganism, the Slavs developed a rich oral folk art - songs, spells and conspiracies, epics, proverbs and sayings, riddles, fairy tales. Some pagan holidays and rituals dedicated to natural cycles have survived to this day: Maslenitsa, Kupala, etc.

2. Main dates

3. Basic concepts

Autochthonous population -to indigenous population.

beekeeping -With harvesting wild honey.

Varangians -P about one of the versions - warriors - vigilantes from the Scandinavian countries, often referred to as Normans. According to another version, they came from the coast of the Baltic Sea, related to the Slavic tribes.

Varangian way ("from the Varangians to the Greeks") -about the bottom of the names of an important waterway that connected Northern Russia with the south. The path arose at the end of the 11th century, it was most important in the 10th-11th centuries. The path went from the Varangian (Baltic) Sea along the Volkhov River, along Ilmenskoye Lake, along the Lovat River, then dragged to the Dnieper River, along it to the Black Sea and further along the sea coast to Byzantium.

Veles - P the patron saint of cattle breeding and the spectator of the underworld of the ancestors. In the future, he began to personify economic success, wealth and prosperity.

rope - a piece of land measured with a rope, community.

Veche –n folk assembly.

Military democracy –f form of statehood at the stage of decomposition primitive order when it occurs power hereditary prince , relying on the military strength of his squad. But this power was limited to the remnants of tribal relations - veche.

Leader -g lava of the tribe.

"Voi" -m the ugly population of the clan.

Magi -P prophets, predictors of the future, healers, who stood closer to the mysterious forces of nature among the ancient Slavs, servants of the pagan gods.

Hryvnia, rezana, kuna, fox, veksha -d Monetary units among the Slavs.

Dazhdbog -Sun God.

Vigilantes –l people professionally engaged in military affairs, who served the prince and received from him material remuneration for their service.

double field -With The system of land tenure, when part of the field is sown with grain, the other is resting under fallow. The name of the grain among the Slavs.

Idol -and image of a pagan deity in the form of a statue, sculpture.

kagan - (about t Turkic "ruler") - the title of the head of state among the ancient Turkic-speaking peoples (Avars, Khazars, Pechenegs). From the middle of the VI century. it was worn by the rulers of the Turkic Khaganate. From the end of the 8th century this title, along with the princely one, was appropriated by the Kyiv princes, which symbolized their independence from the Khazar Khaganate.

temple -I pagan temple among the Slavs; a place in the temple where sacrifices were made to the gods.

Prince - in the war leader.

Makosh - P patroness of women, hearth.

Deliberate Chad -z Nat in the tribe.

fallow –si the system of agriculture, in which the steppe was burned, then sown, and after exhaustion, it was abandoned.

Perun – b og of lightning and thunder.

noon -d uh - the patroness of the rest of the villagers in the midday heat.

Proto-Slavs -P rare Slavs.

Tribe -With Union of clans living in the same territory.

Ralo -d ancient tool of labor among the Slavs.

Genus -to group of relatives.

Women in labor –b fertility lights.

Svarog - god of heaven.

Elder –y respected, experienced person.

Strada -With agricultural work season.

Stribog - God of the wind.

Threefields -With An agricultural system in which one part of the field is devoted to winter crops, another to spring crops, and still others are left fallow.

Trizna -p nominal feast.

Chur –b an idyllic image of a tribal community.

Paganism -d Christian and non-Christian religions based on the worship of many gods associated with natural phenomena. The term "paganism" comes from the New Testament, in which paganism meant peoples or "languages", as opposed to the early Christian communities.

Yarila –b the symbol of the sun, spring, fertility and love among the Eastern Slavs.

4. Basic schemes

1. Beliefs of the ancient Slavs