History, myths and gods of the ancient Slavs. Slavic tribes during the formation of Rus'

Vyatichi is a 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 comes from the name of the ancestor of the tribe, Vyatko. However, some associate the origin of this name with the morpheme “ven” and the Veneds (or Venets/Vents) (the name “Vyatichi” was pronounced “Ventici”).

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 12th 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 preserved many pagan rituals and traditions, in particular, they cremated the dead, erecting small mounds over the burial site. After Christianity took root among the Vyatichi, the ritual of cremation gradually fell out of use.

The 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 were mentioned in the chronicle under such a tribal name was in 1197.

Buzhans (Volynians) are 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 area of Volyn).

The Volynians are an 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 Volynians 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 subjugated by the Kyiv prince Vladimir I and became part of Kievan Rus. Later, the Galician-Volyn principality was formed on the territory of the Volynians.

The Drevlyans are one of the tribes of the Russian Slavs, they lived in Pripyat, Goryn, Sluch and Teterev.
The name Drevlyans, according to the chronicler's explanation, was given to them because they lived in forests.

From archaeological excavations in the country of the Drevlians, we can conclude that they had a well-known culture. A well-established burial ritual 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, remains of fabrics and leather indicate the existence of arable farming, pottery, blacksmithing, weaving and tanning 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 trade was barter.

The political center of the Drevlyans in the era of their independence was the city of Iskorosten; in later times, this center, apparently, moved to the city of Vruchy (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”.

Let's call the Drugovites (Greek δρονγονβίται) the Dregovichi were already known to Constantine the Porphyrogenitus as a tribe subordinate to Rus'. Being away from the “Road from the Varangians to the Greeks,” the Dregovichi did not play a prominent role in the history of Ancient Rus'. The chronicle only mentions that the Dregovichi once had their own reign. The capital of the principality was the city of Turov. The subordination of the Dregovichi to the Kyiv princes probably occurred very early. The Principality of Turov was subsequently formed on the territory of the Dregovichi, and the northwestern lands became part of the Principality of Polotsk.

Duleby (not Duleby) - a union of East Slavic tribes on the territory of Western Volyn in the 6th - early 10th centuries. In the 7th century they were subjected to an Avar invasion (obry). In 907 they took part in Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople. They split into tribes of Volynians and Buzhanians and in the middle of the 10th century they finally lost their independence, becoming part of Kievan Rus.

The Krivichi are a large East Slavic tribe (tribal association), which in the 6th-10th centuries occupied the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina, the southern part of the Lake Peipus basin and part of the Neman basin. Sometimes the Ilmen Slavs are also considered to be Krivichi.

The Krivichi were probably the first Slavic tribe to move from the Carpathian region 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 Tamfinns.

Having settled on the great waterway from Scandinavia to Byzantium (the route 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 Constantinople. They took part in Oleg and Igor’s campaigns against the Greeks as a tribe subordinate to the Kyiv prince; Oleg's agreement 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 Krivichs, Rogvolod, together with his sons, was killed in 980 by the Novgorod prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In the Ipatiev list, the Krivichi were mentioned for the last time in 1128, and the Polotsk princes were called Krivichi in 1140 and 1162. After this, the Krivichi were no longer mentioned in the East Slavic chronicles. However, the tribal name Krivichi was used in foreign sources for quite a long time (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 northeastern branch of the Krivichi, settled mainly in the territory of modern Tver, Yaroslavl and Kostroma regions, was in close contact with Finno-Ugric tribes.

The border between the settlement territory of the Krivichi and the Novgorod Slovenes is determined archaeologically by the types of burials: long mounds among 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.

Polotsk residents 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 Polotsk people extended from Svisloch along the Berezina to the lands of the Dregovichi. The Polotsk people were one of the tribes from which the Principality of Polotsk was later formed. They are one of the founders of the modern Belarusian people.

Polyane (Poly) is the name of a Slavic tribe, during the era of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, who settled along the middle reaches 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 by the flow of the Dnieper, Ros and Irpen; in the north-east it was adjacent to the village 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 the Polans, the chronicler adds: “Sedyahu was in the field.” The Polyans differed sharply from the neighboring Slavic tribes both in moral properties and in the forms of social life: “The Polans, for their father’s customs, are quiet and meek, and are ashamed of their daughters-in-law and to sisters and to their mothers... I have marriage customs.”

History finds the Polans already at a rather late stage of political development: the social system is composed of two elements - communal and princely-retinue, and the first is greatly suppressed by the latter. With the usual and most ancient occupations of the Slavs - hunting, fishing and beekeeping - cattle breeding, farming, "timbering" and trade were more common among the Polyans than other Slavs. The latter was quite extensive not only with its Slavic neighbors, but also with foreigners in the West and East: from the coin hoards it is clear that trade with the East began in the 8th century, but ceased during the strife of the appanage princes.

At first, around the middle of the 8th century, the glades who paid tribute to the Khazars, thanks to their cultural and economic superiority, soon moved from a defensive position in relation to their neighbors to an offensive one; The Drevlyans, Dregovichs, northerners and others by the end of the 9th century were already subject to the glades. Christianity was established among them earlier than others. The center of the Polish (“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 Tripolye), Vasilyev (now Vasilkov) and others.

The land of the Polyans with the city of Kiev became the center of the Rurikovich possessions in 882. The last time the name of the Polyans was mentioned in the chronicle was in 944, on the occasion of Igor’s campaign against the Greeks, and was replaced, probably already at the end of the 10th century, by the name Rus (Ros) and Kiyane. The chronicler also calls the Slavic tribe on the Vistula, mentioned for the last time in the Ipatiev Chronicle in 1208, Polyana.

Radimichi is the name of the population that was part of the union of East Slavic tribes that lived in the area between the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Desna.

Around 885 the Radimichi became part of the Old Russian state, and in the 12th century they mastered most of the Chernigov and southern part of the Smolensk lands. The name comes from the name of the ancestor of the tribe, Radim.

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 an obsolete ancient 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 northern 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 the Novgorod land.

Tivertsi are an East Slavic tribe that lived between the Dniester and Danube near the Black Sea coast. They were first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years along with other East Slavic tribes of the 9th century. The main occupation of the Tiverts was agriculture. The Tiverts took part in the campaigns of Oleg against Constantinople in 907 and Igor in 944. In the middle of the 10th century, the lands of the Tiverts became part of Kievan Rus.

The descendants of the Tiverts became part of the Ukrainian people, and their western part underwent Romanization.

Ulichi is an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands along the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Southern Bug and the Black Sea coast during the 8th-10th centuries.

The capital of the streets was the city of Peresechen. In the first half of the 10th century, the Ulichi fought for independence from Kievan Rus, but were nevertheless forced to recognize its supremacy and become part of it. Later, the Ulichi and neighboring Tivertsy were pushed north by the arriving Pecheneg nomads, where they merged with the Volynians. The last mention of the streets dates back to the chronicle of the 970s.

Croats are 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 who lived in the Balkans. The name of the tribe is derived from the ancient Iranian word “shepherd, guardian of livestock,” which may indicate its main occupation - cattle breeding.

According to one version, Rurik is a Slav from the Bodrichi tribe, the grandson of Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Umila and the Bodrichi prince Godoslav (Godlav).

The Vistula are a Western Slavic tribe that lived at least since the 7th century in Lesser Poland. In the 9th century, the Vistula formed a tribal state with centers in Krakow, Sandomierz and Stradow. At the end of the century they were conquered by the king of Great Moravia Svyatopolk I and were forced to accept baptism. In the 10th century, the lands of the Vistula were conquered by the Polans and included in Poland.

The Zlicans (Czech Zličane, Polish Zliczanie) are one of the ancient Bohemian tribes. Inhabited the territory adjacent to the modern city of Kourzhim (Czech Republic). It served as the center of formation of the Zlichan principality, which covered the beginning of the 10th century. Eastern and Southern Bohemia and the region of the Duleb tribe. The main city of the principality was Libice. The Libice princes Slavniki competed with Prague in the struggle for the unification of the Czech Republic. In 995, Zlicany was subordinated to the Přemyslids.

Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs, Sorbs (German Sorben), Vends are the indigenous Slavic population living in the territory of Lower and Upper Lusatia - regions that are part of modern Germany. The first settlements of 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 Brockhaus and Euphron Dictionary gives the definition: “Sorbs are the name of the Wends and the Polabian Slavs in general.” Slavic people inhabiting a number of regions in Germany, in the federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony.

The Lusatian Serbs are one of Germany's four officially recognized national minorities (along with the Gypsies, Frisians and Danes). It is believed that about 60 thousand German citizens now have Serbian roots, of which 20,000 live in Lower Lusatia (Brandenburg) and 40 thousand in Upper Lusatia (Saxony).

Lyutichs (Wilts, Velets) are a union of West Slavic tribes that lived in the early Middle Ages in the territory of what is now eastern Germany. The center of the Lutich union was the “Radogost” sanctuary, in which the god Svarozhich was revered. All decisions were made at a large tribal meeting, and there was no central authority.

The Lutici led the Slavic uprising of 983 against German colonization of the lands east of the Elbe, as a result of which colonization was suspended for almost two hundred years. Even before this, 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 Boleslaw the Brave Poland.

Military and political successes strengthened the Lutichi's commitment to paganism and pagan customs, which also applied to the related Bodrichi. However, in the 1050s, an internecine war broke out among the Lutichs and changed their position. The union quickly lost power and influence, and after the central sanctuary was destroyed by the Saxon Duke Lothair in 1125, the union finally disintegrated. Over the next decades, the Saxon dukes gradually expanded their possessions to the east and conquered the lands of the Luticians.

Pomeranians, Pomeranians - Western Slavic tribes who lived from the 6th century in the lower reaches of the Odryna coast of the Baltic Sea. It remains unclear whether there was a residual Germanic population before their arrival, which they assimilated. In 900, the border of the Pomeranian range ran along the Odra in the west, the Vistula in the east and Notech in the south. They gave the name to the historical area of Pomerania.

In the 10th century, the Polish prince Mieszko I included the Pomeranian lands into the Polish state. In the 11th century, the Pomeranians rebelled and regained independence from Poland. During this period, their territory expanded west from the Odra into the lands of the Lutich. On the initiative of Prince Wartislaw I, the Pomeranians adopted Christianity.

From the 1180s, German influence began to increase and German settlers began to arrive on the Pomeranian lands. Due to 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 remnant of the ancient Pomeranians who escaped assimilation today are the Kashubians, numbering 300 thousand people.

Ruyans (Rans) are a Western Slavic tribe that inhabited the island of Rügen.

In the 6th century, the Slavs settled the lands of what is now eastern Germany, including Rügen. The Ruyan tribe was ruled by princes who lived in fortresses.

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

Northerners living in the south

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

Vyatichi and Radimichi - relatives or different tribes?

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

Are Krivichi Croats or Poles?

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

Slovenian vandals

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

Russians. A people without territory

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

The history of Russian statehood begins from the time when, ten centuries before the beginning of the new era, numerous Slavic tribes began to settle in the northern and central parts of the East European Plain. They were engaged in hunting, fishing and farming. Those who lived in the steppe were engaged in animal husbandry.

Who are the Slavs

The term "Slavs" refers to an ethnic group of people who have centuries of cultural continuity and who speak a variety of related languages known as Slavic languages (all of which belong to the Indo-European language family). Little is known about the Slavs before they were mentioned in Byzantine records of the 6th century AD. e., while most of what we know about them until that time, scientists obtained through archaeological and linguistic research.

Main places of residence

Slavic tribes began to develop new territories in the 6th-8th centuries. The tribes diverged in three main directions:

to the south - the Balkan Peninsula,
to the west - between the Oder and the Elbe,
to the east and northeast of Europe.

They are the ancestors of such modern peoples as Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The ancient Slavs were pagans. They had their own deities, they believed that there were evil and good spirits that personified various natural forces: Yarilo - the Sun, Perun - thunder and lightning, etc.

When the Eastern Slavs mastered the East European Plain, changes occurred in their social structure - tribal unions appeared, which later became the basis of future statehood.

Ancient peoples on the territory of Russia

The oldest of the far north were Neolithic wild reindeer hunters. Archaeological evidence of their existence dates back to the 5th millennium BC. Small-scale reindeer herding is believed to have developed as early as 2,000 years ago.

In the 9th-10th centuries, the Varangians (Vikings) controlled the central part and the main rivers of the eastern territory of modern Russia. East Slavic tribes occupied the northwestern region. The Khazars, a Turkic people, controlled the south central region.

Even 2000 BC. e., both in the north, and in the territory of modern Moscow, and in the east, in the Urals region, there lived tribes who grew unprocessed grains. Around the same time, tribes in the territory of modern Ukraine were also engaged in agriculture.

Distribution of ancient Russian tribes

Many peoples gradually migrated to what is now eastern Russia. The Eastern Slavs remained in this territory and gradually became dominant. The early Slavic tribes of Ancient Rus' were farmers and beekeepers, as well as hunters, fishermen, shepherds and hunters. By 600, the Slavs had become the dominant ethnic group on the East European Plain.

Slavic statehood

The Slavs withstood invasions by the Goths from Germany and Sweden and the Huns from Central Asia in the 3rd and 4th centuries. By the 7th century, they had established villages along all the major rivers of what is now eastern Russia. In the early Middle Ages, the Slavs lived between the Viking kingdoms in Scandinavia, the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, the Byzantines in Turkey, and the Mongol and Turkish tribes in Central Asia.

Kievan Rus arose in the 9th century. This state had a complex and often unstable political system. The state flourished until the 13th century, before its territory sharply decreased. Among the special achievements of Kievan Rus are the introduction of Orthodoxy and the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures. The disintegration of Kievan Rus played a decisive role in the evolution of the Eastern Slavs into the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples.

Slavic tribes

Slavs are divided into three main groups:

Western Slavs (mainly Poles, Czechs and Slovaks);
South Slavs (mostly tribes from Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia);
East Slavic tribes (primarily Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians).

The eastern branch of the Slavs included numerous tribes. The list of names of tribes of Ancient Rus' includes:

Vyatichi;
Buzhan (Volynians);
Drevlyans;
Dregovichi;
Dulebov;
Krivichi;
Polotsk;
clearing;
Radimichi;
Slovene;
Tivertsev;
streets;
Croats;
Bodrichi;
Vistula;
Zličan;
Lusatians;
Lutich;
Pomeranian

Origin of the Slavs

Little is known about the origins of the Slavs. They inhabited areas of east-central Europe in prehistoric times and gradually reached their current limits. The pagan Slavic tribes of Ancient Rus' migrated from what is now Russia to the southern Balkans more than 1,000 years ago and took over the Christian communities founded by Roman colonists.

Philologists and archaeologists claim that the Slavs settled in the Carpathians and in the region of modern Belarus a very long time ago. By 600, a linguistic division had resulted in southern, western, and eastern branches. The Eastern Slavs settled on the Dnieper River in what is now Ukraine. They then spread north to the northern Volga Valley, east of modern Moscow, and west to the basins of the northern Dniester and Western Bug, into the territory of modern Moldova and southern Ukraine.

Later the Slavs adopted Christianity. These tribes were scattered over a large area and suffered from the invasions of nomadic tribes: the Huns, Mongols and Turks. The first large Slavic states were the Western Bulgarian state (680-1018) and Moravia (early 9th century). In the 9th century the Kiev state was formed.

Old Russian mythology

Very little mythological material has survived: until the 9th-10th centuries. n. e. Writing was not yet widespread among the Slavic tribes.

One of the main gods of the Slavic tribes of Ancient Rus' was Perun, who is associated with the Baltic god Perkuno, as well as with the Norwegian god Thor. Like these deities, Perun is the god of thunder, the supreme deity of the ancient Russian tribes. The god of youth and spring, Yarilo, and the goddess of love, Lada, also occupied an important place among the deities. They were both gods who died and were resurrected every year, which was associated with fertility motives. The Slavs also had a goddess of winter and death - Morena, a goddess of spring - Lelya, a goddess of summer - Zhiva, gods of love - Lel and Polel, the first was the god of early love, the second was the god of mature love and family.

Tribal culture of Ancient Rus'

In the early Middle Ages, the Slavs occupied a large territory, which contributed to the emergence of several independent Slavic states. From the 10th century BC e. There was a process of gradual cultural divergence that gave rise to a variety of closely related but mutually exclusive languages classified as part of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family.

Currently, there are a large number of Slavic languages, in particular, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak, Russian and many others. They are distributed from central and eastern Europe to Russia.

Information about the culture of the East Slavic tribes of Ancient Rus' in the VI-IX centuries. there are very few. They were mainly preserved in works of folklore recorded later, represented by proverbs and sayings, riddles and fairy tales, work songs and stories, and legends.

These tribes had some knowledge about nature. For example, thanks to the system of shifting agriculture, the East Slavic agricultural calendar appeared, divided on the basis of agricultural cycles into lunar months. Also, the Slavic tribes on the territory of Ancient Rus' had knowledge about animals, metals, and actively developed applied art.

Vyatichi - a 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 the origin of this name with the morpheme “ven” and the Veneds (or Veneti/Venti) (the name “Vyatichi” was pronounced “ventichi”).

Since the 12th 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 preserved many pagan rituals and traditions, in particular, they cremated the dead, erecting small mounds over the burial site. After Christianity took root among the Vyatichi, the ritual of cremation gradually fell out of use.

In 981, the Volynians were subjugated by the Kyiv prince Vladimir I and became part of Kievan Rus. Later, the Galician-Volyn principality was formed on the territory of the Volynians.

The political center of the Drevlyans in the era of their independence was the city of Iskorosten; in later times, this center, apparently, moved to the city of Vruchy (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 the Druguvites (Greek δρονγονβίται), the Dregovichi were already known to Constantine the Porphyrogenitus as a tribe subordinate to Rus'. Being away from the “Road from the Varangians to the Greeks,” the Dregovichi did not play a prominent role in the history of Ancient Rus'. The chronicle only mentions that the Dregovichi once had their own reign. The capital of the principality was the city of Turov. The subordination of the Dregovichi to the Kyiv princes probably occurred very early. The Principality of Turov was subsequently formed on the territory of the Dregovichi, and the northwestern lands became part of the Principality of Polotsk.

The Krivichi are a large East Slavic tribe (tribal association), which in the 6th-10th centuries 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. Sometimes the Ilmen Slavs are also considered to be Krivichi.

Already in the era of the formation of the Russian state, the Krivichi had political centers: Izborsk, Polotsk and Smolensk.

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 Finno-Ugric tribes.
The border between the settlement territory of the Krivichi and the Novgorod Slovenes is determined archaeologically by the types of burials: long mounds among 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.

Polyane (Poly) is the name of a Slavic tribe, during the era of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, who settled along the middle reaches of the Dnieper, on its right bank.

Zemlyapolyan with the city of Kiev became the center of the Rurikovich possessions in 882. The name of the polyans was mentioned for the last time in the chronicle in 944, on the occasion of Igor’s campaign against the Greeks, and was replaced, probably already at the end of the 10th century, by the name Rus (Ros) and Kiyane. The chronicler also calls the Slavic tribe on the Vistula, mentioned for the last time in the Ipatiev Chronicle in 1208, Polyana.

Radimichi is the name of the population that was part of the union of East Slavic tribes that lived in the area between the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Desna.
Around 885 the Radimichi became part of the Old Russian state, and in the 12th century they mastered most of the Chernigov and southern part of the Smolensk lands. The name comes from the name of the ancestor of the tribe, Radim.

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 Mologa and made up the bulk of the population of Novgorod land.

Ulichi is an East Slavic tribe that inhabited the lands along the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Southern Bug and the Black Sea coast during the 8th-10th centuries.
The capital of the streets was the city of Peresechen. In the first half of the 10th century, the Ulichi fought for independence from Kievan Rus, but were nevertheless forced to recognize its supremacy and become part of it. Later, the Ulichi and neighboring Tivertsy were pushed north by the arriving Pecheneg nomads, where they merged with the Volynians. The last mention of the streets dates back to the chronicle of the 970s.

Bodrichi (Obodrity, Rarogi) - Polabian Slavs (lower Elbe) in the 8th-12th centuries. - union of Vagrs, Polabs, Glinyaks, Smolyans. Rarog (from the Danes Rerik) is the main city of the Bodrichis. Mecklenburg State in East Germany.
According to one version, Rurik is a Slav from the Bodrichi tribe, the grandson of Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Umila and the Bodrichi prince Godoslav (Godlav).

The Zlicans (Czech Zličane, Polish Zliczanie) are one of the ancient Czech tribes. They inhabited the territory adjacent to the modern city of Kourzhim (Czech Republic). They served as the center of the formation of the Zlican Principality, which covered the beginning of the 10th century. Eastern and Southern Bohemia and the region of the Duleb tribe. The main city of the principality was Libice. The Libice princes Slavniki competed with Prague in the struggle for the unification of the Czech Republic. In 995, Zlicany was subordinated to the Přemyslids.

The Lusatian language is divided into Upper Lusatian and Lower Lusatian.

Lyutichs (Wilts, Velets) are a union of Western Slavic tribes who lived in the early Middle Ages in the territory of what is now eastern Germany. The center of the Lutich union was the “Radogost” sanctuary, in which the god Svarozhich was revered. All decisions were made at a large tribal meeting, and there was no central authority.

The remnant of the ancient Pomeranians who escaped assimilation today are the Kashubians, numbering 300 thousand people.

If we move along the East European Plain from north to south, then we see successively 15 East Slavic tribes will appear:

1. Ilmen Slovenes, the center of which was Novgorod the Great, which stood on the banks of the Volkhov River, flowing out of Lake Ilmen and on whose lands there were many other cities, which is why the Scandinavians neighboring them called the possessions of the Slovenes “gardarika,” that is, “land of cities.”

These were: Ladoga and Beloozero, Staraya Russa and Pskov. The Ilmen Slovenes got their name from the name of Lake Ilmen, located in their possession and also called the Slovenian Sea. For residents remote from the real seas, the lake, 45 versts long and about 35 wide, seemed huge, which is why it had its second name - the sea.

2. Krivichi, living in the area between the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina, around Smolensk and Izborsk, Yaroslavl and Rostov the Great, Suzdal and Murom.

Their name came from the name of the founder of the tribe, Prince Krivoy, who apparently received the nickname Krivoy from a natural defect. Subsequently, a Krivichi was popularly known as a person who is insincere, deceitful, capable of deceiving his soul, from whom you will not expect the truth, but will be faced with deceit. (Moscow subsequently arose on the lands of the Krivichi, but you will read about this further.)

3. Polotsk residents settled on the Poloti River, at its confluence with the Western Dvina. At the confluence of these two rivers stood the main city of the tribe - Polotsk, or Polotsk, whose name is also derived from the hydronym: “river along the border with the Latvian tribes” - Latami, Leti.

To the south and southeast of Polotsk lived the Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi and Northerners.

4. Dregovichi lived on the banks of the Accept River, receiving their name from the words “dregva” and “dryagovina,” meaning “swamp.” The cities of Turov and Pinsk were located here.

5. Radimichi, those who lived between the Dnieper and Sozh rivers were called by the name of their first prince Radim, or Radimir.

6. Vyatichi were the easternmost ancient Russian tribe, receiving their name, like the Radimichi, from the name of their ancestor - Prince Vyatko, which was an abbreviated name Vyacheslav. Old Ryazan was located in the land of the Vyatichi.

7. Northerners occupied the river Desna, Seim and Suda and in ancient times were the northernmost East Slavic tribe. When the Slavs settled as far as Novgorod the Great and Beloozero, they retained their former name, although its original meaning was lost. In their lands there were cities: Novgorod Seversky, Listven and Chernigov.

8. Glades, inhabiting the lands around Kyiv, Vyshgorod, Rodnya, Pereyaslavl, were called so from the word “field”. Cultivation of fields became their main occupation, which led to the development of agriculture, cattle breeding and animal husbandry. The Polyans went down in history as a tribe, more than others, that contributed to the development of ancient Russian statehood.

The neighbors of the glades in the south were the Rus, Tivertsy and Ulichi, in the north - the Drevlyans and in the west - the Croats, Volynians and Buzhans.

9. Rus'- the name of one, far from the largest East Slavic tribe, which, because of its name, became the most famous both in the history of mankind and in historical science, because in the disputes over its origin, scientists and publicists broke many copies and spilled rivers of ink. Many outstanding scientists - lexicographers, etymologists and historians - derive this name from the name of the Normans, Rus, almost universally accepted in the 9th-10th centuries. The Normans, known to the Eastern Slavs as the Varangians, conquered Kyiv and the surrounding lands around 882. During their conquests, which took place over 300 years - from the 8th to the 11th centuries - and covered all of Europe - from England to Sicily and from Lisbon to Kiev - they sometimes left their name behind the conquered lands. For example, the territory conquered by the Normans in the north of the Frankish kingdom was called Normandy.

Opponents of this point of view believe that the name of the tribe came from the hydronym - the Ros River, from where the whole country later became known as Russia. And in the 11th-12th centuries, Russia began to be called the lands of Rus', glades, northerners and Radimichi, some territories inhabited by the streets and Vyatichi. Supporters of this point of view view Rus' no longer as a tribal or ethnic union, but as a political state entity.

10. Tivertsy occupied spaces along the banks of the Dniester, from its middle reaches to the mouth of the Danube and the shores of the Black Sea. The most likely origin seems to be their names from the Tivre River, as the ancient Greeks called the Dniester. Their center was the city of Cherven on the western bank of the Dniester. The Tivertsy bordered on the nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs and Cumans and, under their attacks, retreated to the north, mingling with the Croats and Volynians.

11. Ulichi were the southern neighbors of the Tiverts, occupying lands in the Lower Dnieper region, on the banks of the Bug and the Black Sea coast. Their main city was Peresechen. Together with the Tiverts, they retreated to the north, where they mixed with the Croats and Volynians.

12. Drevlyans lived along the rivers Teterev, Uzh, Uborot and Sviga, in Polesie and on the right bank of the Dnieper. Their main city was Iskorosten on the Uzh River, and in addition, there were other cities - Ovruch, Gorodsk, and several others, the names of which we do not know, but traces of them remained in the form of settlements. The Drevlyans were the most hostile East Slavic tribe towards the Polans and their allies, who formed the ancient Russian state centered in Kyiv. They were determined enemies of the first Kiev princes, they even killed one of them - Igor Svyatoslavovich, for which the prince of the Drevlyans Mal, in turn, was killed by Igor's widow, Princess Olga.

The Drevlyans lived in dense forests, getting their name from the word “tree” - tree.

13. Croats, who lived around the city of Przemysl on the river. San, called themselves White Croats, in contrast to the tribe of the same name who lived in the Balkans. The name of the tribe is derived from the ancient Iranian word “shepherd, guardian of livestock,” which may indicate its main occupation - cattle breeding.

14. Volynians were a tribal association formed on the territory where the Duleb tribe previously lived. Volynians settled on both banks of the Western Bug and in the upper reaches of Pripyat. Their main city was Cherven, and after Volyn was conquered by the Kiev princes, a new city was erected on the Luga River in 988 - Vladimir-Volynsky, which gave the name to the Vladimir-Volynsky principality that formed around it.

15. Into a tribal association that arose in the habitat Dulebov, In addition to the Volynians, they also included Buzhans, who were located on the banks of the Southern Bug. There is an opinion that Volynians and Buzhanians were one tribe, and their independent names arose only as a result of different habitats. According to written foreign sources, the Buzhans occupied 230 “cities” - most likely, these were fortified settlements, and the Volynians - 70. Be that as it may, these figures indicate that Volyn and the Bug region were populated quite densely.

The same applies to the lands and peoples bordering the Eastern Slavs, this picture looked like this: Finno-Ugric tribes lived in the north: Cheremis, Chud Zavolochskaya, Ves, Korela, Chud; in the north-west lived the Balto-Slavic tribes: Kors, Zemigola, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians; in the west - Poles and Hungarians; in the southwest - Volokhs (ancestors of Romanians and Moldovans); in the east - the Burtases, the related Mordovians and the Volga-Kama Bulgarians. Beyond these lands lay “terra incognita” - an unknown land, which the Eastern Slavs learned about only after their knowledge of the world greatly expanded with the advent of a new religion in Rus' - Christianity, and at the same time writing, which was the third sign of civilization .