Eastern Slavs and places of their settlement. The resettlement of the Eastern Slavs - briefly. Sidorov G.A. Slavic Germany

Introduction

The formation of the Old Russian state is the result of a long historical process. Over the course of several centuries, the Eastern Slavs not only mastered the expanses of the East European Plain, learned to build cities, formed a great culture, but also created one of the largest states of medieval Europe.

The purpose of my test is an in-depth study of the state of Ancient Rus'. My task is to describe in more detail the origin and settlement of the Eastern Slavs, their occupations, social system and religion. I would also like to highlight such issues as the formation of the state among the Eastern Slavs, internal and foreign policy the first Kyiv princes. The theme of Ancient Rus' is well covered in the textbooks of such authors as Chapek V.Yu., Orlov A.S. etc. The structure of my work consists of four chapters, introduction and conclusion.

The origin and resettlement of the Eastern Slavs in the VI-VIII centuries.

The Slavs, according to most historians, separated themselves from the Indo-European community in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. 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. 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). By the middle of the first millennium A.D. e. Basically, the process of settling the Slavs across Europe is completed. In addition to the name "Veneda", the Slavs are also called Sclavins or Ants, which indicates the separation of separate branches of the Slavs from the common Proto-Slavic world (later they will be called Western - Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Kashubians, Lusatian Serbs; Eastern - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians; southern - Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Bosnians, Montenegrins).

In the era of the Great Migration of Nations (III-VI centuries AD), which coincided with the crisis of the slave-owning world, the Slavs mastered the territory of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. They lived in the forest and forest-steppe zone, where, as a result of the spread of iron tools, it became possible to conduct a settled agricultural economy.

By the VI century. is the separation from a single Slavic community of a branch of Eastern Slavism, on the basis of which the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples subsequently developed.

In the middle of the first millennium of our era, East Slavic tribes formed on the vast territory of Eastern Europe, from Lake Ilmen to the Black Sea steppes and from the Eastern Carpathians to the Volga. Historians number about 15 such tribes. Each tribe was a collection of clans that occupied a relatively isolated area. The map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs in the VIII-IX centuries looked like this: the Slovenes (Ilmen Slavs) lived on the shores of Lake Ilmen and Volkhov; Krivichi with Polovtsy - at the headwaters of the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Berezina; Vyatichi - on the Oka and the Moscow River; radimichi - on the Sozh and the Desna; northerners - on the Desna, Seim, Sula and Seversky Donets; Drevlyans - in Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper; clearing - along the middle course of the Dnieper; Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs - in Volyn, along the Bug; Tivertsy, street - in the very south, by the Black Sea and the Danube.

Probably, a division between the southern and eastern Slavs has matured on the Danube. The southern Slavs managed, in the end, to break into the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire. By the 7th-8th centuries, they occupied the entire Balkan Peninsula, reached the Adriatic Sea and penetrated to the very southern tip of Greece. Eastern Slavs from the Danube retreated to the north. You can trace their paths.

Of course, only hypothetically. The region directly adjacent to the mouth of the Danube from the north probably constituted the territory of the Eastern Slavs even before the splitting of the southeastern branch of the Slavs into the southern and eastern, that is, in any case, even before the 6th century. This is a quadrangle roughly elongated to the northwest between the Carpathians, the arms of the Danube, the Black Sea coast and the Southern Bug. In this quadrangle, part of the Eastern Slavs remained even when the other part went further.

From the upper reaches of the Prut, Dniester and Southern Bug, the settlement of the Slavs went to the north and northeast. They occupied the upper reaches of the Western Bug and the upper reaches of the southern tributaries of the Pripyat. From the upper reaches of the Southern Bug along the Rossi River, the movement of the Eastern Slavs approached the Dnieper (glade) and then went up the Dnieper, one can judge at least by the name of the Desna. The Desna, that is, the right river, was named one of the main tributaries of the Dnieper on the left side (downstream). Thus, the middle reaches of the Dnieper and its tributaries were occupied by the Slavs. In the 9th century, the stream of Slavic colonization, which came from the bottom of the Dnieper, met with the stream that came from the west. Probably, leaving under pressure from the Avars fleeing the Frankish defeat, the Slavic tribes from the upper reaches of the Vistula moved to the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Oka and Western Dvina (Radimichi - along the Sozh, Vyatichi - along the Oka, Polochans - along the Western Dvina). It is difficult to say when and where the Krivichi and Ilmen Slavs came from.

The settlement of the Eastern Slavs up the Dnieper preceded their settlement along the northern coast of the Black and Azov Seas. Slavic tribes can be noted especially on the Don. The Arab historian Ibn Khordadbek calls the Don a Slavic river. Another Arabic writer Masudi (X century) says that the banks of the Tanais (Don) are inhabited numerous people Slavic. Al-Balarudi (who wrote in the 60s of the 10th century) wrote that the uncle of the Arab caliph made a raid on the land of the Slavs who lived in the land of the Khazars.

For two and a half centuries (from the end of VI to the beginning of IX), the Eastern Slavs thus occupied a vast territory from the northwestern corner of the Black Sea to Lake Ladoga, and along the northern coast of the Black Sea - intermittently - to the Don and Kuban. The Slavs failed, however, to achieve their own state formation. As was said, they became part of the states formed by the nomadic peoples of the Turkish tribe (Avars and Khazars). But if there was no state unity, there was tribal unity. The consciousness of this tribal unity of different East Slavic tribes was still alive in the Russian chronicler of the 11th century. The Eastern Slavs, dividing into various tribes, constituted one people - the Russian people.

The oldest Russian chronicle, The Tale of Bygone Years, can tell a lot about the settlement of the East Slavic tribes. She informs us about the glades who lived in the Middle Dnieper region in the region of Kyiv, 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 the Krivichi, a huge array of which eventually broke up into three branches: the Krivichi of Smolensk, Polotsk and Pskov; the neighbors of the meadows from the side of the steppe were the northerners, in the Sozh river basin the Radimichi lived, 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. This scheme of the chronicler is fully confirmed by archaeological research.

Settling 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. There was a mixture of Slavs with the Balts and Finno-Ugric peoples, but not all peoples were assimilated. Serious ethnic and anthropological differences arose among the Slavs themselves.

If in the north, local tribes were assimilated or coexisted peacefully with the Slavs, then relations with the southern neighbors were more difficult, since there were ethnic groups that were already able to create quite strong ethno-social organisms. 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 a potestar formation called Great Bulgaria. The relations of the Slavs with the Volga Bulgarians included both war and peace. Turkic-speaking Bulgarians formed the basis of new ethnic groups - the Chuvash and Tatars, which will be formed within the framework of the Golden Horde.

The strong Volga Bulgaria itself became dependent on the Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars are another wave of Turkic tribes, which in the second half of the 7th century. began to push the Bulgarians. Over time, they also settle on the ground, create their own "empire", which covered the vast territories of the North Caucasus, the Lower Volga region, the Northern Black Sea region and partly the Crimea. The center of the Khazar Khaganate, as this formation began to be called, 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. Local variants of the Saltov-Mayak culture reflect the ethnic specificity of various groups of the population of Khazaria. Basically, the population of the kaganate was pagan, but the Khazar elite converted to Judaism.

On the territory of the Stavropol Territory, the Saltov-Mayak culture came into contact with the monuments of the Alans - one of the Sarmatian tribal associations, the ancestors of modern Ossetians, who left a bright archaeological culture, the oldest in the territory Russian Federation Christian temples. The influence of the Alans on the ethnic history of the North Caucasus was very significant: along with the Turks, they also participated in the ethnogenesis of the Karachays and Balkars. In a more ancient era, the Alans, apparently, had a huge impact on the political and ethnic processes that were going on in the Slavic world.

However, even the Khazars could not stop the new horde of Pecheneg Turks. Already in the 9th century, having defeated the Hungarians, who had to migrate to their current place of residence in Europe, the Pechenegs occupied a vast territory from the lower Volga to the mouth of the Danube. The Pechenegs lived in a tribal system, were engaged in cattle breeding and made devastating raids on the surrounding lands. According to the classification of S.A. Pletneva, they can be attributed to the first stage of nomadism. Apparently, the Pecheneg invasion was the beginning of the decline of the Saltov-Mayak culture.

Byzantium had a huge influence on the population of Eastern Europe in ancient times. To all the barbarian peoples, Byzantium carried not only religion: it simultaneously spread the idea of ​​statehood, forms of government, a new law regulating social relations, enlightenment up to the creation of the alphabet (Sh. Diehl). At the same time, the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire was different from the Western one: Byzantium gave only what it wanted to give. Our barbarian leaders never sat on the imperial throne, and Byzantine aqueducts did not lead water to Russian cities, unlike Western European Roman viaducts. In other words, in Eastern Europe, unlike Western Europe, there has never been continuity, continuity with the ancient world: we have remained aloof from the richest ancient heritage.

In addition, Byzantium was precisely the "Eastern" Roman Empire, "located on the borders of Europe, where it was in direct contact with the Asian world." Despite the fact that Homer was the reference book for schoolchildren in Constantinople, entire regions of the empire were superficially Hellenized, the influence of the East was enormous. It was a state modeled on the Eastern empires, with a highly centralized administration and a church that was entirely dependent on the state.

A formidable danger for the Eastern Slavs also loomed 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 "Varangians" in Rus'. The detachments were led by the Vikings, who came mostly from noble families. Hardened in battles and sea voyages, armed effective weapon- an ax with a pointed bayonet, the Normans were a terrible danger to many European countries. The peak of the Varangian raids on Rus' falls on the 9th century. At the same time, the Varangians brought not only troubles, but also an updated mechanism of government, better weapons, more advanced ships, and special decorations contributed to Eurasian trade (I.V. Dubov).

Directly connected with the Varangian influence on the Slavs is the problem of "Russes", "Russian land". There are many theories about the origin of this word. Rus' and the Slavs are consistently distinguished not only by ancient Russian chroniclers, but also by Arabic-speaking authors. In the latter, all the details of the descriptions concerning the Russes almost completely coincide with what is known about the Varangians according to archaeological data (G.S. Lebedev). At the same time, fragments of ancient Russian chronicle writing are also well known, in which the Slavs are not opposed, but identified with Russia.

It is no less difficult to connect the information of written monuments with the data of archeology and toponymy. A number of archaeologists and linguists consider the word "Rus" an ethnonym. According to V.V. Sedov, this is an Iranian name, which was adopted by the Slavs in late Roman times. Their place of residence is recorded in the annals as Russian land in a narrow sense - a territory included in a triangle bounded by the cities of Kiev, Chernigov and Pereyaslavl. The most detailed information about this was collected by A.N. Nasonov, B.A. Rybakov, V.A. Kuchkin.

There has long been a hypothesis that has a different meaning, which does not consider this word an ethnonym at an early stage of its history. Currently, it is followed by E.A. Melnikova and V.Ya. Petrukhin, according to which the Scandinavian squads of “rowers”, participants in rowing boat trips, were called so. It seems that current level Our knowledge of Ancient Rus' does not allow us to offer an optimal solution to the origin and development of the terms "Rus", "Rus".

"Politogenesis" of the Eastern Slavs, i.e. the emergence and development of their political institutions and, ultimately, the state is one of the most difficult problems of Russian historical science.

As for the chronicle "tribes", their "ethnographic" character is more or less indisputable. Probably, it is necessary to operate with the concepts of “clan” and “community”, as a form, first of all, of managing the clan. "Kin", in contrast to "tribe", was known to the chronicler. "Community" is a term unknown to the chronicles, a scientific concept, but one that has defended its right to exist.

If a "tribe" can still lay claim to life in the modern scientific conceptual apparatus, then the same cannot be said about "unions of tribes". The last concept was borrowed by our researchers from the works of L. Morgan and F. Engels, which need significant adjustment. Thus, the “union of tribes” of the Iroquois, sung by L. Morgan, turned out to be a chiefdom.

The path from the Antes and Sklavens to the Eastern Slavs in terms of social development is a movement from military democracy to chiefdom. It is necessary to emphasize the deep archaism inherent in the ancient Russian society of this period. According to K. Renfrew, to classify the society under study as a stage of civilization, two of the three indicators, such as a city, writing, and monumental architecture, are sufficient. The monumental architecture of Ancient Rus' began to take shape late (after the adoption of Christianity by Russia) - at the very end of the 10th century. Writing, as you know, also becomes widespread in the subsequent period in the conditions of the formation of city-states.

Of the three indicators, one remains - the city. Soviet historiography was dominated by the opinion that the city arises in a class society, is the brainchild of developing feudalism (M.N. Tikhomirov). In the 70-80s of the XX century. this kind of approach to the problem of the emergence of ancient Russian cities ceased to satisfy specialists. From the point of view of some, the city appears as a “tribal center” (I.Ya. Froyanov, A.Yu. Dvornichenko); others - as a center of international trade (V.A. Bulkin, I.V. Dubov, G.S. Lebedev, E.N. Nosov).

Is there a conflict between these approaches? Hardly. In any case, they are removed by the concept of chiefdom. The most ancient cities were the focus of archaic princely power, which did not prevent them from being tribal centers. They were the centers of concentration of the surplus product and its redistribution (distribution). These ancient cities may well have "specialized" in foreign trade. The towns of that time were of an agrarian nature, the townspeople were mainly engaged in agriculture.

The elective princely power is replaced by the power of the princely family. Unfortunately, we know very little about the ancient princely families. We already know much more about the Rurikovichs. Before their appearance, apparently, two solid chiefdoms arose, which, according to the terminology of R. Carneiro, can be defined as compound ones: one in the north, the other in the south - “Russian land”.

The chronicler tells that in 862 the Chud, Slavs, Krivichi and all turned to the inhabitants of the Scandinavian peninsula to the Varangians: “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no order in it. Come reign and rule over us." At the invitation, three princes arrived: Rurik, Sineus and Truvor with their families. Rurik landed in Novgorod, Sineus - on Beloozero, and Truvor - in Izborsk.

Chronicle version already in the XVIII century. became the subject of a fierce discussion between Russian and German scientists - Russian academicians (E.Z. Bayer, G.F. Miller, A.L. Schletser) and M.V. Lomonosov. A whole “Norman problem” was born in the disputes, which over the next two centuries often became the object of a fierce ideological struggle, allowed some, primarily foreign authors, to completely deny the ability of the Eastern Slavs to create their own statehood, and others to neglect the role of the Varangians in national history.

Modern researchers for the most part admit that the fact of inviting, however, not three princes, but one - Rurik, took place. Scientific research shows that ignoring the activities of the Varangian detachments in Rus' is just as wrong as exaggerating their significance. Having had a significant influence on the formation of princely power, the development of culture, the Varangians did not bring statehood to Rus'.

In 882, Rurik's voivode Oleg, carrying with him the infant son of Rurik, Igor, went down the Dnieper and, having cunningly killed the Varangians Askold and Dir, who reigned in Kiev, seized power in the city. Prince Oleg for some time established the rule of the northern chiefdom over the southern one, but then he settled in the south himself and the dependence weakened.

Oleg performed in 907 and in 911. trips to the distant Tsargrad, alluring with its riches, the purpose of which was tribute. Dani, in turn, was the main tool with which relations were built within the East Slavic community. Military operations contributed to the accumulation of prestigious consumer goods, captives that could be used in the economy, etc. To strengthen the Kyiv chiefdom, measures of an “ideological” nature were also taken. The pagan temple of Perun is moved to a new place, more open and accessible.

The "foreign policy" of Igor (912-945), who also made campaigns against Byzantium, was also active. The campaigns of the Russians were also directed towards the Caspian. In 945, Igor fell victim to the inter-tribal struggle between the glades and the conquered Drevlyans. The latter offered Igor's widow, Princess Olga, to marry the Drevlyansk prince. Archaic views on the nature of power were reflected here: the one who killed his opponent, invested with power, could claim both his wife and power itself. Olga not only did not marry, but also terribly took revenge on the offenders. Researchers believe that archaic traditions were also reflected in the annalistic scenes of Olga's revenge.

Olga visited Byzantium on a "friendly visit" and was baptized here. Princess Olga of Russia Orthodox Church elevated to the rank of a saint, and she remained in the memory of the people for a long time. However, her son Svyatoslav did not accept Christianity, and answered his mother’s persuasion: “How can I accept a different faith alone? And my squad will laugh.”

Even during the life of his mother, Svyatoslav took part in hostilities as a child. Svyatoslav (964-972) spent all his reign in wars. Under him, the military, external function of the chiefdom clearly prevailed over the internal: managerial, etc.

The whole life of Svyatoslav is truly an "eternal battle." His campaigns 965-968. - as a single blow of the sword, which completed the unification of the East Slavic tribes. Svyatoslav defeated the Vyatichi and laid tribute on them. But before that, the Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazaria. Svyatoslav and his army managed to deal a strong blow to this old rival of Rus'.

The victories of the Russian prince could not but disturb Byzantium, because all these lands were in the "sphere of its vital interests." In 967, the Russian-Byzantine war broke out. In this war there were both defeats and victories. In the end, during one of the returns to Kyiv, the “flattering” (cunning) Byzantines set the Pechenegs on the prince and the Pechenegs killed Svyatoslav at the famous Dnieper rapids.

After the death of Svyatoslav, a struggle for power began between his sons, which ended with the victory of the Novgorod prince Vladimir (980-1015).

Vladimir continues the policy of his predecessors, conquering the Slavic tribes. The purpose of the campaigns, as before, was to establish tributary dependence. Tributes are primitive robberies common to all ancient societies. It is necessary to distinguish "polyudye" from tributes. This is a detour by the leader and his entourage of "their" territory with economic, religious, judicial, communicative and other functions. For the first time, Konstantin Porphyrogenitus reports on polyudye in his treatise “On the Management of the Empire”. In general, one gets the impression that by the time of Vladimir, the chiefdom in Rus' was finally formed. It was at this time that the sacred, theocratic functions of the chiefdom manifested themselves to the greatest extent.

Under the year 986, the chronicle tells us about the "choice of faiths." In general, European, Byzantine and Middle Eastern sources also report the baptism of Rus'. It's not easy to bring their data together. Envoys from neighboring peoples came to Vladimir in Kyiv, each of whom offers and praises his own religion.

“Men are kind and sensible, 10 in number” were sent to other countries. Byzantine Christianity made the greatest impression on the ambassadors. The very situation of “choosing faiths” bears the stamp of legend and folklore, but it can be based on real historical events, after all, Rus' was connected with all these peoples by long-standing and intensive contacts. All of them wanted to exert and exerted various political and cultural influences on Rus'. But the primacy remained with Byzantium.

Judging by some sources, Christianity was adopted in Kiev in agreement with the local community, voluntarily, which was very different from what happened in the East Slavic lands subject to Kiev, where Christianity was introduced by force. This was the case, for example, in Novgorod, which for a long time resisted baptism. Being accepted in a pagan shell, imposed by force, Christianity in the era of Kievan Rus only glided over the surface of society, without affecting the foundations of ancient Russian life.

Along with the introduction of Christianity in Rus', a church organization was also established: the metropolis, divided into bishoprics, the boundaries of which usually coincided with the lands. It is known that for the entire period of Kievan Rus, only two metropolitans were from Russians, and the rest were sent from Constantinople. By order of Vladimir, the Church of the Tithes of the Virgin was founded, where icons, books and Greek priests were transferred.

In the figure of Vladimir, the multifunctionality of the chiefdom is already manifested. It is no coincidence that he is depicted in the annals as thinking "about the earthly system, and about the army, and about the earthly charter." The administrative apparatus itself is becoming more complicated in comparison with the control system of the time of military democracy. The prince is surrounded by a retinue, the top of which is the boyars, the elders (the elders of the city) still play a significant role. Such a hierarchy of power, which can also be traced in the disposal of tributes, is a striking feature of the chiefdom.

The princely court clearly appears in the annals, although it is not worth exaggerating the degree of its development. The main regulator of relations in the field of criminal law remained blood feuds and other customs inherent in communal structures.

In the treaties of Rus' with Byzantium in 911 and 944. the "Russian law" is mentioned. Most pre-revolutionary and Soviet historians rightly considered this “law” to be the common law of the Eastern Slavs.

The structure of the Kiev-Polyana society corresponds to our idea of ​​chiefdoms: free (noble and simple) and slaves are its components. At the same time, there was no whole and significant territory. This was already shown by historians of the 1930s and 1940s. 20th century S. V. Bakhrushin did not consider it possible to “talk about a strong state organization” and territory at that time; V.A. Parkhomenko doubted the "usually allowed wide dimensions of the Vladimir state."

The feasts of Vladimir and the distribution of gifts to the population also appear in the annals. Feasts survive the era of Vladimir and pass through the entire period of Kievan Rus. The fact is that the accumulated wealth had to be redistributed, and the chiefdom acquires redistributive functions.

Vladimir put his numerous sons to reign in various cities of Rus'. He died in July 1015. The description of the Christian prince's burial contains clear pagan motifs.

So, if we find the main component of the ancient Russian society of the 9th-10th centuries, a kind of basis for the political system, then this is not a squad, not a union of tribes, but princes, princely power. The princes in the sources obscure the community, the people. This, of course, does not stem from the monarchical nature of princely power, but from the fact that in the chiefdoms the people were removed from direct control. However, summing up, we note that we have presented one of the points of view prevailing in science. Soviet historiography was dominated by another: the Kievan Rus' IX-X centuries - a huge centralized state with its capital in Kyiv. It can be assumed that this was a transfer to antiquity of the image of the modern state ...

East Slavic tribes

The Russian part of the East European Plain was settled in waves, by tribes belonging to the "Ant" and "Sklaven" groups of the Slavic ethnos. The colonization of these lands took place in two ways: both in the form of relatively one-time movements of large tribal groups, and through the gradual "spreading" of individual clans and families. Unlike southern and western directions Slavic colonization, the development of most of the Eastern European territory (its forest zone) was carried out mostly peacefully, without any serious clashes with the native Finnish and Baltic populations. The main enemy of man in these places was not a hostile stranger, but deserted dense forests. For many centuries, the forest part of the country had to be settled rather than conquered.


In the southern, forest-steppe zone, on the contrary, the Slavs had to endure a grueling struggle, but not with the local population, but with the alien nomadic hordes. So, according to the apt remark of one historian, Russian history from its very beginning, as it were, split in two: in it, along with European history proper, which has always been the true basis of the national-state and cultural life of the Russian people, there arose an imposed and persistent Asian history, which the Russians need to get rid of. people had for a whole millennium at the cost of incredible efforts and sacrifices ( Shmurlo E.F. Course of Russian history. The emergence and formation of the Russian state (862 - 1462). Ed. 2nd, corrected. SPb., 1999. T. 1. S. 43). But this very work of outliving Asiatic history was truly European work - a slow, persistent and extremely difficult overcoming of barbarism through civilization and culture.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" lists the following East Slavic tribes that settled in the second half of the 1st millennium between the Baltic and Black Seas: Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Slovenes, Buzhans (or Volynians, fragments of the Duleb tribal association), White Croats, Northerners, Uglichs and Tivertsy. Some of these tribes are known by their own names to other medieval authors as well. Konstantin Porphyrogenitus knows the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Krivichi, Northerners, Slovenes and Lendzyans (apparently, people from the region of modern Lodz); The Bavarian geographer reports on the Buzhans, Volynians, Severians and Uglichs; Arab historians, giving preference in their reports to the general term "Slavs" ("as-sakaliba"), especially highlight the Volhynians-Dulebs among them. Most of the East Slavic tribes that inhabited the Russian land belonged to the "Slavic" branch of the Slavs, with the exception of the northerners, Uglichs and Tivertsy - the "Antes" of the Byzantine chronicles.

The same Slavic tribes that colonized the Balkans and Western European territories sometimes participated in the settlement of the lands of ancient Rus'. Archaeologically, this is confirmed, for example, by the finds in the forest zone of Eastern Europe (in the Dnieper-Dvina and Oka basins) of the so-called lunar temporal rings, whose origin is strongly linked to the Middle Danube lands, where they were a very common adornment of the local Slavs - the Droguvites (Dregovichi), northerners , Smolyans (who were probably relatives of the ancient Russian Krivichi, whose main city was Smolensk), and Croats, who originally lived in the Upper Hanging and on the lands of modern Czech Republic and Slovakia ( Sedov V.V. Lunar temporal rings of the East Slavic area. In: Culture of the Slavs and Rus'. M., 1998. S. 255).

The popularity of the “Danube theme” in Russian folklore, which is especially surprising in the epic epic of the North Russian lands, is most likely associated with the advancement of the bearers of the lunar temporal rings to the north. The Danube, on the banks of which the Slavs realized their ethnic independence and originality, has forever remained in the people's memory as the cradle of the Slavs. The annalistic news about the settlement of the Slavs in Europe from the banks of the Danube, apparently, should be considered not as a scientific, literary, but as a folk, pre-annalistic tradition. Weak echoes of it are heard in some early medieval Latin monuments. Anonymous Bavarian geographer of the 9th century. mentions a certain kingdom of Zerivani (Serivans) on the left bank of the Danube, from where "all the Slavic peoples originated and lead, according to them, their origin." Unfortunately, this name is incompatible with any of the known state formations early Middle Ages. An even earlier Ravvensky anonymous placed the ancestral home of the Slavs "at the sixth hour of the night", that is, again in the Danube, to the west of the Sarmatians and Karps (inhabitants of the Carpathians), who, according to this geographic and astronomical classification, lived "at the seventh hour of the night." Both authors wrote their works at a time when the Slavs did not yet have a written language, and, therefore, drew their information from their oral traditions.

Rivers generally attracted the Slavs - this truly "river" people - as noted by Byzantine writers of the 6th century. The Tale of Bygone Years testifies to the same. The general contours of the settlement of the East Slavic tribes always correspond to river channels in it. According to the news of the chronicler, the clearing settled along the middle Dnieper; Drevlyans - to the north-west of the glades, along the Pripyat River; Dregovichi - north of the Drevlyans, between Pripyat and the Western Dvina; buzhane - west of the meadows, along the Western Bug River; northerners - to the east of the meadows, along the rivers Desna, Seim and Sula; radimichi - north of the northerners, along the Sozha river; the Vyatichi moved east farthest of all - to the upper reaches of the Oka; settlements of the Krivichi stretched along the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina; Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, occupied by the Ilmen Slovenes, marked northern border settlements, and the Dniester and the Southern Bug, mastered by the Tivertsy and Uglichs, the southern one.

Arab sources and Procopius of Caesarea report the advancement of the Slavs even further to the east - to the Don basin. But they did not manage to gain a foothold here. In the 11th - 12th centuries, when The Tale of Bygone Years was being created, these lands (with the exception of the Tmutorokan Principality) had long and undividedly belonged to nomadic tribes. The memory of the presence of the Slavs on them was lost, therefore the chronicler did not include the Don among the rivers along the banks of which our ancestors "sat down". In general, the chronicle evidence of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs is different. a high degree reliability and in general is confirmed by other written sources, archaeological, anthropological and linguistic data.

Two migration flows to the Old Russian lands

So, the East Slavic ethnos did not know either tribal or dialectal unity, or a common “ancestral home”, which, until recently, the Middle Dnieper region was unconditionally recognized. In the complex process of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, two main streams stand out, originating in vast territories from the lower reaches of the Vistula to the northern Danubian lands. The direction of one of them ran through the Southern Baltic in the interfluve of the Dnieper and the Western Dvina, where it bifurcated: its northeastern branch (Ilmen Slovenes and, in part, Krivichi) branched off into the Pskov-Novgorod regions, and the southeastern (Krivichi, Radimichi and Vyatichi ) “curved” into the Sozha, Desna and Oka basins. Another stream rushed along Volhynia and Podolia to the Middle Dnieper region (glade) and, branching, left to the north, northwest and northeast (drevlyans, dregovichi, northerners).

Let's consider each of these streams, assigning them the conditional names "northern" and "southern".

In the northwestern lands of Ancient Rus', the Slavic population appeared no later than the 5th century. - it was to this time that the emergence of the culture of Pskov long barrows, scattered along the shores of Lake Pskov, the rivers Velikaya, Lovat, Msta, Mologa, and partly Chadogoshcha, dates back. Its archaeological appearance (things inventory, funeral rituals, etc.) differs sharply from the local Balto-Finnish antiquities and, on the contrary, finds direct analogies in Slavic monuments on the territory of the Polish Pomerania. Since that time, the Slavs have become the main population of this region ( Sedov V.V. Slavs in the Early Middle Ages. pp. 213 - 216).

The next wave of the "northern" stream of Slavic migration is archaeologically represented by bracelet-shaped temporal rings - characteristic female adornments that are not characteristic of any of the Finno-Ugric and Baltic cultures. The center of this migratory movement was the Wislenye, from where the Slavic tribes, carriers of bracelet-like rings, settled the western part of the area of ​​culture of the Pskov long mounds, advanced into the Polotsk Dvina, Smolensk Dnieper and further east in the interfluve of the Volga and Klyazma, reaching in the 9th - 10th centuries. southern shores of Beloozero. The local Finnish and Baltic population was quickly subjugated and partly assimilated by the newcomers.

Almost simultaneously, the Danubian Smolensk people arrived in the same lands, whose distinguishing feature is the lunar temporal rings. These different groups of the Slavic population united in a powerful tribal union of the Krivichi. The chronicler noted that the Krivichi lived "... on the top of the Volga, and on the top of the Dvina, and on the top of the Dnieper, their own city is Smolensk"; they were “the first inhabitants ... in Polotsk”, Izborsk stood in their land. The fact that the Krivichi were the border population of the entire Old Russian North-West is evidenced, in particular, by the Latvian name of the Russians - krievs ("krievs").

Another place where the Slavs, participants in the "northern" colonization stream, settled was the northwestern Priilmenye and the source of the Volkhov. The earliest Slavic monuments (the culture of the Novgorod hills) date back here to the 8th century. Most of them are concentrated along the banks of the Ilmen, the rest are scattered in the upper reaches of the Luga, Plyussa and the Mologa basin.

As for the Radimichi and Vyatichi, modern data fully confirm the annalistic news about their origin “from the Poles”. But if the Radimichi, like the Ilmen Slavs and the Western Krivichi, retained the South Baltic anthropological type, then the Vyatichi inherited some racial features of the Finno-Ugric population of the East European Plain.

The "Southern" stream poured into the Central Russian Plain a little later. The settlement by the Slavs of the Middle Dnieper and the forest-steppe zone with its black earth expanses began in the last decades of the 7th century. Two circumstances contributed to this: firstly, the departure of the Bulgars from the Northern Black Sea region and, secondly, the formation of the Khazar Khaganate in the steppes between the Volga and the Don, which temporarily blocked the way to the west for the warlike Trans-Volga nomads - the Pechenegs and Hungarians; at the same time, the Khazars themselves almost did not bother the Slavs throughout the first half of the 8th century, since they were forced to enter into a long war with the Arabs for the North Caucasus.

However, populating the Dnieper region, the Slavs for a long time preferred to keep to the forests, along the river valleys descending into the steppes. In the 8th century here arises the early Slavic Romance culture. In the next century, Slavic settlements move even further into the depths of the steppes, as can be seen from the monuments of the Borshevsky culture in the Middle and Lower Don.

Anthropological studies show that Slavic tribes took part in the settlement of the forest-steppe zone, belonging both to the Baltic anthropological type (high forehead, narrow face) and to the Central European (low forehead, wide face).

The resettlement of the Slavs in the ancient Russian lands was accompanied by clashes between the tribes, sometimes taking on a very violent character. The clashes were caused by assassination attempts neighboring territory especially for hunting grounds.

Conflicts of this kind were probably a ubiquitous phenomenon, but The Tale of Bygone Years remembered only one of them: the clearing, according to the chronicler, "was offended by the Drevlyans and roundabouts." To offend a tribe or people means to violate good neighborly relations. Consequently, we are talking about some kind of violation of the rights of the glades to the territory they occupy by the neighboring tribes.

It seems that the essence of the conflict is clarified by one of the epics of the Kyiv cycle, which has preserved the realities of the "pre-Kiev" era. Once, during the next "honorable feast" in Kyiv, his servants came to Prince Vladimir - and in what form?

All of them are beaten-wounded.
Maces riotous heads are pierced,
The heads are tied with sashes.

It turned out that they “ran into an open field” on a crowd of unknown “well done” - “for three hundred and five hundred”, who “beaten and injured” the princely people, “caught” all the “white fish”, “shot deer aurochs ” and “snatched the bright falcons.” The offenders called themselves "Churilov's retinue". Later it turns out that this Churila Plenkovich lives “not in Kiev”, but “lower than Malov Kievets” (on the Lower Danube), and in his power and wealth he surpasses Prince Vladimir - his yard is “seven miles away”, surrounded by an “iron fence” ”, but “on every tyninka there is a dome, but there is also a zemchuzhinka”. This epic seems to be a folklore version of the annalistic news about the attack of the “drevlyans and rounders” on the lands of the meadows.

Two migration flows independent of each other, which absorbed different groups of Slavic tribes, determined the “bipolar” development of early Russian history. The Russian south and the Russian north for a long time followed, if not completely different, then completely independent paths. Willingly emphasizing their differences from each other, they too often forgot what united them. And in the end, the historical task of achieving state and national unity turned out to be beyond the power of either one or the other. Therefore, we can say, following S. M. Solovyov, that the Novgorod and Kiev lands were not two centers, but the two main stages of our ancient history. The true center of the Russian land was not there and did not immediately reveal itself. The grain of its statehood - Vladimir-Suzdal Rus - slowly ripened aside from the bustling life of the ancient Russian borderlands.

In the process of settling the Eastern Slavs along the East European Plain, they experienced a decomposition of the primitive communal system. The Tale of Bygone Years speaks of tribal principalities, which historians call tribal unions. Such an alliance included 100-200 tribes united around the most powerful tribe, by whose name the entire alliance was named.

In turn, each individual tribe consisted of many clans and occupied a significant territory. The annals name a dozen and a half of such tribal principalities and places of their settlement. So, in the middle reaches of the Dnieper, the meadow lived, in the basin of the Pripyat River - the Drevlyans and Dregovichi, in the basin of the Sozh River (the left tributary of the Dnieper) - the Radimichi. Northerners settled in the basins of the Desna, Seim and Sula rivers, Ulichi settled in the area between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers, Tivertsy settled between the Dniester and Prut rivers.

“White” Croats lived in the foothills of the Carpathians, and along the Western Bug - Dulebs, Volynians and Buzhans, in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina and Dnieper - Krivichi, in the middle reaches of the Western Dvina at the confluence of the Polot River - Polochans, in the north, around Lake Ilmen and along the Volkhov River - the Ilmenian Slavs, and in the Oka basin the easternmost of the Slavic tribes - the Vyatichi.

Each tribe was ruled by its leader - the elder, there was also a council of elders and a general meeting of the tribe - veche.

The data of the chronicle about the settlement of the Eastern Slavs after many centuries were confirmed by archaeological finds of women's jewelry - temporal rings, typical for each tribal union.

An important factor in the formation of the people and the state is the neighboring peoples and tribes, which differ in their language, way of life, way of life, customs and customs, culture, etc. IN different time the neighboring peoples subjugated the Slavic tribes, drew them into the sphere of their economic activity, or, conversely, were under the influence of the Slavs.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs (by the 9th century) were the Baltic tribes in the west: Livs, Chud, whole, Korela, etc., Western Slavs: Poles (Polyakhs), Slovaks, Czechs, and also Hungarians (Ugrians); in the northeast - numerous Finno-Ugric tribes: Mordvins, Mari, Muroma, Merya, etc.; on the Lower Volga - the Khazars, in the east - the Volga Bulgarians, and in the south in the Black Sea region - the Pechenegs and other Turkic tribes.

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

1. EASTERN SLAVES: SETTLEMENT AND WAY OF LIFE.

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

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

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

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

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

Nestor narrates about the following East Slavic tribal unions:

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

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

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

4) Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina;

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

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

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

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

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

11) white Croats - in the Carpathian region;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. beekeeping– collection of honey from wild bees

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

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

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

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

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

Tribal reigns. Information about the first princes is contained in the PVL. The chronicler notes that tribal unions, although not all of them, have their own "princeships". So, in relation to the meadows, he recorded the legend of the princes, the founders of the city of 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 Valinana. Most likely, we are talking about the Volhynian Slavs (annalistic dulebs), whose union was crushed, according to the data of the PVL, by the Avar invasion in the beginning. U11 c. The works of other Arab authors contain information about the three centers of the Eastern Slavs: Kuyavia, Slavia, Artania. Some Russian historians identify the first with Kiev, the second - with Novgorod or its more ancient predecessor. The location of Artania continues to cause controversy. Apparently they were pre-state formations, including a number of tribal unions. However, all these local principalities were little connected with each other, competed with each other and therefore could not withstand powerful external forces: the Khazars and the Varangians.

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

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

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

The main gods of the Slavs were:

Rod - the progenitor of gods and people

Yarilo - god of the sun

Stribog - the god of the wind

Svarog - god of the sky

Perun - god of thunder and lightning

Mokosh - the goddess of moisture and the patroness of spinning

Veles - "cattle god"

Lel and Lada - gods patronizing lovers

Brownies, kikimors, goblin, etc.

Sacrifices were made in special places - temples

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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