2 Eastern Slavs. Tribal union of the Eastern Slavs - history, description and interesting facts

Starting a conversation about the Eastern Slavs, it is very difficult to be unambiguous. There are practically no sources that tell about the Slavs in antiquity. Many historians come to the conclusion that the process of the origin of the Slavs began in the second millennium BC. It is also believed that the Slavs are a separate part of the Indo-European community.

But the region where the ancestral home of the ancient Slavs was located has not yet been determined. Historians and archaeologists continue to debate where the Slavs came from. It is most often stated, and Byzantine sources speak about this, that the Eastern Slavs already lived in the territory of Central and Eastern Europe in the middle of the 5th century BC. It is also believed that they were divided into three groups:

Wends (lived in the Vistula River basin) - Western Slavs.

Sklavins (lived between the upper reaches of the Vistula, Danube and Dniester) - southern Slavs.

Antes (lived between the Dnieper and the Dniester) - Eastern Slavs.

All historical sources characterize the ancient Slavs as people who have the will and love for freedom, differing in temperament strong character, endurance, courage, cohesion. They were hospitable to strangers, had pagan polytheism and thoughtful rituals. Initially, the Slavs did not have much fragmentation, since tribal unions had similar languages, customs and laws.

Territories and tribes of the Eastern Slavs

An important issue is how the development of new territories by the Slavs and their settlement in general took place. There are two main theories about the appearance of the Eastern Slavs in Eastern Europe.

One of them was put forward by the famous Soviet historian, academician B. A. Rybakov. He believed that the Slavs originally lived on the East European Plain. But the famous historians of the XIX century S. M. Solovyov and V. O. Klyuchevsky believed that the Slavs moved from the territories near the Danube.

The final settlement of the Slavic tribes looked like this:

Occupations of the Eastern Slavs

The main occupations of the Eastern Slavs include agriculture, which was associated with the characteristics of local soils. Arable agriculture was widespread in the steppe regions, and slash-and-burn agriculture was practiced in the forests. Arable land was quickly depleted, and the Slavs moved to new territories. Such farming required a lot of labor, it was difficult to cope with the processing of even small plots, but sharply continental climate did not allow high yields to be expected.

Nevertheless, even in such conditions, the Slavs sowed several varieties of wheat and barley, millet, rye, oats, buckwheat, lentils, peas, hemp, and flax. Turnips, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, and cabbage were grown in the gardens.

The main food was bread. The ancient Slavs called it "zhito", which was associated with the Slavic word "to live".

Slavic farms bred livestock: cows, horses, sheep. Crafts were of great help: hunting, fishing and beekeeping (collection of wild honey). Fur trade has become widespread. The fact that the Eastern Slavs settled along the banks of rivers and lakes contributed to the emergence of shipping, trade and various crafts that provide products for exchange. Trade routes also contributed to the emergence of large cities and tribal centers.

Social order and tribal unions

Initially, the Eastern Slavs lived in tribal communities, later they united into tribes. The development of production, the use of draft power (horses and oxen) contributed to the fact that even a small family could cultivate their allotment. Family ties began to weaken, families began to settle separately and plow new plots of land on their own.

The community remained, but now it included not only relatives, but also neighbors. Each family had its own piece of land for cultivation, its own tools of production and the harvest. Private property appeared, but it did not extend to forests, meadows, rivers and lakes. The Slavs shared these benefits.

In the neighboring community, the property status of different families was no longer the same. The best lands began to concentrate in the hands of the elders and military leaders, they also got most of the booty from military campaigns.

At the head of the Slavic tribes began to appear rich leaders-princes. They had their own armed detachments - squads, and they also collected tribute from the subject population. The collection of tribute was called polyud.

The 6th century is characterized by the unification of Slavic tribes into unions. The most powerful militarily princes led them. Around such princes, the local nobility gradually strengthened.

One of these tribal unions, as historians believe, was the union of the Slavs around the Ros (or Rus) tribe, who lived on the Ros River (a tributary of the Dnieper). Later, according to one of the theories of the origin of the Slavs, this name passed to all the Eastern Slavs, who received common name"Rus", and the whole territory became the Russian land, or Rus.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs

In the 1st millennium BC, the Cimmerians were neighbors of the Slavs in the Northern Black Sea region, but after a few centuries they were supplanted by the Scythians, who founded their own state on these lands - the Scythian kingdom. Later, the Sarmatians came from the east to the Don and the Northern Black Sea region.

During the Great Migration of Nations, the East German tribes of the Goths passed through these lands, then the Huns. All this movement was accompanied by robbery and destruction, which contributed to the resettlement of the Slavs to the north.

Another factor in the resettlement and formation of Slavic tribes was the Turks. It was they who formed the Turkic Khaganate on the vast territory from Mongolia to the Volga.

The movement of various neighbors in the southern lands contributed to the fact that the Eastern Slavs occupied territories dominated by forest-steppes and swamps. Communities were created here that were more reliably protected from alien raids.

In the VI-IX centuries, the lands of the Eastern Slavs were located from the Oka to the Carpathians and from the Middle Dnieper to the Neva.

nomad raids

The movement of nomads created a constant danger for the Eastern Slavs. Nomads seized bread, livestock, burned houses. Men, women and children were taken into slavery. All this required the Slavs to be in constant readiness to repel raids. Every Slavic man was also a part-time warrior. Sometimes the land was plowed by armed men. History shows that the Slavs successfully coped with the constant onslaught of nomadic tribes and defended their independence.

Customs and beliefs of the Eastern Slavs

The Eastern Slavs were pagans who deified the forces of nature. They worshiped the elements, believed in kinship with various animals, and made sacrifices. The Slavs had a clear annual cycle of agricultural holidays in honor of the sun and the change of seasons. All rituals were aimed at ensuring high yields, as well as the health of people and livestock. The Eastern Slavs did not have a single idea of ​​\u200b\u200bGod.

The ancient Slavs did not have temples. All rituals were performed at stone idols, in groves, in glades and in other places revered by them as sacred. We must not forget that all the heroes of the fabulous Russian folklore come from that time. Goblin, brownie, mermaids, water and other characters were well known to the Eastern Slavs.

In the divine pantheon of the Eastern Slavs, the leading places were occupied by the following gods. Dazhbog - God of the Sun sunlight and fertility, Svarog - the blacksmith god (according to some sources, the supreme god of the Slavs), Stribog - the god of wind and air, Mokosh - the female goddess, Perun - the god of lightning and war. A special place was given to the god of the earth and fertility Veles.

The main pagan priests of the Eastern Slavs were the Magi. They performed all the rituals in the sanctuaries, turned to the gods with various requests. The Magi made various male and female amulets with different spell symbols.

Paganism was a clear reflection of the occupations of the Slavs. It was the worship of the elements and everything connected with it that determined the attitude of the Slavs to agriculture as the main way of life.

Over time, the myths and meanings of pagan culture began to be forgotten, but much has come down to our days in folk art, customs, and traditions.

Origin and settlement of the Eastern Slavs.

Eastern Slavs belong to the Indo-European language family (its main groups in Europe are: Romance, Germanic and Slavic languages). Slavs are divided into western (Poles, Czechs), southern (Bulgarians, Serbs) and eastern (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians).

There are three main concepts of the origin of the Slavs:

The first concept is the Slavs, the original inhabitants of Eastern Europe (autochthons), from the 6th century. They began to settle from the Carpathians.
The second concept is that the Slavs stood out from the Aryan community, while the Aryans came from India.
Third - the Slavs are the direct heirs of the northern Aryan civilization, the most ancient and developed in the world.

The first written evidence of the Eastern Slavs

Some scholars believe that they were mentioned by Herodotus under the name of the Scythian plowmen,
at the beginning of our era, there were references to the Slavs under the name of Veneti and Slavins,
the first indisputable references to the Eastern Slavs were in the Byzantine and Gothic sources of the period of the “great migration of peoples” (IV-V centuries), where the Eastern Slavs are mentioned under the name Antes. Presumably in 368, the death of the leader of the Antes, God, who was captured by the Goths and crucified along with 70 Antes leaders, occurred.
The resettlement of the Eastern Slavs at the time of the formation of the state is known from the Tale of Bygone Years:

Slovenes lived in the north
in the northwest: Dregovichi, Krivichi
in the south-west: dulebs, volynians, buzhans
near the future of Kyiv: meadows
on the Upper Oka: Vyatichi
Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs

In the north, the main neighbors were the Finno-Ugric tribes (Chud). Here their peaceful colonization and assimilation took place.

In the west they coexisted with the Balts (ancestors of Lithuanians and Latvians) and Western Slavs
in the east and south, one after another, nomadic waves settled down: the Huns, Avars (“perished like obras”), Hungarians, Bulgarians, then Pechenegs and Polovtsy. The Khazars were of particular importance. At the time of the emergence of the state, the Eastern Slavs paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. There is an ideological relevance to this issue, since it is assumed that the Khazars were the ancestors of the Jews.
Economic and social development of the Eastern Slavs

Production of Eastern Slavs

V.O. Klyuchevsky considered the economic basis Ancient Russia trade. Now most scientists consider agriculture to be the main branch of the economy of the Eastern Slavs, importance for which there was a process of transition from cutting to fallow. Natural conditions provided opportunities for other important industries: hunting, fishing, beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees).

Trade really had a very great importance(the main export commodities were honey, wax, furs, slaves). There was a “Road from the Varangians to the Greeks” (a water trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea, along which Russia and Northern Europe traded with Byzantium in the 9th-12th centuries): for a long time remained the economic, political and cultural core of Ancient Russia (“Scando-Byzantium”), around which urban centers were formed (in particular, Novgorod and Kyiv were located on it).

Social processes of the Eastern Slavs

There was a transition to a shifting system of agriculture (i.e., a system of agriculture in which, after several harvests, the land was left without cultivation for 8–15 years to restore soil fertility), the widespread use of the plow, resulting in an increase in labor productivity. At the same time, it became possible to feed one family, so there is a gradual transition from the tribal community to the neighboring one (they called it a verv).

There was an appearance of property inequality (the proof of which are treasures, the rich, burials), social stratification occurred:

The main group are free community warriors (“men”, “people”)
tribal nobility (princes, boyars)
not free (“serfs”, “servants”).

On the whole long time there was a transitional nature of society: the preservation of the foundations of primitive society and at the same time the emergence of elements of class relations: this was reminiscent of the social system of Homeric Greece.

The political system of the Eastern Slavs

Gradual transition from a tribal organization to a state one. The main socio-political structure is the union of tribes (the names of the tribes are known from The Tale of Bygone Years).

The military leader is the prince, he concentrates more and more power in his hands, gradually turns into a permanent ruler, transferring his power by inheritance.

In addition to the general militia of the community members, special military formations appeared under the prince - the squad.

At that time there was a false interaction between the princely power and the assembly of free community members (veche). F. Engels defined such a transitional political system as a "military democracy".

Vague news about the formation already in the VI-VIII centuries. large associations of East Slavic tribes (principalities, proto-state formations): Kuyavia, Artania and Slavia. In Kyiv, the dynasty of Slavic princes - the descendants of Kyi - ruled.

Spiritual life of the Eastern Slavs

Paganism (“Vedic” religion) dominated. Here are the two main points of the worldview of paganism:
worship of the forces of nature. Formation of the pagan pantheon. Dazhdbog - the god of the sun, Perun - thunder and lightning, Stribog - air and wind, Veles - the patron of cattle, Svarog - the sky and fire, lower deities: goblin, mermaids, water, women in childbirth.

The cult of ancestors, including the important role of the funeral rite. Trizna.
There was a gradual penetration of Christianity. There is a legend that the Apostle Andrew preached here.

conclusions

Thus, economic, social and spiritual processes in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. led to the formation of the prerequisites for the creation class society and states.

In historical science, it is generally accepted that the history of any nation begins with the formation of a state. AT Russian Federation more than 100 peoples and nationalities live. But the main state-forming people of our country is the Russian people (out of 149 million - 120 million are Russians).

The Russian people - one of the largest peoples in the world - for many centuries played a leading role in the political, economic, cultural development of the country. The first state of Russians, as well as Ukrainians and Belarusians, was formed in the 9th century around Kyiv by their common ancestors - the Eastern Slavs.

The first written evidence of the Slavs.

By the middle of the II millennium BC. Slavs stand out from the Indo-European community. By the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. the Slavs became so significant in terms of numbers, influence in the world around them that Greek, Roman, Arabic, Byzantine authors began to report on them (the Roman writer Pliny the Elder), the historian Tacitus - I century AD, the geographer Ptolemy Claudius - II century .n.e. ancient authors call the Slavs "antes", "sklavins", "veneds" and speak of them as "countless tribes").

In the era of the great migration of the peoples of the Slavs, other peoples began to crowd on the Danube. The Slavs began to split up.

Part of the Slavs remained in Europe. Later they will receive the name of the southern Slavs (later Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Montenegrins will come from them).

Another part of the Slavs moved to the north - the Western Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Slovaks). Western and southern Slavs were conquered by other peoples.

And the third part of the Slavs, according to scientists, did not want to submit to anyone and moved to the northeast, to the East European Plain. Later they will receive the name of the Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians).

It should be noted that most of the tribes sought to Central Europe, to the ruins of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire soon fell under the blows of the alien barbarians (476 AD). On this territory, the barbarians will create their own statehood, having absorbed the cultural heritage of ancient Roman culture. The Eastern Slavs, on the other hand, went to the northeast, into the dense forest jungle, where there was no cultural heritage. The Eastern Slavs left in two streams. One part of the Slavs went to Lake Ilmen. Later, the ancient Russian city of Novgorod will rise there. The other part - to the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper - there will be another ancient city of Kyiv.

In the VI - VIII centuries. Eastern Slavs mostly settled in the East European Plain.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs. And other peoples already lived on the East European (Russian) Plain. On the Baltic coast and in the north lived the Baltic (Lithuanians, Latvians) and Finno-Finnish (Finns, Estonians, Ugrians (Hungarians), Komi, Khanty, Mansi, etc.) tribes. The colonization of these places was peaceful, the Slavs got along with the local population.

The situation was different in the east and southeast. There, the Steppe adjoined the Russian Plain. The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs were the steppe nomads - the Turks (the Altai family of peoples, the Turkic group). In those days, peoples leading a different way of life - sedentary and nomadic - were constantly at enmity with each other. The nomads lived by raiding the settled population. And for almost 1000 years, one of the main phenomena in the life of the Eastern Slavs will be the struggle against the nomadic peoples of the Steppe.

The Turks on the eastern and southeastern borders of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs created their own state formations.

In the middle of the VI century. in the lower reaches of the Volga there was a state of the Turks - the Avar Khaganate. In 625, the Avar Khaganate was defeated by Byzantium and ceased to exist.

In the VII - VIII centuries. here appears the state of other Turks - the Bulgar (Bulgarian) kingdom. Then the Bulgar kingdom broke up. Part of the Bulgars went to the middle reaches of the Volga and formed the Volga Bulgaria. Another part of the Bulgars migrated to the Danube, where the Danube Bulgaria was formed (later the newcomer Turks were assimilated by the southern Slavs. A new ethnic group arose, but it took the name of the newcomers - "Bulgarians").

The steppes of southern Russia after the departure of the Bulgars were occupied by new Turks - the Pechenegs.

On the lower Volga and in the steppes between the Caspian and Azov seas, semi-nomadic Turks created the Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars established their dominance over the East Slavic tribes, many of whom paid tribute to them until the 9th century.

In the south, the Byzantine Empire (395 - 1453) with its capital in the city of Constantinople (in Russia it was called Tsargrad) was a neighbor of the Eastern Slavs.

Territory of the Eastern Slavs. In the VI - VIII centuries. The Slavs were not yet one people.

They were divided into tribal unions, which included 120 - 150 separate tribes. By the ninth century There were about 15 tribal unions. Tribal unions were called either by the area in which they lived, or by the name of the leaders. Information about the resettlement of the Eastern Slavs is contained in the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor in the second decade of the 12th century. (The chronicler Nestor is called "the father of Russian history"). According to the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the Eastern Slavs settled: the meadow - along the banks of the Dnieper, not far from the mouth of the Desna; northerners - in the basin of the Desna and Seim rivers; radimichi - on the upper tributaries of the Dnieper; Drevlyans - along Pripyat; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and the Western Dvina; polochane - along Polota; Ilmen Slovenes - along the rivers Volkhov, Shchelon, Lovat, Msta; Krivichi - in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volga; Vyatichi - in the upper reaches of the Oka; buzhane - along the Western Bug; Tivertsy and streets - from the Dnieper to the Danube; white Croats - the northern part of the western slopes of the Carpathians.

The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks". The Eastern Slavs did not have a sea coast. Rivers became the main trade routes for the Slavs. They "huddled" to the banks of the rivers, especially the greatest river of Russian antiquity - the Dnieper. In the ninth century a great trade route arose - "from the Varangians to the Greeks". It connected Novgorod and Kyiv, Northern and Southern Europe. From the Baltic Sea along the Neva River, the caravans of merchants got to Lake Ladoga, from there along the Volkhov River and further along the Lovat River to the upper reaches of the Dnieper. From Lovat to the Dnieper in the region of Smolensk and on the Dnieper rapids they crossed by "drag routes". Further, the western coast of the Black Sea reached the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople (the Eastern Slavs called it Constantinople). This path became the core, the main trade road, the "red street" of the Eastern Slavs. The whole life of the East Slavic society was concentrated around this trade route.

Occupations of the Eastern Slavs. The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. They cultivated wheat, rye, barley, millet, planted turnips, millet, cabbage, beets, carrots, radishes, garlic and other crops. They were engaged in cattle breeding (bred pigs, cows, horses, small cattle), fishing, beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees). A significant part of the territory of the Eastern Slavs lay in a harsh climate zone, and occupation agriculture demanded the exertion of all physical forces. Labor-intensive work had to be completed within a strictly defined time frame. This was only possible for a large team. Therefore, from the very beginning of the appearance of the Slavs on the East European Plain, the collective - the community and the role of leader - began to play the most important role in their life.

Cities. Among the Eastern Slavs in the V - VI centuries. cities arose, which was associated with the long-standing development of trade. The most ancient Russian cities are Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Suzdal, Murom, Pereyaslavl South. In the ninth century the Eastern Slavs had at least 24 major cities. Cities usually arose at the confluence of rivers, on a high hill. central part The city was called the Kremlin, Detinets and was usually surrounded by a rampart. The Kremlin housed the dwellings of princes, the nobility, temples, monasteries. A moat filled with water was erected behind the fortress wall. Bargaining was located behind the moat. A settlement adjoined the Kremlin, where artisans settled. Separate areas of the settlement, inhabited by artisans of the same specialty, were called settlements.

Public relations. Eastern Slavs lived in clans. Each clan had its own foreman - the prince. The prince leaned on the tribal top - " best husbands". The princes formed a special military organization- a squad, which included warriors and advisers to the prince. The squad was divided into senior and junior. The first included the most noble warriors (advisers). The younger squad lived with the prince and served his court and household. Vigilantes from the conquered tribes collected tribute (taxes). Campaigns for the collection of tribute were called "polyuds". From time immemorial, the Eastern Slavs had a custom - to solve all the most important issues in the life of the family at a secular gathering - a veche.

Beliefs of the Eastern Slavs. The ancient Slavs were pagans. They worshiped the forces of nature and the spirits of their ancestors. In the pantheon Slavic gods a special place was occupied by: the god of the sun - Yarilo; Perun is the god of war and lightning, Svarog is the god of fire, Veles is the patron of cattle. The princes themselves acted as high priests, but the Slavs also had special priests - sorcerers and magicians.

Bibliography:
The Tale of Bygone Years. - M.; L.; 1990.
Rybakov B.A. The first centuries of Russian history. - M., 1964.

Good afternoon, Dear friends Muses Clio. Who is it? This is one of the patrons of the arts and sciences among the ancient Greeks - the muse of History! And with you Kotsar Evgeny Sergeevich, the best teacher in Russia, an expert on the Unified State Examination. Today we will start the USE preparation course in history with the best teacher in Russia. The topic and question of the lesson - how did the state of the Eastern Slavs arise?

The history of Russia begins with history. Who is it? This is a whole group of related tribal unions that broke away from the Slavic ethnic layer. To VIII-IX centuries, from which our conversation will begin, they controlled vast expanses of the East European (Russian) plain, from the Baltic to the Black Seas, from the Carpathian Mountains to the upper Volga region.

The main source on the history of Ancient Russia for us will be. These are weather historical records that told the events that took place “from summer to summer”, an analogue of European chronicles.

"Where did the Russian land come from?" Nestor, PVL.

Thus begins the first Russian chronicle. And to be more precise - (PVL). This is the main source on the early history of the Slavs, written OK. 1116 monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (monastery) Nestor.

We started talking about the historical map. Let's immediately agree that as soon as it comes to geographical objects, wars, economic development and trade, we start working with the map. It is to work, not to look at it. Independently put those events and facts that we are talking about on the map. The map that you drew with your own hand, you will not forget. And this will be very useful to you when working with and for better visual consolidation of the material.

Trends in the development of the history of Russia

So, we have characterized the Eastern Slavs and their neighbors. What important conclusions can we draw? The open nature of the plain, where the Eastern Slavs settled, dictated two development trends:

1. Constant military threat. Through the huge steppe gates from the Ural Mountains to the Caspian Sea, nomads constantly invaded the southern steppes. There was a process from Asia to Europe, and Russia was constantly in the thick of these events.
2. Neighborhood with multilingual tribes could also develop in the spirit of economic interaction, ethnic and linguistic assimilation. There was a lot of land, weak tribes simply retreated. Another feature of the history of the Slavs is the expansion of their habitat to the east and north, towards the Volga and the Arctic Ocean.

What is the result?

How did the state appear among the Slavs? Historical dispute

We see that among the Slovenes and among the Polans, Nestor names the names of the rulers - This, at least, is the same as the creation - the enlargement of the tribes under common authority, speaks of the beginnings of statehood among the Slavs of the 9th century. We have come to the first key date in Russian history.

862 - the beginning of the history of Russia.

Slovenes were called to reign in Novgorod by Rurik (with Sineus and Truvor).

This fact became the basis for writing (based on the Scandinavian sagas), the authors are German historians of the 18th century Bayern, Miller, Schlozer. In turn, Russian history is largely based on this theory. All the classics of the Russian state school of history of the 19th century were Normanists - those people who wrote the history of Russia that we study at school.

What are the main provisions of the Norman theory?

• Rurik - Scandinavian (Viking,
• Novgorod Slovenes had no power
• Rurik founded the state of the Slavs
• The Slavs were not able to organize the state due to backwardness
• The name of the country Rus - from Russ, Ross(ethnonym of the Vikings of Scandinavia)

The complexity of studying the issues of the origin of the Eastern Slavs and their settlement on the territory of Russia is closely related to the problem of the lack of reliable information about the Slavs. More or less accurate sources historical science has only from the V-VI centuries. AD, while the early history of the Slavs is very vague.
The first, rather scarce information is contained in the works of ancient, Byzantine and Arabic authors.

A serious written source, of course, is the Tale of Bygone Years - the first Russian chronicle, the main task of which, according to the chronicler himself, was to find out "where the Russian land came from, who in Kyiv began first to reign, and from where the Russian land began to eat." The author of the chronicle describes in detail the settlement of the Slavic tribes and the period immediately preceding the formation of the Old Russian state.
In connection with the above circumstances, the problem of the origin and early history of the ancient Slavs is being solved today by scientists of various sciences: historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, linguists.

1. Initial settlement and the formation of Slavic branches

The Proto-Slavs separated from the Indo-European group by the middle of the 1st millennium BC.
In Central and Eastern Europe, there were then related cultures, which occupied a fairly vast territory. During this period, it is still impossible to single out purely Slavic culture, it is just beginning to take shape in the bowels of this ancient cultural community, from which not only the Slavs, but also some other peoples came out.
At the same time, under the name of "Wends", the Slavs first became known to ancient authors as early as the 1st-2nd centuries. AD - Cornelius Tacitus, Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, who placed them between the Germans and Finno-Ugric peoples.
Thus, the Roman historians Pliny the Elder and Tacitus (1st century AD) report on the Wends who lived between the Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. At the same time, Tacitus notes the militancy and cruelty of the Wends, who, for example, destroyed the prisoners.
Many modern historians they see in the Wends the ancient Slavs, who still retained their ethnic unity and occupied the territory approximately of the current South-Eastern Wormwood, as well as Volhynia and Polissya.
Byzantine authors of the 6th century. were more attentive to the Slavs, as they, having grown stronger by this time, began to threaten the empire.
Jordan elevates the contemporary Slavs - Wends, Sklavins and Antes - to one root and thereby fixes the beginning of their separation, which took place in the 6th-8th centuries. The relatively unified Slavic world disintegrated both as a result of migrations caused by population growth and the “pressure” of other tribes, and interaction with the multi-ethnic environment in which they settled (Finno-Finns, Balts, Iranian-speaking tribes) and with which they contacted (Germans, Byzantines).
According to Byzantine sources, it is established that by the VI century. AD the Slavs occupied the vast expanses of Central and Eastern Europe and were divided into 3 groups: 1) the Slavs (they lived between the Dniester, the middle reaches of the Danube and the upper reaches of the Vistula); 2) Antes (Interfluve of the Dnieper and Dniester); 3) Wends (Vistula basin). In total, the authors name about 150 Slavic tribes.
However, the sources of the VI. do not yet contain indications of any differences between these groups, but, on the contrary, unite them, note the unity of the language, customs, and laws.
“The tribes of the Antes and Slavs are similar in their way of life, in their customs and their love of freedom”, “have long lived in democracy” (democracy), “are distinguished by endurance, courage, solidarity, hospitality, pagan polytheism and rituals.” They have a lot of "various livestock", they "cultivate cereals, especially wheat and millet." In their economy, they used the labor of “prisoner-of-war slaves”, but did not keep them in indefinite slavery, and after “some time they released them for a ransom” or offered to remain in their “in the position of free or friends” (a mild form of the patriarchal system of slavery).
Data on the East Slavic tribes are available in the "Tale of Bygone Years" by 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.
Thus, the name "Slavs" appeared in the sources only in the 6th century. AD At this time, the Slavic ethnos was actively involved in the process of the Great Migration of Peoples - a major migration movement that swept the European continent in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. and almost completely redrawn its ethnic and political map.
The settlement of the Slavs in the vast expanses of Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe became the main content of the late phase of the Great Migration of Peoples (VI - VIII centuries). One of the groups of Slavs that settled in the forest-steppe regions of Eastern Europe was called Ants (a word of Iranian or Turkic origin).

Discussions continue around the question of what territory the Slavs occupied until the 6th century.
Outstanding historians N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Soloviev, V.O. Klyuchevsky supported the version of Russian chronicles (primarily the “Tale of Bygone Years”) that the Danube was the ancestral home of the Slavs.
True, V.O. Klyuchevsky made an addition: from the Danube, the Slavs got to the Dnieper, where they remained for about five centuries, after which in the 7th century. Eastern Slavs gradually settled in the Russian (East European) Plain.
Most modern scientists believe that the ancestral home of the Slavs was located in more northern regions (the Middle Dnieper and Pripyat, or the interfluve of the Vistula and Oder).
Academician B.A. Rybakov, on the basis of the latest archaeological data, proposes to combine both versions of the ancestral home of the Slavs. He believes that the Proto-Slavs were located in a wide strip of Central and Eastern Europe (from the Sudetenland, Tatras and Carpathians to the Baltic Sea and from Pripyat to the upper reaches of the Dniester and the Southern Bug).
Thus, it is most likely that the Slavs occupied in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. land from the upper and middle Vistula to the middle Dnieper.
The settlement of the Slavs took place in three main directions:
- to the south, to the Balkan Peninsula;
- to the west, to the Middle Danube and the region between the Oder and the Elbe;
- to the east and north along the East European Plain.
Accordingly, as a result of the settlement, three branches of the Slavs that still exist today were formed: southern, western and eastern Slavs.

2. Eastern Slavs and their tribal principalities

Eastern Slavs to the VIII - IX centuries. reached in the north of the Neva and Lake Ladoga, in the east - the middle Oka and the upper Don, gradually assimilating part of the local Baltic, Finno-Ugric, Iranian-speaking population.
The resettlement of the Slavs coincided with the collapse of the tribal system. As a result of the crushing and mixing of tribes, new communities were formed, which were no longer consanguineous, but territorial and political in nature.
Tribal fragmentation among the Slavs has not yet been overcome, but there was already a tendency towards unification. This was facilitated by the situation of the era (wars with Byzantium; the need to fight nomads and barbarians; back in the 3rd century, the Goths passed through Europe in a tornado, in the 4th century the Huns attacked; in the 5th century, the Avars invaded the Dnieper region, etc.).
During this period, unions of Slavic tribes begin to form. These unions included 120-150 separate tribes, whose names have already been lost.
A grandiose picture of the settlement of Slavic tribes on the great East European Plain is given by Nestor in The Tale of Bygone Years (which is confirmed by both archaeological and written sources).
The names of tribal principalities were most often formed from the habitat: landscape features (for example, "glade" - "living in the field", "Drevlyans" - "living in the forests"), or the name of the river (for example, "Buzhan" - from the river Bug ).

The structure of these communities was two-stage: several small formations ("tribal principalities"), as a rule, formed larger ones ("unions of tribal principalities").
The Eastern Slavs to the VIII - IX centuries. There were 12 unions of tribal principalities. In the Middle Dnieper region (the area from the lower reaches of the Pripyat and Desna rivers to the Ros river) lived a glade, to the north-west of them, south of the Pripyat, - the Drevlyans, west of the Drevlyans to the Western Bug - Buzhans (later called Volhynians), in the upper reaches of the Dniester and The Carpathians are Croats (part of a large tribe that broke up into several parts during settlement), Tivertsy down the Dniester, and Ulichi in the Dnieper region south of the glades. On the Dnieper Left Bank, in the basins of the Desna and Seim rivers, the union of northerners settled, in the Sozh river basin (the left tributary of the Dnieper north of the Desna) - Radimichi, on the upper Oka - Vyatichi. Between the Pripyat and the Dvina (to the north of the Drevlyans), the Dregovichi lived, and in the upper reaches of the Dvina, Dnieper and Volga, the Krivichi. The northernmost Slavic community, settled in the area of ​​Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River up to the Gulf of Finland, was called "Slovene", which coincided with the common Slavic self-name.
Within the tribes, their own dialect of the language, their own culture, features of the economy and idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe territory are formed.
So, it was established that the Krivichi came to the upper Dnieper region, absorbing the Balts who lived there. The rite of burial in long mounds is associated with the Krivichi. Their length, unusual for mounds, was formed because a mound was poured over the urn of another to the buried remains of one person. Thus, the mound gradually grew in length. There are few things in the long mounds, there are iron knives, awls, clay whorls, iron belt buckles and vessels.
At this time, other Slavic tribes, or tribal unions, were clearly formed. In a number of cases, the territory of these tribal associations can be traced quite definitely due to the special construction of mounds that existed among some Slavic peoples. On the Oka, in the upper reaches of the Don, along the Ugra lived the ancient Vyatichi. Mounds of a special type spread in their lands: high, with the remains of wooden fences inside. The remains of the cremation were placed in these enclosures. In the upper reaches of the Neman and along the Berezina in the swampy Polesie lived the Dregovichi; according to Sozh and Desna - radimichi. In the lower reaches of the Desna, along the Seim, northerners settled, occupying a fairly large territory. To the south-west of them, along the Southern Bug, the Tivertsy and the Ulichi lived. In the very north of the Slavic territory, along Ladoga and Volkhov, the Slovenes lived. Many of these tribal unions, especially the northern ones, continued to exist even after the formation Kievan Rus, since the process of decomposition of primitive relations proceeded more slowly for them.
Differences between the East Slavic tribes can be traced not only in the construction of mounds. So, the archaeologist A.A. Spitsyn noticed that the temporal rings - specific women's jewelry often found among the Slavs, woven into the hair, are different in different territories of the settlement of the Slavic tribes.
The designs of mounds and the distribution of certain types of temporal rings allowed archaeologists to quite accurately trace the territory of distribution of one or another Slavic tribe.

Temporal decorations of East Slavic tribes
1 - spiral (northerners); 2 - ring-shaped one-and-a-half-turn (Duleb tribes); 3 - seven-beam (Radimichi); 4 - rhombo-shield (Slovene Ilmen); 5 - everturned

The noted features (burial structures, temporal rings) between the tribal associations of Eastern Europe arose among the Slavs, apparently not without the influence of the Baltic tribes. Eastern Balts in the second half of the 1st millennium AD as if "grown" into the East Slavic population and were a real cultural and ethnic force that influenced the Slavs.
The development of these territorial-political unions proceeded gradually along the path of their transformation into states.

3. Occupations of the Eastern Slavs

The basis of the economy of the Eastern Slavs was arable farming. The Eastern Slavs, mastering the vast forest areas of Eastern Europe, carried with them an agricultural culture.
For agricultural work, the following were used: ralo, hoe, spade, knotted harrow, sickle, rake, scythe, stone grain grinders or millstones. Among grain crops prevailed: rye (zhito), millet, wheat, barley and buckwheat. Garden crops were also known to them: turnips, cabbage, carrots, beets, radishes.

Thus, slash-and-burn agriculture was widespread. On the lands liberated from the forest as a result of cutting and burning, crops (rye, oats, barley) 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 not trees, but willow grasses.
From the 8th century in southern regions Field arable farming, based on the use of a plow with iron fur, draft cattle and a wooden plow, which survived until the beginning of the 20th century, is gaining ground.
The Eastern Slavs used three methods of settlement: individually (individually, families, clans), in settlements (jointly) and on free lands between wild forests and steppes (zaymischa, zaimki, camps, repairs).
In the first case, the abundance of free land allowed everyone to cultivate as much land as was possible.
In the second case, everyone tried to have the lands allocated to him for cultivation located closer to the settlement. All convenient lands were considered common property, remained indivisible, cultivated jointly or divided into equal plots and after a certain period of time distributed by lot between individual families.
In the third case, citizens separated from the settlements, cleared and burned forests, developed wastelands and formed new farms.
Cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, and beekeeping also played a certain role in the economy.
Cattle breeding begins to separate from agriculture. The Slavs bred pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, oxen.
A craft developed, including blacksmithing on a professional basis, but it was mainly associated with agriculture. From swamp and lake ores, iron began to be produced in primitive clay furnaces (pits).
Of particular importance for the fate of the Eastern Slavs will be foreign trade, which developed both on the Baltic-Volga route, along which Arab silver entered Europe, and on the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, connecting the Byzantine world through the Dnieper with the Baltic region.
The economic life of the population was directed by such a mighty stream as the Dnieper, which cuts through it from north to south. With the then importance of rivers as the most convenient means of communication, the Dnieper was the main economic artery, a pillar trade road for the western strip of the plain: with its upper reaches it comes close to the Western Dvina and the Ilmen-Lake basin, that is, to the two most important roads to the Baltic Sea, and by its mouth it connects the central Alaun Upland with the northern coast of the Black Sea. The tributaries of the Dnieper, going from afar to the right and left, like the access roads of the main road, bring the Dnieper region closer. on the one hand, to the Carpathian basins of the Dniester and Vistula, on the other hand, to the basins of the Volga and Don, that is, to the Caspian and Azov seas. Thus, the Dnieper region covers the entire western and part eastern half Russian plain. Thanks to this, from time immemorial there was a lively trade movement along the Dnieper, the impetus to which was given by the Greeks.

4. Family and clan among the Eastern Slavs

The economic unit (VIII-IX centuries) was mainly a small family. The organization that united the households of small families was the neighboring (territorial) community - verv.
The transition from a consanguineous community to a neighboring one occurred among the Eastern Slavs in the 6th - 8th centuries. Vervi members jointly owned hay and forest land, and arable land was, as a rule, divided among separate peasant farms.
The community (peace, rope) played big role in the life of the Russian village. This was due to the complexity and volume of agricultural work (which could only be performed by a large team); the need to monitor the correct distribution and use of land, a short period of agricultural work (it lasted from 4-4.5 months near Novgorod and Pskov to 5.5-6 months in the Kyiv region).
There were changes in the community: the collective of relatives who owned all the land together was replaced by an agricultural community. It also consisted of large patriarchal families, united by a common territory, traditions, and beliefs, but small families ran an independent economy here and independently disposed of the products of their labor.
As noted by V.O. Klyuchevsky, in the structure of a private civil hostel, an old Russian courtyard, a complex family of a householder with a wife, children and unseparated relatives, brothers, nephews, served as a transitional step from an ancient family to the newest simple family and corresponded to an ancient Roman surname.
This destruction of the tribal union, its disintegration into households or complex families left some traces in itself in popular beliefs and customs.

5. Social organization

At the head of the East Slavic unions of tribal principalities were the princes, who relied on the military service nobility - the squad. The princes were also in smaller communities - tribal principalities that were part of the unions.
Information about the first princes is contained in the Tale of Bygone Years. The chronicler notes that tribal unions, although not all of them, have their own "principles". So, in relation to the meadows, he recorded a legend about the princes, the founders of the city of Kyiv: Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lebed.

From the 8th century among the Eastern Slavs, fortified settlements - "grads" - spread. They were, as a rule, the centers of unions of tribal principalities. The concentration of tribal nobility, warriors, artisans and merchants in them contributed to the further stratification of society.
The story of the beginning of the Russian land does not remember when these cities arose: Kyiv, Pereyaslavl. Chernigov, Smolensk, Lyubech, Novgorod, Rostov, Polotsk. At the moment from which she begins her story about Russia, most of these cities, if not all of them, apparently, were already significant settlements. A cursory glance at the geographical distribution of these cities is enough to see that they were created by the success of Russia's foreign trade.
The Byzantine author Procopius of Caesarea (6th century) writes: “These tribes, Slavs and Antes, are not ruled by one person, but since ancient times they have lived in the government of the people, and therefore decisions are made jointly regarding all happy and unfortunate circumstances.”
Most likely, we are talking about meetings (veche) of community members (male warriors), 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.
Arabic sources speak of education in the 8th century. on the territory occupied by the Eastern Slavs, three political centers: Cuiaba, Slavia and Artsania (Artania).
Kuyaba is a political association of the southern group of East Slavic tribes, headed by the glades, with the center in Kyiv. Slavia is an association of the northern group of Eastern Slavs, led by the Novgorod Slovenes. The center of Artania (Artsania) causes controversy among scientists (the cities of Chernihiv, Ryazan and others are called).
Thus, during this period, the Slavs experienced the last period of the communal system - the era of "military democracy" that preceded 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 6th century. - Mauritius Strategist: the appearance of slaves from captives; raids on Byzantium, which, as a result of the distribution of looted wealth, strengthened the prestige of the elected military leaders and led to the formation of a squad consisting of professional military men - the prince's associates.
At the beginning of the ninth century the diplomatic and military activity of the Eastern Slavs is intensifying. At the very beginning of the IX century. they made campaigns against Surazh in the Crimea; in 813 - to the island of Aegina. In 839 a Russian embassy from Kyiv visited the emperors of Byzantium and Germany.
In 860, the boats of the Rus appeared at the walls of Constantinople. Hiking is associated with names Kyiv princes Askold and Dir. This fact indicates the presence of statehood among the Slavs who lived in the middle Dnieper region.
Many scientists believe that it was at that time that Russia entered the arena of international life as a state. There is information about the agreement between Russia and Byzantium after this campaign and about the adoption by Askold and his entourage, warriors of Christianity.
Russian chroniclers of the beginning of the XII century. included in the chronicle the legend of the calling of the northern tribes of the Eastern Slavs as the prince of the Varangian Rurik (with brothers or with relatives and warriors) in the 9th century.
The very fact that the Varangian squads were in the service of the Slavic princes is beyond doubt (service to the Russian princes was considered honorable and profitable). It is possible that Rurik was real historical personality. Some historians even consider him a Slav; others see him as Rurik of Friesland, who raided Western Europe. LN Gumilyov expressed the point of view that Rurik (and the Rus tribe that arrived with him) were from South Germany.

But these facts could in no way affect the process of creating the Old Russian state - to speed it up or slow it down.

6. Religion 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 public life person. At the same time, it is noteworthy that the most ancient layers of beliefs were not replaced by new ones, but were layered on top of each other, so restoring information about Slavic paganism is extremely difficult. It is also difficult because today there are practically no written sources.
The most revered of the pagan gods were Rod, Perun and Volos (Beles); at the same time, each of the communities had its own, local gods.
Perun was the god of lightning and thunder, Rod - fertility, Stribog - the wind, Veles - cattle breeding and wealth, Dazhbog and Hora - the deities of the sun, Mokosh - the goddess of weaving.
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 and its own pantheons of gods, different tribes were similar in type, but different in name.
In the future, the cult of the great Svarog - the god of heaven - and his sons - Dazhbog (Yarilo, Khore) and Stribog - the gods of the sun and wind, acquires special significance.
Over time, Perun begins to play an increasingly important role - the god of thunder and rain, the "creator of lightning", who was especially revered as the god of war and weapons in the princely retinue environment. Perun was not the head of the pantheon of gods, only later, during the formation of statehood and the strengthening of the importance of the prince and his squad, the cult of Perun began to strengthen.
Perun is the central image of Indo-European mythology - a thunderer (ancient Ind. Parjfnya, Hittite Piruna, Slavic Perun, Lithuanian Perkunas, etc.), located "above" (hence the connection of his name with the name of the mountain, rock) and entering into combat with the enemy , representing "down" - it is usually "under" a tree, mountain, etc. Most often, the opponent of the Thunderer appears in the form of a snake-like creature, correlated with the lower world, chaotic and hostile to man.

The pagan pantheon also included Volos (Veles) - the patron of cattle breeding and the guardian of the underworld of the ancestors; Makosh (Mokosh) - the goddess of fertility, weaving, and others.
Initially, totemic ideas were also preserved, associated with the belief in the 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.
Wooden and stone statues of the gods were erected on pagan sanctuaries (temples), where sacrifices were made, including human ones.
Pagan holidays were closely connected with the agricultural calendar.
In the organization of the cult, a significant role was played by pagan priests - the Magi.
The head of the pagan cult was the leader, and then the prince. During the cult rituals that took place in special places - temples, sacrifices were made to the gods.

Pagan beliefs determined the spiritual life of the Eastern Slavs, their morality.
The Slavs did not have a mythology that explains the origin of the world and man, tells about the victory of heroes over the forces of nature, etc.
And by the X century. the religious system no longer corresponded to the level of social development of the Slavs.

7. Formation of the state among the Slavs

By the 9th century the formation of the state began among the Eastern Slavs. This can be associated with the following two points: the emergence of the path "From the Varangians to the Greeks" and the change of power.
So, the time from which the Eastern Slavs enter world history can be considered the middle of the 9th century - the time when the path "From the Varangians to the Greeks" appeared.
Nestor in his Tale of Bygone Years gives a description of this route.
“When the glade lived separately along these mountains (meaning the Dnieper steeps near Kyiv), there was a path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it was dragged to Lovat, and along Lovat you can enter Ilmen, lake great; Volkhov flows out of the same lake and flows into the lake the great Nevo, and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea ... And on that sea you can sail to Rome, and from Rome you can sail along that sea to Tsargrad, and from Tsargrad you can sail to Pontus is the sea into which the Dnieper River flows. The Dnieper flows out of the Okovsky forest and flows south, and the Dvina flows from the same forest and heads north and flows into the Varangian Sea. From the same forest, the Volga flows to the east and flows through seventy mouths into the Khvalis Sea. So from Russia you can sail along the Volga to the Bolgars and Khvalissy, and further east to go to the lot of Sim, and along the Dvina to the land of the Varangians, and from the Varangians to Rome, from Rome to the Ham tribe. And the Dnieper flows at its mouth into the Pontic Sea; this sea is reputed to be Russian.
In addition, after the death of Rurik in 879 in Novgorod, power passed to the leader of one of the Varangian detachments - Oleg.
In 882, Oleg undertook a campaign against Kyiv, by deceit he killed the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir (the last of the Kyi family).

This date (882) is traditionally considered the date of formation of the Old Russian state. Kyiv became the center of the united state.
There is a point of view that Oleg's campaign against Kyiv was the first act in the dramatic age-old struggle between pro-Christian and pro-pagan forces in Russia (after the baptism of Askold and his associates, the tribal nobility, the priests turn to the pagan princes of Novgorod for help). Supporters of this point of view pay attention to the fact that Oleg's campaign against Kyiv in 882 was least of all like a conquest (there is not a word about armed clashes along the way in the sources, all cities along the Dnieper opened their gates).
The Old Russian state arose thanks to the original political creativity of the Russian people.
Slavic tribes lived in clans and communities, engaged in agriculture, hunting and fishing. Located between Europe and Asia, they were subjected to constant military invasions and robberies from the steppe nomads and northern pirates, so history itself forced them to choose or hire princes with squads for self-defense and maintaining order.
Thus, from a territorial agricultural community with professional armed and administrative bodies operating on a permanent basis, the Old Russian state arose, in the foundation of which two political principles of social coexistence participated: 1) the sole or monarchical in the person of the prince and 2) democratic - represented by a veche assembly people.

Summing up what has been said, we note, first of all, that the period of the settlement of the Slavic peoples, the emergence of a class society among them and the formation of the ancient Slavic states, is poorly, but still covered by written sources.
At the same time, the more ancient period of the origin of the ancient Slavs and their initial development is almost completely devoid of reliable written sources.
Therefore, the origin of the ancient Slavs can be elucidated only on the basis of archaeological materials, which in this case are of paramount importance.
The migration of the ancient Slavs, contacts with the local population and the transition to settled life in new lands led to the emergence of the East Slavic ethnic group, which consisted of more than a dozen tribal unions.
basis economic activity Eastern Slavs became, mainly due to the settled way of life, agriculture. The role of crafts and foreign trade increased noticeably.
Under the new conditions, a transition began from tribal democracy to a military one, and from a tribal community to an agricultural one.
The beliefs of the Eastern Slavs became more complex. To replace the syncretic Rod - the main god of the Slavic hunters, with the development of agriculture comes deification separate forces nature. At the same time, the inconsistency of the existing cults with the needs of the development of the East Slavic world is increasingly felt.
In the VI - the middle of the IX century. The Slavs retained the foundations of the communal system: communal ownership of land and livestock, the arming of all free people, the regulation of social relations with the help of traditions and customary law, and veche democracy.
Trade and war among the Eastern Slavs, alternately replacing each other, increasingly changed the way of life of the Slavic tribes, bringing them close to the formation of a new system of relations.
The Eastern Slavs underwent changes caused by both their own internal development and the influence of external forces, which together created the conditions for the formation of the state.