Development of the Eastern Slavs. The unification of the Eastern Slavs under the rule of the Grand Duke of Russia

AT historical science It is generally accepted that the history of any nation begins with the formation of the 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. East 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 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 Seas of Azov 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 great river 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 Baltic Sea along the Neva River, the caravans of merchants fell into 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 special place occupied: 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.

Settlement: occupied the territory from the Carpathian Mountains to the middle Oka. They mastered the East European Plain, came into contact with the Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. At this time, the Slavs are united in tribal unions, each tribe consisted of clans. The glades lived along the middle reaches of the Dnieper, north-east of them settled the northerners, in the area upper Volga Krivichi lived, near Lake Ilmen - Ilmen Slovenes, along the Pripyat River Dregovichi, Drevlyans. To the south of the river Bug - Buzhan and Volhynians. Between the Dnieper and the Southern Bug, the Tivertsy. On the river Sozh - radimichi.

Economy: the main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture (slash-and-burn, fallow). The main tools of labor were a plow, a wooden plow, an ax, a hoe. They harvested with sickles, threshed with flails, ground grain with stone grain grinders. Cattle breeding is closely connected with agriculture. Bred cows, pigs, small cattle. Draft power - oxen, horses. Crafts: fishing, hunting, gathering, beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees).

The Slavs lived in communities, first tribal, then neighboring. This determined the way and characteristic features of life. The farms had a natural character (they produced everything for their own consumption). With the appearance of surpluses, exchange develops (agricultural products for handicraft goods).

Cities appear as centers of crafts, trade, exchange, strongholds of power, defense. Cities were built on trade routes. Historians believe that in the 9th century in Russia there were at least 24 major cities(Kyiv, Novgorod, Suzdal, Smolensk, Murom ...) The princes were at the head of the East Slavic tribal unions. The most important issues were resolved at public meetings - veche gatherings (veche). There was a militia, a squad. They collected polyudye (collection of tribute from subject tribes).

Beliefs - the ancient Slavs were pagans. Slavic gods personified the forces of nature and reflected social relations. Perun is the god of thunder and war. Svarog is the god of fire. Veles is the patron saint of cattle. Mokosh - protected the female part of the economy. They believed in spirits - goblin, mermaids, brownies. Ceremonies and holidays are connected with agriculture. Celebrated births and weddings. Honored ancestors. Worshiped the phenomena of nature.

Formation of the ancient Russian state. The problem of "Norman influence". By the ninth century the Eastern Slavs developed a set of socio-economic and political prerequisites for the formation of a state.

Socio-economic - the tribal community ceased to be an economic necessity and disintegrated, giving way to a territorial, "neighboring" community. There was a separation of the craft from other types of economic activity, the growth of cities and foreign trade. There was a process of formation of social groups, the nobility and the squad stood out.

Political - large tribal unions appeared, which began to conclude temporary political unions among themselves. From the end of the VI century. the union of tribes headed by Kiy is known; Arab and Byzantine sources report that in the VI-VII centuries. there was a "Power of Volhynia"; Novgorod chronicles report that in the ninth century. around Novgorod there was a Slavic association headed by Gostomysl. Arab sources claim that on the eve of the formation of the state there were unions of large Slavic tribes: Kuyaba - around Kyiv, Slavia - around Novgorod, Artania - around Ryazan or Chernigov.

Foreign policy - the most important for the formation and strengthening of states among all peoples was the presence of external danger. The problem of repelling external danger among the Eastern Slavs was very acute from the very appearance of the Slavs on the East European Plain. From the 6th century the Slavs fought against the numerous nomadic tribes of the Turks (Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Avars, Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, etc.).

So, by the ninth century. the Eastern Slavs, with their internal development, were ready for the formation of a state. But the final fact of the formation of the state of the Eastern Slavs is associated with their northern neighbors - the inhabitants of Scandinavia (modern Denmark, Norway, Sweden). In Western Europe, the inhabitants of Scandinavia were called Normans, Vikings, and in Russia - Vikings. In Europe, the Vikings were engaged in robbery and trade. All Europe trembled before their raids. In Russia, there were no conditions for sea robbery, so the Varangians mainly traded and were hired by the Slavs in military squads. The Slavs and the Varangians were at approximately the same stage of social development - the Varangians also saw the decomposition of the tribal system and the folding of the prerequisites for the formation of the state.

As the chronicler Nestor testifies in The Tale of Bygone Years, by the ninth century. Novgorodians and some northern tribes of the Slavs became dependent on the Varangians and paid tribute to them, and the southern tribes of the Slavs paid tribute to the Khazars. In 859 the Novgorodians drove out the Varangians and stopped paying tribute. After that, civil strife began among the Slavs: they could not come to an agreement on who should rule them. Then, in 862, the Novgorod elders turned to the Varangians with a request: to send them one of the Varangian leaders to reign. The Varangian king (leader) Rurik responded to the call of the Novgorodians. Thus, in 862, power over Novgorod and its environs passed to the Varangian leader Rurik. It so happened that the descendants of Rurik were able to gain a foothold among the Eastern Slavs as leaders.

The role of the Varangian leader Rurik in Russian history is that he became the founder of the first ruling dynasty in Russia. All his descendants began to be called Rurikovich.

After his death, Rurik had a young son, Igor. Therefore, another Varangian, Oleg, began to rule in Novgorod. Soon Oleg decided to establish his control over the entire course of the Dnieper. The southern section of the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" was owned by the people of Kiev.

In 882, Oleg went on a campaign against Kyiv. Rurik's combatants Askold and Dir ruled there at that time. Oleg tricked them out of the city gates and killed them. After that, he was able to gain a foothold in Kyiv. The two largest East Slavic cities were united under the rule of one prince. Further, Oleg established the boundaries of his possessions, imposed tribute on the entire population, began to keep order in the territory subject to him and ensure the protection of these territories from enemy attacks.

So the first state of the Eastern Slavs was formed.

Later, the chroniclers will begin counting time "from the summer of Oleg", i.e. from the time when Oleg began to rule in Kyiv.

EASTERN SLAVES IN ANCIENT

I . Origin of the Eastern Slavs

Proto-Slavs

The ancestors of the Slavs have long lived in the Central and Eastern

Europe. According to their language, they belong to the Indo-European peoples who inhabit Europe and part of Asia up to India. Archaeologists believe that the Slavic tribes can be traced according to excavations from the middle of the second millennium BC. Ancestors of the Slavs (in scientific literature they are called Proto-Slavs) are supposedly found among the tribes that inhabited the basin of the Odra, Vistula and Dnieper; Slavic tribes appeared in the Danube basin and in the Balkans only at the beginning of our era.

It is possible that Herodotus speaks about the ancestors of the Slavs when he describes the agricultural tribes of the middle Dnieper region.

He calls them "chips" or "borisfenites" (Boris-fen is the name of the Dnieper among ancient authors), noting that the Greeks erroneously classify them as Scythians, although the Scythians did not know agriculture at all.

Ancient authors I - VI c.c. AD they call the Slavs Wends, Ants, Sklavins and speak of them as "countless tribes". The estimated maximum territory of the settlement of the ancestors of the Slavs in the west reached the Elbe (Laba), in the north to the Baltic Sea, in the east - to the Seim and Oka, and in the south their border was a wide strip of forest-steppe, walking from the left bank of the Danube east towards Kharkov. Several hundred Slavic tribes lived in this territory.

The resettlement of the Eastern Slavs

In VI in. from a single Slavic community, the East Slavic branch stands out (future Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian peoples). Around this time, the emergence of large tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. The chronicle preserved the legend about the reigning in the Middle Dnieper region of the brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid and about the founding of Kyiv. The chronicler noted that the same reigns were in other tribal unions, naming more than a dozen tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. Such a tribal union included 100-200 separate tribes. Near Kyiv, on the right bank of the Dnieper, there lived a glade, along upstream Dnieper and along the Western Dvina - Krivichi, along the banks of the Pripyat - Drevlyans, along the Dniester, Prut, the lower reaches of the Dnieper and along the northern coast of the Black Sea - streets and Tivertsy, along the Oka - Vyatichi, in the western regions of modern Ukraine - Volhynians, north of Pripyat to the Western Dvina - Dregovichi, along the left bank of the Dnieper and along the Desna - northerners, along the Sozh River, a tributary of the Dnieper - Radimichi, around Lake Ilmen - Ilmen Slavs (Slovenes).

The chronicler noted the uneven development of individual East Slavic associations. He shows the glades as the most developed and cultured. To the north of them was a kind of border, beyond which the tribes lived in a "bestial way." According to the chronicler, the land of the glades also bore the name "Rus". One explanation for the origin

the term "Rus", put forward by historians, is associated with the name of the Ros River, a tributary of the Dnieper, which gave the name of the tribe on whose territory the meadow lived.

The data of the chronicler about the location of the Slavic tribal unions are confirmed by archaeological materials. In particular, data on various forms of women's adornments (temporal rings) obtained as a result of archaeological excavations coincide with the indications of the annals on the placement of Slavic tribal unions. The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs in the west were the Baltic peoples, the Western Slavs (Poles, Czechs), in the south - the Pechenegs and Khazars, in the east - the Volga Bulgars and numerous Finno-Ugric tribes (Mordovians, Mari, Muroma).

2. Household

Lessons

The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. This is confirmed by the Archeo-Slavs

logical excavations, during which seeds of cereals (rye, barley, millet) and garden crops (turnips, cabbage, carrots, beets, radishes) were found. Industrial crops (flax, hemp) were also grown. The southern lands of the Slavs overtook the northern lands in their development, which was explained by differences in natural and climatic conditions, soil fertility. The southern Slavic tribes had more ancient agricultural traditions, and also had long-standing ties with the slave-owning states of the Northern Black Sea region.

The Slavic tribes had two main systems of agriculture. In the north, in the region of dense taiga forests, the dominant system of agriculture was slash and fire. It should be said that the border of the taiga at the beginning I thousand AD was much further south than today. The remnant of the ancient taiga is the famous Bialowieza Forest. In the first year, with the slash-and-burn system, trees were cut down in the area being developed, and they dried up. The following year, the felled trees and stumps were burned, and grain was sown in the ashes. A plot fertilized with ash gave a fairly high yield for two or three years, then the land was depleted, and it was necessary to develop new plot. The main tools of labor in the forest belt were an ax, a hoe, a spade and a bough harrow. They harvested with sickles and ground the grain with stone grinders and millstones.

AT southern regions the leading system of agriculture was fallow. In the presence of a large number fertile lands, the plots were sown for several years, and after the depletion of the soil, they were transferred ("shifted") to new plots. Ralo was used as the main tools, and later a wooden plow with an iron share. Plow farming was more efficient and produced higher and more consistent yields.

Academician B.A. Rybakov notes that since II in. AD there is a sharp rise in the entire economic and social life of that part of the Slavic world, which will later become the core of Kievan Rus - the Middle Dnieper. The growth in the number of hoards of Roman coins and silver found on the lands of the Eastern Slavs testifies to the development of their trade. The export was grain. About the Slavic export of bread in II - IV centuries speaks of the borrowing by the Slavic tribes of the Roman bread measure - the quadrantal, called the quadrant (26.2 liters), which existed in the Russian system of measures and weights until 1924. The scale of grain production among the Slavs is evidenced by the traces of storage pits found by archaeologists that could hold up to 5 tons grains.

Cattle breeding was closely connected with agriculture. The Slavs bred pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Oxen was used as working livestock in the southern regions, and horses were used in the forest belt.

An important place in the economy of the Eastern Slavs was played by hunting, fishing and beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees). Honey, wax, furs were the main items of foreign trade.

City

Approximately in VII - VIII centuries handicraft is finally separated from agriculture. Blacksmiths, foundry workers, goldsmiths and silversmiths, and later potters stand out. Craftsmen usually concentrated in tribal centers - cities or on settlements - churchyards, which gradually turn from military fortifications into centers of craft and trade - cities.At the same time, cities become defensive centers and residences of power holders.

Cities, as a rule, arose at the confluence of two rivers, since such an arrangement provided more reliable protection. The central part of the city, surrounded by a rampart and a fortress wall, was called the Kremlin or citadel. As a rule, the Kremlin was surrounded by water from all sides, since the rivers, at the confluence of which the city was built, were connected by a moat filled with water. Settlements - settlements of artisans adjoined the Kremlin. This part of the city was called the suburb.

The most ancient cities arose most often on the most important trade routes. One of these trade routes was the route from the "Varangians to the Greeks". Through the Neva or Western Dvina and the Volkhov with its tributaries and further through the portage system, the vessels reached the Dnieper basin. Along the Dnieper, they reached the Black Sea and further to Byzantium. Ultimately, this path was IX in. Another trade route, one of the oldest in the territory of Eastern Europe, was the Volga trade route, connecting Russia with the countries of the East.

3. Social order

neighborhood community

The level of development of the productive forces at that time required significant expenditures of labor for managing the economy. Labor-intensive work, which had to be performed within a limited and strictly defined time frame, could only be performed by the team. Related to this big role communities in the life of the Slavic tribes.

The cultivation of the land became possible by the efforts of one family. The economic independence of individual families made the existence of stable tribal groups superfluous. Natives of the tribal community were no longer doomed to death, because. could develop new lands and become members of a territorial community. The tribal community was also destroyed during the development of new lands (colonization) and the inclusion of slaves in the community.

Each community owned a certain territory on which several families lived. All possessions of the community were divided into public and private. House, homestead land, livestock,

the inventory was the personal property of each community member. The common property was arable land, meadows, forests, fishing grounds, reservoirs. Arable land and mowing could be periodically divided among the community members.

Military campaigns

The collapse of primitive communal relations was facilitated by the military campaigns of the Slavs and, above all, campaigns against Byzantium. The participants in these campaigns received most of the military booty. Particularly significant was the proportion of military leaders - princes and tribal nobility - the best husbands. Gradually around the prince develops special organization professional warriors - squad, whose members, both in economic and social status, differed from their fellow tribesmen. The squad was divided into the eldest, from which the princely stewards came out, and the youngest, who lived with the prince and served his court and household.

The most important issues in the life of the community were resolved at public meetings - veche gatherings. In addition to the professional squad, there was also a tribal militia (regiment, thousand).

4. Culture of the Eastern Slavs

Little is known about the culture of the Slavic tribes. This is due to the extremely scarce data sources. Changing over time folk tales, songs, riddles have preserved a significant layer of ancient beliefs. Oral folk art reflects the diverse ideas of the Eastern Slavs about the nature and life of people.

Very few samples of the art of the ancient Slavs have survived to this day. An interesting treasure of things was found in the Ros river basin VI-VII centuries, among which silver figurines of horses with golden manes and hooves and silver images of men in typical Slavic clothes with patterned embroidery on the shirt stand out. Slavic silver items from the southern Russian regions are characterized by complex compositions of human figures, animals, birds and snakes. Many stories in modern folk art have very ancient origin and have changed little over time.

Paganism

The Eastern Slavs were pagans. They deified the various forces of nature. At an early stage of their development, they believed in good and evil spirits. Subsequently, a fairly developed pantheon of Slavic gods developed, which included both local and common Slavic gods. The main deities of the Eastern Slavs were: the deity of the Universe - Rod, the sun deity Dazhd-god (in some Slavic tribes he was called Yarilo, Horos), the god of cattle and wealth - Veles, the god of fire - Svarog, the god of thunder and war - Perun, the goddess of the earth and fertility - Mokosh.

The Slavs made wooden and stone statues of their gods. Sacred groves and springs served as places of worship. In addition, each tribe had common sanctuaries, where all members of the tribe converged on especially solemn holidays and to resolve important matters.

With the increasing role of the prince and the military squad in the life of the tribe, Perun - the god of thunder and war - becomes the main god of the Slavic pantheon. Ambassadors swore in the name of Perun, diplomatic treaties were sealed. The hearth or stove was considered sacred as a symbol of the family. They usually prayed to fire under a barn in which grain was dried.

The Slavs had an annual cycle of agricultural holidays in honor of the sun and the change of seasons. Pagan rituals were supposed to ensure a high harvest, the health of people and livestock. The most important events in a person's life - birth, wedding, death - were accompanied by special rites.

An important place in the religion of the ancient Slavs was occupied by the cult of ancestors. The custom of burning the dead and erecting mounds of earth over the funeral pyres was widespread. Belief in the afterlife was manifested in the fact that things, weapons, and food were placed in the funeral pyre along with the dead. During the burial of the prince, a horse and one of his wives or a slave were burned with him. In honor of the deceased, a feast was arranged - a feast and military competitions.

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 Eastern Slavs

Production of Eastern Slavs

V.O. Klyuchevsky considered 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), wide application 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 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.

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 Ural mountains to the Caspian Sea, the southern steppes were constantly invaded by nomads. 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 got to the first key date 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)