Map of the settlement of the Slavs in the 1st - 9th centuries. Eastern Slavs in ancient times

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Territory of settlement of the Eastern Slavs

Representatives of official historical science claim that the settlement of the East European Plain by tribes that can be classified as Slavic groups occurred in waves. Thus, the colonization of these territories occurred both in the form of one-time resettlement of tribal groups, and through the gradual resettlement of individual families and clans.

At the same time, in contrast to the western and southern directions of colonization of the Slavic tribes, the development of territories (mostly forest areas) by the Eastern Slavs, according to the research of modern historians, took place quite peacefully, without typical military conflicts with the Baltic population and local residents. It is worth noting that the main enemy in these places was not an aggressive human enemy, but dense, deserted forests. Thus, the forest part of the future Slavic territories had to be settled by the tribes, and not conquered.

But in the southern lands, forest-steppe regions, the Slavic tribes encountered not the people living there, but aggressive nomadic hordes.

The author of one of the most significant and popular chronicles in the world, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” in his story about the beginning of Rus', notes several East Slavic tribes that settled in the second half of the first millennium in the territories located between the Black and Baltic seas. Among these tribes, Nestor distinguishes: Drevlyans, Polyans, as well as Tivertsy, Glichs, Northerners, White Croats, Buzhans or Volynians (remains of the Duleb tribes), Slovenes, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Dregovich, Drevlyans.

Most of the listed tribes are known to many medieval authors under their proper names. For example, Konstantin Porphyrogenitus describes the life of the Drevlyans, Lendzians (here, most likely, immigrants from the area of modern Lodz are meant), Slovenians, as well as Krivichi and.

Researchers note that the bulk of the East Slavic tribes, which settled throughout the territory of the future Old Slavic state, belonged to the “Sklavenskaya” branch of the Slavs. The only exceptions were, perhaps, the northerners, Tivertsy and Uglich.

Also, it is worth noting that those Slavic tribes that at one time colonized Western European territories and the Balkans sometimes participated in the settlement of Russian territories. This is confirmed by numerous objects that were found as a result of archaeological excavations in the forest zone of Eastern Europe. First of all, historians include lunar temple rings among such objects, the origin of which is closely connected with the Middle Danube lands, where these objects acted as popular decorations of local Slavic tribes - Croats, Smolensk, Northerners and Droguvites.

The actual advancement of the bearers of the described lunar rings is most often associated with the popularity in folklore, during that historical period, of the “Danube theme,” which was transmitted in the form of epics.

The Danube River and the surrounding territories, in which the Slavic tribes realized their identity and ethnic independence, are forever imprinted in the popular Slavic memory as the cradle of a single people.

Thus, some modern scientists propose to consider the text about the settlement of the Slavs from the banks of the Danube across European territories, not as a literary or scientific version, but as a pre-chronicle folk tradition, firmly established in people's memory for many years.

Map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs

Having studied the map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs, one can notice that the Slavic tribes were especially attracted to rivers, and mention of the inhabitants of these territories as “river” people is found among Byzantine writers of the sixth century. This is evidenced by the “Tale of Bygone Years” we examined.

In fact, the general contours of the settlement of this ethnic group, as a rule, completely correspond to the lines of river channels. According to the same chronicle of Nestor, the Polyan tribe settled on the lands of the middle Dnieper, the Drevlyans settled along the banks of the Pripyat River, the Dregovich tribe neighbored the Drevlyans in the north, the Buzhans lived to the west of the glades, the northerners lived to the east of the Polyan tribe, whose neighbors in the north were rodimichi. The author moves furthest away from the Vyatichi, who settled in the upper reaches of the Oka. The Krivichi settled along the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper, and the so-called Ilmen Slavs settled near Lake Ilmen.

Procopius of Caesarea and various Arab sources report the settlement of the Eastern Slavs even further - into the Don basin. At the same time, apparently, they were not able to gain a foothold there for long. So, in the eleventh – twelfth centuries, during the creation of the “Tale of Bygone Years,” they were under the rule of nomadic tribes, and the memory that the Slavs once lived there was lost.

Table on the topic: Settlement of the Eastern Slavs

History does not have accurate data about where the first Slavs appeared. All information about their appearance and settlement throughout the territory of modern Europe and Russia was obtained indirectly:

analysis of Slavic languages;
archaeological finds;
written mentions in chronicles.

Based on these data, we can conclude that the original habitat of the Slavs was the northern slopes of the Carpathians; it was from these places that the Slavic tribes migrated to the south, west and east, forming three branches of the Slavs - Balkan, Western and Russian (Eastern).
The settlement of East Slavic tribes along the banks of the Dnieper began in the 7th century. Another part of the Slavs settled along the banks of the Danube and received the name Western. Southern Slavs settled in the territory Byzantine Empire.

Settlement of Slavic tribes

The ancestors of the Eastern Slavs were the Veneti - a union of tribes of ancient Europeans who lived in Central Europe in the 1st millennium. Later the Veneti settled along the coast of the Vistula River and Baltic Sea to the North of the Carpathian Mountains. Culture, life and pagan rituals The Veneti were closely associated with the Pomeranian culture. Some of the Veneti who lived in more western areas were influenced by Germanic culture.

Slavic tribes and their settlement, table 1

In the III-IV centuries. The East European Slavs were united under the rule of the Goths as part of the Power of Germanaric, located in the Northern Black Sea region. At the same time, the Slavs were part of the tribes of the Khazars and Avars, but were in the minority there.

In the 5th century, the settlement of East Slavic tribes began from the territories of the Carpathian region, the mouth of the Dniester and the banks of the Dnieper. The Slavs actively migrated in various directions. In the East, the Slavs stopped along the Volga and Oka rivers. The Slavs who migrated and settled in the East began to be called Ants. The Antes' neighbors were the Byzantines, who suffered the raids of the Slavs and described them as "high, strong people with beautiful faces." At the same time, the southern Slavs, who were called Sklavins, gradually assimilated with the Byzantines and adopted their culture.

Western Slavs in the 5th century. were settled along the coast of the Odra and Elbe rivers, and constantly launched raids into more western territories. A little later, these tribes split into many separate groups: Poles, Czechs, Moravians, Serbs, Luticians. The Slavs of the Baltic group also separated

Slavic tribes and their settlement on the map

Designation:
green - Eastern Slavs
light green - Western Slavs
dark green - southern Slavs

The main East Slavic tribes and their places of settlement

in the VII-VIII centuries. Stable East Slavic tribes were formed, whose settlement occurred as follows: Polyans - lived along the Dnieper River. To the north, along the Desna River lived the northerners, and in the northwestern territories lived the Drevlyans. The Dregovichi settled between the Pripyat and Dvina rivers. Polotsk residents lived along the Polota River. Along the Volga, Dnieper and Dvina rivers there are Krivichi.

Numerous Buzhans or Dulebs were settled on the banks of the Southern and Western Bug, some of whom migrated towards the west and assimilated with the Western Slavs.

The places of settlement of the Slavic tribes influenced their customs, language, laws and methods of farming. The main occupations were growing wheat, millet, barley, some tribes grew oats and rye. They raised cattle and small poultry.

The settlement map of the ancient Slavs displays the boundaries and areas characteristic of each tribe.

East Slavic tribes on the map

The map shows that the East Slavic tribes are concentrated in Eastern Europe and in the territory of modern Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. During the same period, a group of Slavic tribes began to move towards the Caucasus, therefore in the 7th century. Some of the tribes find themselves on the lands of the Khazar Kaganate.

More than 120 East Slavic tribes lived on the lands from the Bug to Novgorod. The largest of them:

Vyatichi - east Slavic tribe, who lived at the mouths of the Oka and Moscow rivers. The Vyatichi migrated to these areas from the Dnieper coast. This tribe lived separately for a long time and retained pagan beliefs, actively resisting joining the Kyiv princes. The Vyatichi tribes were subject to raids by the Khazar Khaganate and paid them tribute. Later the Vyatichi were still annexed to Kievan Rus, but have not lost their originality.
The Krivichi are the northern neighbors of the Vyatichi, living on the territory of modern Belarus and the Western regions of Russia. The tribe was formed as a result of the merger of the Balts and Finno-Ugric tribes that came from the north. Most elements of Krivichi culture contain Baltic motifs.
Radimichi are tribes that lived in the territory of modern Gomel and Mogidev regions. Radimichi are the ancestors of modern Belarusians. Their culture and customs were influenced by Polish tribes and eastern neighbors.

These three Slavic groups subsequently united and formed the Great Russians. It must be understood that the ancient Russian tribes and the places of their settlement did not have clear boundaries, because Wars were fought between the tribes for lands and alliances were concluded, as a result the tribes migrated and changed, adopting each other’s culture.

In the 8th century the eastern tribes of the Slavs from the Danube to the Baltic already had a single culture and language. Thanks to this, it became possible to create a trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and became the root cause of the formation of the Russian state.

The main East Slavic tribes and their places of settlement, table 2

Krivichi	The upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper, and Western Dvina rivers
Vyatichi	Along the Oka River
Ilmenskie Slovenes	Around Lake Ilmen and along the Volkhov River
Radimichi	Along the Sozh River
Drevlyans	Along the Pripyat River
Dregovichi	Between the Pripyat and Berezina rivers
Glade	By west bank Dnieper River
Ulichi and Tivertsy	Southwestern East European Plain
Northerners	Along the middle reaches of the Dnieper River and the Desna River

Western Slavic tribes

West Slavic tribes lived in the territory of modern Central Europe. They are usually divided into four groups:

Polish tribes (Poland, Western Belarus);
Czech tribes (part of the territory of modern Czech Republic);
Polabian tribes (lands from the Elbe River to the Odra and from the Ore Mountains to the Baltic). The “Polabian union of tribes” included: Bodrichi, Ruyans, Drevyans, Lusatian Serbs and more than 10 other tribes. In the VI century. most of the tribes were captured and enslaved by the young Germanic feudal states.
Pomeranians who lived in Pomerania. Beginning in the 1190s, the Pomeranians were attacked by the Germans and Danes and almost completely lost their culture and assimilated with the invaders.

Southern Slavic tribes

The South Slavic ethnic group included: Bulgarian, Dalmatian and Greek Macedonian tribes settled in the northern part of Byzantium. They were captured by the Byzantines and adopted their customs, beliefs and culture.

Neighbors of the ancient Slavs

In the west, the neighbors of the ancient Slavs were tribes of Celts and Germans. In the east are the Balts and Finno-Ugric tribes, as well as the ancestors of modern Iranians - the Scythians and Sarmatians. Gradually they were supplanted by the Bulgar and Khazars tribes. In the south, Slavic tribes lived side by side with the Romans and Greeks, as well as the ancient Macedonians and Illyrians.

The Slavic tribes became a real disaster for the Byzantine Empire and for the Germanic peoples, carrying out constant raids and seizing fertile lands.

In the VI century. Hordes of Turks appeared in the territory inhabited by the Eastern Slavs, who entered into a fight with the Slavs for lands in the Dniester and Danube region. Many Slavic tribes went over to the side of the Turks, whose goal was to seize the Byzantine Empire.
During the war, the Western Slavs were completely enslaved by the Byzantines, the southern Slavs, the Sklavins, defended their independence, and the East Slavic tribes were captured by the Turkic horde.

East Slavic tribes and their neighbors (map)

There are several versions of the origin of the Slavs. During great amount tribes of central and of Eastern Europe headed west. Various hypotheses they say that the Slavs descended from the Antes, Wends and Sklavens in the 5th-6th centuries. Over time this large mass divided into three groups: western, southern and eastern. Representatives of the latter settled in the territory modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

East Slavs were not one people. This was impossible due to differences in climate and living conditions. There were 15 tribal unions. Despite their relative kinship and close proximity, their relations were not always friendly.

For ease of classification, researchers often group the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. The table will help you understand the numerous names of these prototype states. In the IX-X centuries. they all united into Rus' under the leadership

Northern tribal unions

In the very north of this ecumene lived the Slovenians. The definition of “Ilmen” has also been established in historiography, based on the name of the lake around which they settled. Later, the large city of Novgorod will appear here, becoming, along with Kiev, one of the two political centers of Rus'. This tribal union of the Eastern Slavs was one of the most developed thanks to trade with neighboring peoples and countries on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Their frequent conflicts with the Varangians (Vikings) are known, which is why Prince Rurik was invited to reign.

To the south, another tribal union of Eastern Slavs settled - the Krivichi. They settled in the upper reaches of several large rivers: the Dnieper and the Volga. Their main cities were Smolensk and Izborsk. Polotsk residents lived in Polotsk and Vitebsk.

Central tribal unions

The Vyatichi lived on the largest tributary of the Volga - the Oka. It was the easternmost tribal union of the Eastern Slavs. Archaeological monuments of the Romeno-Borshchev culture remained from the Vyatichi. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and trade with the Volga Bulgars.

To the west of the Vyatichi and south of the Krivichi lived the Radimichi. They owned land between the Desna and Dnieper rivers in modern Belarus. There are almost no written sources left from this tribe - only mentions of more developed neighbors.

The Dregovichi lived even further west than the Radimichi. To the north of them began the possessions of the wild people of Lithuania, with whom the Slavs had constant conflicts. But even this relationship had a great influence on the Dregovichi, who adopted many Baltic habits. Even their language changed and borrowed new words from their northern neighbors.

Western tribal alliances

In the far west lived Volhynians and White Croats. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus even mentioned them (in his book “On the Administration of the Empire”). He believed that it was this tribal union of the Eastern Slavs that was the ancestor of the Balkan Croats who lived on the borders of his state.

The Volynians are also known as the Buzhans, who got their name from the river. They were mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years.

Southern tribal alliances

The Black Sea steppes became home to the Streets and Tiverts. These tribal unions ended up on the southern borders. They lived in the steppe and constantly fought with local nomads of Turkic origin - the Pechenegs and Cumans. The Slavs failed to win in this confrontation, and in the second half of the 10th century they finally left the Black Sea region, settling in the lands of the Volynians and mixing with them.

Northerners lived in the southeast of the Slavic ecumene. They differed from the rest of their fellow tribesmen by their narrow face shape. They were greatly influenced by their steppe nomadic neighbors, with whom the northerners mutually assimilated. Until 882, these tribes were tributaries of the Khazars, until Oleg annexed them to his power.

Drevlyans

The Drevlyans settled in the forests between the Dnieper and Pripyat. Their capital was Iskorosten (now a settlement remains from it). The Drevlyans had a developed system of relationships within the tribe. In essence, this was an early form of a state with its own prince.

For some time, the Drevlyans argued with their Polyan neighbors for supremacy in the region, and the latter even paid them tribute. However, after Oleg united Novgorod and Kyiv, he subjugated Iskorosten. His successor, Prince Igor, died at the hands of the Drevlyans after demanding excess tribute from them. His wife Olga brutally took revenge on the rebels, setting fire to Iskorosten, which was never restored.

The names of tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs often have analogues in different sources. For example, the Drevlyans are also described as a Duleb tribal union, or Dulebs. What remained of them was the Zimnov settlement, which was destroyed by aggressive Avars in the 7th century.

Glade

The middle reaches of the Dnieper were chosen by glades. It was the strongest and most influential tribal union. Excellent natural conditions and fertile soil allowed them not only to feed themselves, but also to successfully trade with their neighbors - equip flotillas, etc. It was through their territory that the path “From the Varangians to the Greeks” passed, which gave them great profits.

The center of the clearings became Kyiv, located on the high bank of the Dnieper. Its walls served reliable protection from enemies. Who were the neighbors of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs in these parts? Khazars, Pechenegs and other nomads who wanted to impose tribute on the settled people. In 882, Novgorod captured Kyiv and created a unified East Slavic state, moving its capital here.

The habitat of the East Slavic union of the Vyatichi tribes was the basin of the Oka - upper and middle and the coast of the Moscow River.
The Vyatichi settled, leaving the territory of the Dnieper left bank or the upper reaches of the Dniester. The Vyatichi substratum was represented by the local Baltic population. The Vyatichi managed to preserve pagan beliefs longer than other Slavic tribes, resisting the influence Kyiv princes. A business card The Vyatichi tribe became disobedient and belligerent.

Map of the settlement of Slavic tribes

The Krivichi were a tribal union of the Slavs of the East that existed in the 6th-11th centuries. Their place of residence was the territory of modern regions, such as Vitebsk, Mogilev, Pskov, Bryansk and Smolensk. This list also includes eastern Latvia. The basis for the formation of the Tushemlinskaya culture was the past of Slavic and Baltic society. The ethnogenesis of the Krivichi took place with the participation of the remnants of the Finno-Ugric and local Baltic - Estonians, Livs, Latgalians - tribes, mixed with the large newcomer Slavic population. Krivichi are divided into two huge groups: the Pskov and Polotsk-Smolensk groups.
In Slovenia, the Ilmen are considered a tribal union organized by the Eastern Slavs in some of the region of Novgorod territory, including the territory near Lake Ilmen, adjacent to the Krivichi. As the Tale of Bygone Years says, together with the Krivichi, the Ilmen Slovenians took part in the calling of the Varangians, related to the Slovenes, who were considered refugees from the Baltic Pomerania. According to a number of historians, the ancestral home of the Slovenians was the Dnieper region, others derive the ancestors of the Ilmen Slovenes from the Baltic Pomerania, since according to legends, faith and traditions, the type of housing, the Novgorodians and the Polabian Slavs are very close. Subsequently, the Vyatichi, Krivichi and Ilmen Slovenians were formed into the Great Russians.

Territories of settlement of Slavic tribes.

The Dulebs act as a tribal union of the Slavs of the East. They inhabited the area of the river basin called the Bug, as well as the right tributaries of the Pripyat. The association of Dulebs fell apart with the onset of the tenth century, and their regions were part of Kievan Rus.
The East Slavic union of the Volyn tribes lived in the territory, the location of which was the two coasts of the Western Bug and the source of the river. Pripyat. The Volynians were first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 907. The 10th century became the period of formation of the Vladimir-Volyn principality on the lands of the Volynians.
The Drevlyans represent the East Slavic tribal union, which they were occupied with in the 6th-10th centuries. zones of Polesie, Right Bank Dnieper, places along the Teterev River, Uzh. They acquired their name according to their place of residence - they lived in the forests.

residence - they lived in the forests.
Tribal union of Dregovichi. The exact boundaries of the habitat of the Eastern Slavs belonging to this union have not been established. But according to some researchers, in the 6th-9th centuries the Dregovichi occupied the territory in the part located in the middle of the Pripyat River basin; later the southern border of settlement passed south of Pripyat, and the western border - in the upper reaches of the Neman. When Belarus was settled, the Dregovichi moved north to the same Neman River, and this indicates the southern origin of the Dregovichi tribal union.
The Slavic tribe of Polochans is considered a component of the tribal union of Krivichi living on the coast of the Dvina River and tributaries of the Polot. Hence the name of the tribe. The center of Polotsk land is the city of Polotsk.
The habitat of the Polans, the tribal union of the Slavs of the East, became the Dnieper, approximately the area of modern Kyiv. The origin of the glades remains unclear, since the location of their territory of residence became the border between several cultures in the area of arechaeology.
Radimichi acts as a union of the tribes of the Slavs of the East, who lived in the east of the Upper Dnieper region, along the Sozh River in the 9th century. The lands of the Radimichi became the site of routes along the rivers connecting them with Kiev. The Radimichi and Vyatichi carried out burials in a similar way - the ashes were hidden in a log house. According to archaeologists and linguists, the material culture of the Radimichi was created with the participation of the Balt tribes who lived in the upper reaches of the Dnieper.

The East Slavic union of northern tribes lived around the 10th century on the coast of the Desna, Seim, and Sula rivers. The name northerners comes from the Scythian-Sarmatian direction, and is traced back to the word “black”, which is confirmed by the name of the city of northerners - Chernigov. The northerners were mainly engaged in agriculture.
Tivertsy represent an East Slavic tribe that was settled in the 9th century in the area between the Dniester, Prut, and Danube rivers, off the Budzhak coast on the Black Sea.

Ulichi act as an East Slavic tribal union that existed around the 10th century. The place where the streets lived became the territory located in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Bug, and on the coast of the Black Sea. The role of the center of the tribal union was performed by the city of Peresechen. The streets for a long time managed to successfully resist the actions of the princes who wanted to subordinate the union of the tribe to their power.

The Slavic state traces its history back to 9th century AD. But East Slavic tribes and their neighbors settled the East European Plain even earlier. How the formation of such a group as the Eastern Slavs took place, why the separation of the Slavic peoples occurred - the answers to these questions will be found in the article.

In contact with

Population of the East European Plain before the arrival of the Slavs

But even before the Slavic tribes, people settled in this territory. In the south, near the Black Sea (Euxine Pontus) in the 1st millennium BC, Greek colonies(Olbia, Korsun, Panticapaeum, Phanagoria, Tanais).

Later the Romans and Greeks would turn these territories into powerful state of Byzantium. In the steppes, next to the Greeks, lived the Scythians and Sarmatians, Alans and Roxolans (ancestors of modern Ossetians).

Here, in the 1st–3rd centuries AD, the Goths (a Germanic tribe) tried to establish themselves.

In the 4th century AD, the Huns came to this territory, who, in their movement to the West, carried with them part of the Slavic population.

And in VI - the Avars, who formed the Avar Kaganate in the southern Russian lands and who in 7th century destroyed by the Byzantines.

The Avars were replaced by the Ugrians and Khazars, who founded a powerful state in the lower reaches of the Volga - Khazar Khaganate.

Geography of settlement of Slavic tribes

Eastern Slavs (as well as Western and Southern) gradually settled the entire East European Plain, focusing in its movement on river highways (the map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs clearly shows this):

the glades lived on the Dnieper;
northerners on the Desna;
Drevlyans and Dregovichi on the Pripyat River;
Krivichi on the Volga and Dvina;
Radimichi on the Sozha River;
Vyatichi on the Oka and Don;
Slovenian Ilmenskie in the waters of the river. Volokhov, lake Ilmen and lake White;
Polotsk on the river Lovat;
Dregovichi on the river Sozh;
Tivertsy and Ulich on the Dniester and Prut;
streets on the Southern Bug and Dniester;
Volynians, Buzhans and Dulebs on the Western Bug.

One of the reasons for the settlement of the Eastern Slavs and their settlement in this territory was the presence here water transport arteries– Nevsko-Dnieper and Sheksno-Oksko-Volzhskaya. The presence of these same water transport arteries led to what happened partial separation of Slavic tribes from each other.

Important! The ancestors of the Slavs and some other peoples, their immediate neighbors, were most likely Indo-Europeans who came here from Asia.

Another ancestral home of the Slavs is considered Carpathian mountains(territory located to the east of the Germanic tribes: from the Oder River to the Carpathian Mountains), where they were also known under the name of the Wends and Sklavins during the time of the Goths and Huns(there are mentions of these tribes in the works of Roman historians: Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Ptolemy Claudius). The Proto-Slavic language, according to historians, began to take shape in the middle of the 1st century BC.

East Slavic tribes on the map.

Eastern Slavs and their neighbors

The Slavic tribes had many neighbors who had a strong influence on their culture and life. A feature of political geography was lack of strong states(neighbors of the Eastern Slavs) from the north, northeast and northwest and their presence in the east, southeast, northeast and west.

In the northwest, north and northeast

In the north, northeast and northwest, next to the Slavs lived Finno-Ugric, Baltic-Finnish and Lithuanian tribes:

chud;
sum;
Karela;
measuring;
Mari (Cheremis);
Lithuania;
Do you;
Samogitians;
zhmud.

Places of settlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes: they occupied the territory along Peipus, Ladoga, Onega lakes, the rivers Svir and Neva, Western Dvina and Neman in the north and north-west, along the rivers Onega, Sukhona, Volga and Vyatka in the north and north-east.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the north had a strong influence on such tribes as the Dregovichi, Polochans, Ilmen Slovenians and Krivichi.

They influenced the formation of everyday life, economic practices, and religion (the Lithuanian god of thunder Perkun entered the pantheon Slavic gods under the name of Perun) and the language of these Slavs.

Gradually their territory was occupied Slavs, settled further to the west.

Scandinavians also lived nearby: Varangians, Vikings or Normans who actively used the Baltic Sea and future path“from the Varangians to the Greeks” (some for trade, and some for military campaigns in the territory of the Slavs).

Historians know that the strongholds of the Varangians on the lake. Ilmen was the island of Rügen, and Novgorod and Staraya Ladoga (large cities of the Ilmen Slovenians) had close trade ties with Uppsala and Hedyby. This led to cultural and economic rapprochement Slavs with the Baltic countries.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the east and southeast

In the east and southeast, the Eastern Slavs neighbored Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes:

Bulgars (Turkic tribe, part of which came to the territory of the Middle Volga region in the 8th century and founded the powerful state of Volga Bulgaria, “splinter” Great Bulgaria, the state that occupied the territory Northern Black Sea region and Danube region);
Murom, Meshchera, Mordovians (Finnish-Ugric tribes that closely neighbored the Slavs along the Oka, Volga, and partially Don rivers; the Krivichi fort post, the city of Murom, was partially inhabited by representatives Finno-Ugric tribes);
Burtases (possibly an Alan, and possibly a Turkic or Finno-Ugric tribe, scientists have not fully figured out their ethnolinguistic affiliation);
Khazars (Turkic tribe that settled along the rivers Volga, Don, Northern Donets, Kuban, Dnieper, and controlled the Azov and Caspian territories; the Khazars founded the state of the Khazar Kaganate, the capital of Itil; it is known that Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate in the 8th – early 9th centuries);
Adyge (Kasogi);
Alans (Yas).

Important! It is worth mentioning the Turkic Khaganate (a neighbor of the Slavic tribes from the east), which existed somewhere in Altai in the 7th-8th centuries. After its collapse, waves of nomads “rolled out” from the Great Steppe to the South Slavic borders. First the Pechenegs, later the Polovtsians.

The Mordovians, Bulgars and Khazars had a strong influence on such Slavic tribes as the Krivichi, Vyatichi, Northerners, Polyans, and Ulichs. The relations of the Slavs with the steppe (which they called the Great) were very strong, although not always peaceful. The Slavic tribes did not always favor these neighbors, periodically fighting on the Azov Sea and Caspian lands.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs - diagram.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the south

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the south - two strong states-, which extended its influence to the entire Black Sea region, and the Bulgarian kingdom (lasted until 1048, extended its influence to the Danube region). The Slavs often visited such major cities these states, such as Surozh, Korsun, Constantinople (Constantinople), Dorostol, Preslav (the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom).

What tribes neighbored Byzantium? Byzantine historians, such as Procopius of Caesarea, were the first to describe in detail the life and customs of the Slavs, whom they called differently: Ants, Slavs, Rus, Wends, Sklavins. They also mentioned about the emerging in Slavic territories large tribal alliances, such as the Anta tribal union, Slavia, Kuyavia, Artania. But, most likely, the Greeks knew the Polyans who lived along the Dnieper better than all other Slavic tribes.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the southwest and west

In the southwest with the Slavs (Tivertsi and White Croats) lived next to the Vlachs(a little later, in 1000, it appeared here kingdom of hungary). From the west, the Volynians, Drevlyans and Dregovichi neighbored the Prussians, Jatwigs (a Baltic tribal group) and Poles (a little later, from 1025, the Kingdom of Poland was formed), who settled along the Neman, Western Bug and Vistula rivers.

What is known about the Slavic tribes

It is known that the Slavs lived in large families, gradually transformed into tribes and a union of tribes.

The largest tribal unions were Polyansky, Drevlyansky, Slovyanoilmensky, with centers in Iskorosten, Novgorod and Kyiv.

In the 4th–5th centuries, the Slavs began to develop military democracy system, which led to social stratification and the formation feudal relations.

It was from this period that the first mentions of political history Slavs: Hermanaric (Germanic leader) was defeated by the Slavs, and his successor, Vinitar, destroyed more than 70 Slavic elders who tried to come to an agreement with the Germans (there is a mention of this in “”).

Toponym "Rus"

It is also necessary to talk about the history of the toponym “Rus” and “Russians”. There are several versions of the origin of this toponym.

The word happened from the name of the river Ros, which is a tributary of the Dnieper. The Greeks called the Polyanian tribes Ros.
The word comes from the term “Rusyns”, which means fair-haired people.
The Slavs called it "Russia" Varangian tribes who came to the Slavs to trade, rob, or as military mercenaries.
Perhaps there was a Slavic tribe "Rus" or "Ros" (more likely it was one of the Polyan tribes), and later this toponym spread to all Slavs.

Eastern Slavs and their neighbors

Eastern Slavs in ancient times

Conclusion

East Slavic tribes and their neighbors were farmers. IN large quantities They grew grain and other industrial crops (for example, flax). They were also actively involved in beekeeping (honey collection) and hunting. Actively traded with neighbors. Grain, honey and furs were exported.

Slavs were pagans and had a fairly extensive pantheon of gods, the main of which were Svarog, Rod, Rozhenitsy, Yarilo, Dazhdbog, Lada, Makosh, Veles and others. Slavic clans worshiped the Shchuras(or ancestors), and also believed in brownies, mermaids, goblin, and merman.