Names of the Russian state. History of the name of Russia

What was meant by “state”?

The acquisition of an official name by a state usually occurs much later than the appearance of this state itself. It was quite enough that the country simply had a historically established generally recognized name. Even the very concept of “state” is later. In Europe, the formation of the modern idea of the state as political machine(English) State, French Etat) occurs only in the 17th century - accordingly, it was then that this word began to be used with this meaning. Previously, the state was not separated from the person of the ruler. In Rus', the word “state” appeared in the 15th century (originally in the form “state”) and meant supreme power monarch. It is no coincidence that the Greek Metropolitan Photius was the first to use it in 1431, who meant by it such a Byzantine concept as Αυτοκρατορία (autocracy, autocracy, sovereignty).

Under Ivan the Terrible, the “state” began to mean the entire state territory with certain boundaries, and to denote the supreme power, along with “state”, the words “kingdom” (“kingdom”) and “power” are used. And during the Time of Troubles, the “state” is also called “the whole earth” - subjects of the sovereign. So, already at the beginning of the 17th century in Russia, “state” had three meanings: power, territory, subjects (the whole country). If in the West these concepts were ultimately separated and received their own separate designations (as, for example, in German: Macht, Reich, Staat), then in Russia this did not happen. Even now in the Russian language, according to Ozhegov’s dictionary, two main meanings of the word “state” are preserved: politic system countries and the whole country as such. This is reflected even in the modern Constitution, the preamble of which speaks of the “historically established state unity” of Russia. This, of course, is not about the unity of the political system, but about the unity of the country.

What was the name of the state?

Since initially the “state” primarily implied the sovereignty of the monarch, the most important state attribute was royal title. There was an error in its writing state crime, belittlement is a reason for war. The title contained an indication of both the actual state territory and that which the ruler sought to possess. Occasional use of the title "all Rus'"has been known since the 11th century, but its final consolidation occurred only in the 14th century with the Moscow Grand Dukes (starting with Ivan Kalita).

However, the Moscow princes who accepted the title of “all Rus'”, of course, did not actually own all of Russia. Therefore, in relation to the territory over which their power actually extended, such unofficial names were usually used as “Moscow land”, “Moscow lands”, later also “Novgorod land”, “Tver land”, “Novgorod state”, “Vladimir state”, “Kazan state”, “Kazan kingdom”, “Astrakhan kingdom”, “all states of the Russian kingdom”, “Moscow state and all cities of the Russian kingdom”, “our great Russian states”, etc. Ivan the Terrible in his messages used the concepts of “Moscow State”, “Russian Kingdom”, “Russian Kingdom and many other kingdoms and states”. Thus, the royal title and the ordinary name of the state were related to each other, but did not coincide.

With the beginning of the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667, the formula “of all Great, Little and White Russia” appeared in the title of the Russian Tsar. From that time on, the name “Moscow State” was no longer used. Later, under Peter I, along with the usual name “Russian Kingdom”, the names “great Russian state” or simply “Russia” were also used.

"State" and "Empire"

In 1721, Peter accepted the new title of “Father of the Fatherland, All-Russian, Great Emperor.” The name “All-Russian” was derived from the former title “all ... Russia”. However, no “renaming” of the state itself (into the Russian Empire) followed after this. As before, its usual name was “Russian State”. In Peter’s legislation, the name “Russian Empire” first appears only a year and a half later - in the instructions to the Kyiv customs lieutenant Zalessky dated March 10, 1723. Under Peter, the concept of “Russian Empire” was used in laws only a few times in March 1723 - January 1724, and in all the meanings in which the concept of “state” was previously used: as royal power, as state territory and as the entire country. Let us note one more fact: the empire was not called All-Russian, as would follow from title of emperor, A Russian, as it was called a country, Russian state. Thus, the use of the new word “empire” and the old word “state” was identical. Later, already in the “Order” of Catherine II (1767), the Russian word “state” translated all three concepts: la Monarchie (monarchy, sovereign power), l`Empire (empire, dominion), l`Etat (country, state build). This was fully consistent with the old Russian tradition.

Under Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), the legislation, along with the previous state names, mentioned “Russian States and Lands”, “Her Imperial Majesty’s Empire”, and the concept “derived from the imperial title” also appeared. All-Russian empire" (it was used until the beginning of the 19th century). Under Nicholas I (1825-1855) in the Complete Collection of Laws and the Code of Laws, the names “Russian Empire” and “Russian State” were used as identical names. In Basic state laws Since 1906, the names “Russian State”, “Russian Empire” and “Russia” were used.

Now what?

In 1917, the monarchy ceased to exist. However, the concepts of “Russian Empire” (“Russian State”), which as such were never legally proclaimed, were not officially abolished. Constituent Assembly in January 1918 “in the name of the peoples, Russian state components”, proclaimed it a “Russian Democratic Federative Republic”. However, even the introduction of a republican form of government in the “Russian state” did not abolish its existence as such, since in accordance with centuries-old tradition it was understood as not just the political system, but the whole country as a whole.

The Bolshevik Constitution of 1918 called only a republic, that is, a “state” political system of the country(“workers’ and peasants’ state”) - in the Western European sense. Since then, this political system has changed its official name quite often, depending on the political tastes of its leaders. But the country with the official name “USSR” remained Russia, no matter what experiments were carried out on its people. Since 1993, the republic (the country's political system) has been officially referred to as the "Russian Federation" and "Russia". However, the country as a whole, “while maintaining historically established state unity, ... honoring the memory of our ancestors who conveyed to us love and respect for the Fatherland" (Constitution Russian Federation. Preamble) along with the name “Russia” inherits its historical name "Russian State", as well as its identical "Russian empire"- no one has ever canceled them.

Traditionally, the date of the beginning of Russian statehood is considered to be 862, to which the Tale of Bygone Years refers to the calling of the Varangians-Rus (there are different versions about the origin of this people) to Novgorod the Great by tribal unions of the eastern Baltic and upper Volga region: the East Slavic Slovenes and Krivichi and the Finno-Ugric Chuds , measure and weigh. In 882, the Rurik dynasty captured Kyiv and also took possession of the lands of the Polyans, Drevlyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Ulichs and Tivertsi, which together made up the main territory Old Russian state.

Old Russian state

Also Rus', Russian land. IN Western Europe- “Russia” and Rusiya (Russia, Ruscia, Rusca, Rutigia). Since the 11th century, the name “prince of Russians” has been used. And in beginning of XII century (in papal charters) the name “Russia” appears. In Byzantium - Ρως, “Ros”, Title "Russia"(Greek Ρωσα) first used in the middle. 10th century by Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

During the period of maximum expansion of the borders, the Old Russian state also included the lands of the Dregovichi, Vyatichi, Volynians, White Croats, Yatvingians, Muroms, Meshcheras, possessions at the mouth of the Dnieper (Oleshye), on the lower Don (Sarkel) and on the banks of the Kerch Strait (Tmutarakan Principality) . Gradually, the tribal nobility was ousted by the Rurikovichs, who already at the beginning of the 11th century reigned throughout the territory of Rus'. During the 11th-12th centuries, tribal names gradually ceased to be mentioned (with the exception of tribal names in the territories of the eastern Baltic and the middle Volga basin dependent on the Russian princes). At the same time, starting from the end of the 10th century, each generation of Rurikovich carried out divisions of Rus' among themselves, but the consequences of the first two partitions (972 and 1015) were gradually overcome through a fierce struggle for power, as well as the suppression of individual lines of Rurikovich (1036). Section 1054, after which the so-called The “triumvirate of the Yaroslavichs,” despite the long-term concentration of power in the hands of the younger Yaroslavich Vsevolod (1078–1093), was never completely overcome. After a struggle for power after his death, complicated by the intervention of the Polovtsians, in 1097 at the Lyubech Congress of Princes the principle “everyone holds his fatherland” was established.

After the allied actions of the princes moved the fight against the Polovtsians from the southern Russian borders deep into the steppes, the new Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh and his eldest son Mstislav, after a series of internal wars, managed to achieve recognition of their power by part of the Russian princes, others were deprived of their possessions. At the same time, the Rurikovichs began to enter into intra-dynastic marriages.

Russian principalities

In the 1130s, the principalities began to gradually fall out of control Kyiv princes, although the prince who owned Kiev was still considered the eldest in Rus'. With the beginning of the fragmentation of Russian lands, the names “Rus” and “Russian Land” were in most cases applied to the Principality of Kyiv.

With the collapse of the Old Russian state, Volyn Principality, Principality of Galicia, Principality of Kiev itself, Principality of Murom-Ryazan, Novgorod Land, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Principality of Polotsk, Principality of Rostov-Suzdal, Principality of Turov-Pinsk, Principality of Chernigov. In each of them the process of formation of appanages began.

On March 12, 1169, the troops of ten Russian princes, acting on the initiative of Andrei Bogolyubsky, for the first time in the practice of inter-princely strife, plundered Kiev, after which Andrei gave Kiev to his younger brother without leaving Vladimir, thereby, in the words of V.O. Klyuchevsky, “torn off seniority from places." Andrei himself, and subsequently his younger brother Vsevolod the Big Nest (1176-1212), sought (temporary) recognition of their seniority by the majority of Russian princes.

By the beginning of the 13th century, unifying tendencies had also emerged. The Pereyaslavl principality became the property of the Vladimir princes, and the united Galician-Volyn principality arose under the rule of the senior branch of the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh. In 1201, Roman Mstislavich Galitsky, being invited by the Kyiv boyars to reign, also gave the city to the younger cousin. In the chronicle of 1205, Roman is called “the autocrat of all Rus'.” TO XIII century In addition to those of Kyiv, Ryazan, Vladimir, Galician and Chernigov also began to be titled as grand dukes.

After Mongol invasion The institution of “sacraments in the Russian land” disappeared, when the Kyiv lands were considered as the common property of the Rurik family, and the name “Rus” was assigned to all East Slavic lands.

The strengthening of the positions of the Vladimir Grand Dukes after the Mongol invasion was facilitated by the fact that they did not participate in the large-scale South Russian civil strife before it, which the principality did not have until the turn of the XIV-XV centuries common borders with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was expanding into Russian lands, and also that the Grand Dukes of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, and then his son Alexander Nevsky were recognized in the Golden Horde as the oldest in Rus'. In fact, all the great princes were directly subordinate to the khans at first Mongol Empire, and from 1266 - the Golden Horde, independently collected tribute in their possessions and forwarded it to the khan. From the middle of the 13th century, the title of Grand Dukes of Chernigov was almost constantly held by the Bryansk princes. Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy (1305-1318) was the first of the great princes of Vladimir to be called “Prince of All Rus'”.

Since 1254, the Galician princes bore the title of “kings of Rus'”. In the 1320s, the Galician-Volyn principality entered a period of decline (which some researchers associate with the new onslaught of the Golden Horde) and in 1392 ceased to exist, its lands were divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (full name - Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, Zhemoitsk and others) and the Kingdom of Poland. A little earlier, the main part of the southern Russian lands was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Bryansk 1356, Kyiv 1362).

In the 14th century, the great principalities of Tver and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod were also formed in the northeast of Rus', and the Smolensk princes also began to be called great. Since 1363, the label for the great reign of Vladimir, which meant seniority within North-Eastern Rus' and Novgorod, was issued only to Moscow princes, who from that time began to be titled great. In 1383, Khan Tokhtamysh recognized the Grand Duchy of Vladimir as the hereditary possession of the Moscow princes, while simultaneously authorizing the independence of the Grand Duchy of Tver. The Grand Duchy of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod was annexed to Moscow in 1392. In 1405, Lithuania captured Smolensk. Finally, all Russian lands were divided between the great principalities of Moscow and Lithuania by the end of the 15th century.

Russian state

Since the 15th century, the terms “Russia” and “Russian” appear in Russian sources and spread more and more until they are finally established in the Russian language. The period from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 18th century in modern Russian historiography is designated as the “Russian state”.

Grand Duchy of Moscow

In 1478, the Novgorod land was annexed to Moscow, and in 1480 the Mongol-Tatar yoke was thrown off. In 1487, after a successful campaign against the Kazan Khanate, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III proclaimed himself “Prince of Bulgaria,” which was one of the reasons for the beginning of the transition of appanage princes from the eastern outskirts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Moscow service along with the lands. As a result of five Russian-Lithuanian wars, Lithuania lost the Verkhovsky principalities, Smolensk and Bryansk. Other important territorial acquisitions were the Tver (1485) and Ryazan great principalities (1521). In addition to independence from the Golden Horde and territorial integrity, the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the last period of its existence as a grand duchy was also distinguished by a general set of laws (Code of 1497), the liquidation of appanages and the introduction of a local system.

Russian kingdom

From January 16, 1547, after Grand Duke Ivan IV Vasilyevich assumed the title of Tsar. Also Rus, Russia, Russia, Russian Tsardom, Russian Tsardom, Muscovite Tsardom. In the middle of the 16th century, the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates were annexed, which further substantiated the royal title of the Moscow monarch.

In 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania accepted the Union of Lublin with Poland, which united the two states into a confederation, while transferring the southern Russian lands to Poland and generally returning to the borders of the mid-13th century.

In 1613, the Metropolitan’s title used the term “Rusia”, and Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich’s title used “Russia”. “Muscovy” is the name of the Russian state in foreign sources of the 16th–17th centuries. The term “Russia” was finally consolidated by Peter the Great (1689-1725). On the coins of Peter I, before accepting the title of emperor, it was written “Tsar Peter Alekseevich, Ruler of All Russia” and “Moscow ruble” on the back. (“The Lord of All Russia” was abbreviated as “V.R.P.”, but sometimes it was written in full). On May 19, 1712, the capital was moved to St. Petersburg.

Russian empire

After Tsar Peter Alekseevich accepted the title of emperor.

August 18 (31), 1914 In connection with the war with Germany, the name of the capital was changed from German to Russian - Petrograd.

Russian Republic

After a special legal meeting. In fact - after the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich, brother of Nicholas II from March 3, 1917

Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic- this name was first mentioned on January 21 (February 3), 1918 in the Decree on the cancellation of state loans, the decree was signed by the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee Ya. Sverdlov. This name of the state was introduced after the transformation of the Russian Republic into a “federation of Soviet national republics” at the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets on January 10-18 (23-31), 1918 in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd.

Before the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the name was used Russian Republic.

Proclamation of the Federation:

January 3 (16), 1918 - the text of the Declaration was written.
January 5 (18), 1918 - announced by Sverdlov at the All-Russian constituent assembly(dissolved January 6 (19)).
January 12 (25), 1918 - the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies adopted the Declaration.
January 18 (31), 1918 - at the united III Congress of Soviets (after the merger of the III Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies with the III Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies) in the re-adopted Declaration.
January 28 (15), 1918 - in the Resolution of the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets “On federal institutions Russian Republic".
On March 6 - 8, 1918, at the VII Congress of the RCP (b), the decision was once again made to transform the country into a federation.
July 10, 1918 - in the Constitution at a meeting of the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

Variability of the name of the Republic In the period between the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the adoption of the first Constitution (at the V Congress), in which the name of the state was finally fixed, variants of the still unsettled name of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic were found in documents:

The words were swapped:

Russian Federative Socialist Soviet Republic,
Russian Socialist Soviet Federative Republic,
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic;

Incomplete name with different word order (4 words):

Russian Federative Soviet Republic,
Russian Soviet Federative Republic,
Russian Socialist Federative Republic,
Russian Socialist Soviet Republic,
Russian Soviet Socialist Republic;

Incomplete name with different word order (3 words):

Russian Soviet Republic,
Soviet Russian Republic
Russian Federative Republic
Russian Federation of Soviets

Other names:

Russian Republic,
Soviet Republic,
Republic of Soviets.

Note: the new government did not immediately spread to the territory of the former Russian Empire(republics).

Note: Already, being part of the USSR, on December 5, 1936, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic was renamed into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, i.e. two words have been swapped.

In everyday life and semi-officially, the abbreviated form was often used for the RSFSR - Russian Federation, but this name was not officially enshrined in the constitution until 1992 (it is worth noting that since 1990 this name was supposed to be approved as the official name of the country)

Formed by the unification of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Trans-SFSR.

On December 5, 1936 (according to the new constitution), in the name of the RSFSR, the order of the words “socialist” and “Soviet” was brought into line with the order of these words in the name of the USSR.

Russian Federation

Russian Federation— On December 25, 1991, by law No. 2094-I, the state of the RSFSR was renamed the Russian Federation ( modern name, enshrined in the constitution along with the name Russia). On April 21, 1992, appropriate amendments were made to the then-current Constitution (Basic Law) of the RSFSR of 1978.

Also, before the adoption of the new constitution in 1993, a new coat of arms was in development. De facto, on the territory of the Russian Federation in the first half of the 1990s, forms and seals of institutions with the old coat of arms and the name of the state of the RSFSR were still used, although they were supposed to be replaced during 1992.

Use of the name "Russian Federation" before the collapse of the USSR

1918 - in paragraph e) of Article 49 of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918 (as a variant of the name).
1966 - in the title of the book “Chistyakov O.I., Formation of the Russian Federation (1917-1922), M., 1966.”
1978 - in the preamble to the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978.

IN modern Russia Some documents are still in force in which the old name “RSFSR” remains:

Law of the RSFSR of December 15, 1978 (as amended on June 25, 2002) “On the protection and use of historical and cultural monuments”
Law of the RSFSR of 07/08/1981 (as amended on 05/07/2009) “On the judicial system of the RSFSR”
Declaration of the SND of the RSFSR dated 06/12/1990 N 22-1 “On the state sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”
Law of the RSFSR dated October 24, 1990 N 263-1 “On the effect of acts of bodies USSR on the territory of the RSFSR"
Law of the RSFSR of October 31, 1990 N 293-1 “On ensuring the economic basis of the sovereignty of the RSFSR”
Law of the RSFSR dated March 22, 1991 N 948-1 (as amended on July 26, 2006) “On competition and restrictions on monopolistic activities in commodity markets”
Law of the RSFSR dated April 26, 1991 N 1107-1 (as amended on July 1, 1993) “On the rehabilitation of repressed peoples”
Law of the RSFSR dated June 26, 1991 N 1488-1 (as amended on December 30, 2008) “On investment activities in the RSFSR”
Law of the RSFSR dated June 26, 1991 N 1490-1 (as amended on February 2, 2006) “On priority provision of agricultural industrial complex material and technical resources"
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 15, 1991 N 211 (as amended on June 26, 1992) “On increasing wages employees of budgetary organizations and institutions"
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 21, 1991 N 228 “On the organization of the Russian Academy of Sciences”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 25, 1991 N 232 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the commercialization of the activities of trading enterprises in the RSFSR”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated November 28, 1991 N 240 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the commercialization of the activities of public service enterprises in the RSFSR”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 255 “On priority measures to organize the work of industry in the RSFSR”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 256 “On measures to stabilize the work of the industrial complex of the RSFSR in the conditions of economic reform”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 3, 1991 N 297 (as amended on February 28, 1995) “On measures to liberalize prices”
Decree of the President of the RSFSR dated December 12, 1991 N 269 (as amended on October 21, 2002) “On the single economic space of the RSFSR”
Law of the RSFSR dated December 25, 1991 N 2094-1 “On changing the name of the state of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic”
Decree of the Government of the RSFSR dated December 24, 1991 N 62 (as amended on November 13, 2010) “On approval of lists federal roads in the RSFSR"

“Russia” is a relatively new name. Before this, our territory was entered into the historical annals and depicted on geographical maps under completely different names.

1.Hyperborea
Legendary country of ancient Greek mythology. Many scientists claim that the Hyperboreans lived in the Russian North many thousands of years ago. It is interesting that even on many medieval maps these lands were designated as Hyperborea. The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus described the Hyperboreans as the darlings of fate, or more precisely, the god Apollo, who often visited these lands and openly patronized Hyperborea. Diodorus wrote, not without envy: “Even death comes to the Hyperboreans as deliverance from the satiety of life, and they, having experienced all the pleasures, throw themselves into the sea.”

2. Sarmatia
The borders of this country extended from the Black Sea to the Urals. Some historians say that Sarmatia was settled by people from the mythological Hyperborea, who ousted the Scythians and began to rule their population. It is interesting that many clans (coats of arms) of the Polish gentry are believed to have originated precisely from the Sarmatians (so-called Sarmatism). By the way, Mikhailo Lomonosov, as opposed to the defenders Norman theory believed that the origins of Russian statehood should be sought precisely in the Sarmatian tradition

3.Tartaria
European cartographers designated the territory of our country with this innocuous name right up to the 19th century. Many domestic historians optimistically associated the name “Tartaria” with the Tatar people. But it is unlikely that Western European geographers of the Middle Ages would have shared such a positive attitude with them, since they associated the name “Tartaria” with Tartarus, the hell of ancient Greek mythology, where the god Kronos (aka Saturn) and other titans were cast down. We owe the localization of this disastrous place on Russian Earth to astrologers, according to whose calculations, this particular territory is controlled by the planet Saturn with all the ensuing consequences. It is curious that Nostradamus in his “Centuries” promised a happy ending to Tartarus, claiming that at the end of time the land of Saturn would experience almost a Golden Age.

4. Gardariki
This is what the Normans and other Vikings called the current territory of Russia. From Icelandic the word “gardariki” can be translated as “country of cities”. Considering the fact that the Normans, who had seen many countries and regions in their lifetime, only called Russia by their “city” name, we can judge high level civilization of our ancestors.

5.Greater Sweden
The famous Icelandic skald and political figure Snorri Sturlusson, who lived at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, called the European territory of the current Russian Federation Great Sweden (in Icelandic - Svitjod). That is, to some extent, we, citizens of Russia, are Swedes. Only big, or great. This is how the skald describes Mother Russia in the collection of sagas “The First Circle”: “To the north of the Black Sea stretches Svitod Bolshaya or Kholodnaya. Some believe that Great Svitjod is no less than Great Serkland (Country of the Saracens), some compare it with Great Bloland (Africa). The northern part of Svityod is not inhabited due to frost and cold weather. There are many large heradives (towns) in Svitjod. There's also a lot different nations and many languages. There are giants and dwarfs, there are blue people and many different amazing peoples..." Actually, not much has changed since the days of Snorri Sturlusson. Except that you rarely see blue people.

6.As-Slavia
This name was given to Rus' by the Arab geographers El-Farsi and Ibn-Haukal in the 10th century. The capital of As-Slavia was the city of Salau. Many historians identify As-Slavia with the Novgorod land, and Salau with legendary city Slovensk, which was located not far from present-day Veliky Novgorod. Interestingly, Arab historians also gave several names Russian territories: Artania and Kujava. There is still debate about the localization of Artania: some historians place it in the area of modern Ryazan. Kuyava is clearly connected with the land of Kyiv

7.Muscovy
Here, it seems, everything is clear: Russia was called Muscovy thanks to its capital. True, a number of sources claim that the name Muscovy comes from Mosoch (or Meshech), the grandson of Noah. They say that he was the founder of the “Muscovite” people. It is interesting that this version was written in the “Synopsis, or Short description about the beginning of the Russian people,” which was published in 1674 within the walls of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Many historians went even further, declaring that the words “Muscovy” and “Moscow” have nothing to do with each other. If the name of the state came from a descendant of the Old Testament prophet, then the capital of this state came from a certain local god of the Merya tribe, which, as we know, were the aborigines of the land of the present Moscow region. Alas, we can no longer verify these versions in the 21st century...

Interesting things on the web

Explorers named the countries they discovered, often based on legends and superstitions. Below are 10 wonderful legends about what is behind the names of some states.

History of names of different states

11. Russia

"The Varangians brought it"

The state of Rus' got its name from the Varangians. Most likely, the word "Rus" was brought from outside and was originally exonym(“exonym” is a word that the local population does not use in speech, but which external communities call it (the population).

According to one version, the term originated in Byzantium in the 1st half of the 9th century. Old Russian chroniclers also emphasize this. The earliest mention of this is in the records of the monk Nestor, who wrote in the 12th century that "from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed."

Since the Varangians had close relationships with the Kievan state, this term took root over time and ceased to be an exonym, turning into a self-name. From "The Tale of Bygone Years": "the glades, which are now called Rus'."

It is worth adding that in the early mentions of the people of Russia or Rus', the “History” of Leo the Deacon appears among Byzantine sources. It says that the term “Rus” is of book origin, and also that the Rus are the northern Scythian people who carried out invasions of the cities of Byzantium in the 9th-10th centuries.

Another interesting version says that "the people grew"- this is a country with abundant morning dew (that is, this means a sharply continental climate).

It is important to note that in Sanskrit there are several words for the concept of "light". Among them are "ruca" ("light", "clear") and "ruc" ("light", "brilliance"). Over time and with the development of the language, words unexpectedly migrated into such significant ones for us - “Rus” and “Russian”.

However, the primary word for “Rus” and “Russian” is still the ancient Aryan “blond” (to this day used in the meaning of “light”). All other words with the same root come from it.

10. China

"Celestial Empire"

The most populous state on earth has always had many names. The word itself "China" belongs to the Qin Dynasty (pronounced "chin" (chin)). The dynasty was founded by the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi.

In addition, China has another name - "Cathay" the author of which is the famous traveler Marco Polo, who called the north of the country that way. He called southern China "Mangi".

Many people probably know about Cathay Pacific and their Marco Polo Club, which includes frequent flyers.

Another name for China is "Zhongguo"(“Zhongguo”), from the words “zhong” (center) and “guo” (country). The literal translation is “Central Country”, the literary translation is “The Celestial Empire”.

For many centuries, the people of China believed that their land was at the very core of the world. The further you travel from this center, the more barbaric and inhospitable the lands become.

In a sense, they were right. Beyond Chinese borders and Great Wall lived countless tribes of raiders, as well as hordes of Mongols and Oirats. The word "Zhongguo" was also used as a shortened version of "People's Republic of China".

9. Armenia. Where does the name of the country come from?

"Family tree"

Armenia is a small state with access to the sea and borders with Turkey, Iran and Georgia. This country has a storied history of monotheistic religion. Armenia is considered the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as the official state religion in 301.

The word "Armenia" itself is derived from the Old Persian "Armina". Initially, after a descendant of Noah settled in these lands near Mount Ararat, the country was named after his name - "Ike"(Hayk).

A more complete interpretation sounds like “the land of Noah’s great-great-grandson, Hayk.” According to legend, Hayk left his lands for some time to help in the construction of the Tower of Babel. Upon his return, he discovered that the land had been encroached upon by the Babylonian king, whom he later killed in battle.

Later the name of the country was changed to Hayastan (the Persian suffix "stan" means "land").

Another legend says that the root of the word "Armenia" associated with the name Aram. That was the name of the great-great-grandson of great-great-grandson Ike. Aram, according to some local residents, is the ancestor of all Armenians.

8. Nauru

"Pleasant Island"

On November 8, 1798, a British captain named John Fearn, heading to China via New Zealand, stopped on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. The natives made an impression on him.

Fern wrote that "their behavior was very polite, they persistently offered to stay on their island." The captain described this place as "pleasant island"

However, Nauru, the smallest republic in the world, takes its name from the local word "anaoero". In the native dialect of Nauru, which differs quite significantly from the Oceanic languages, this term means "I am going to the beach".

It lives up to its name as Nauru was a famous tourist destination famous for its beaches. However, time passed and the economy did not grow. The country even entered into an agreement with Australia to build an offshore center for asylum seekers.

7. Argentina

"Legends of mountain riches"

It all allegedly started with the fact that the Spaniard Juan Diaz de Solis killed his wife in Portugal. To avoid punishment, he fled back to his country and took part in numerous trips during the golden era of Spanish reconnaissance missions.

On October 8, 1515, Diaz, in a team of three ships, set off in the hope of finding a way out in the west. Pacific Ocean. Solis found the mouth and named it "fresh sea"(Mar Dulce), and sailed on, where he entered the territory that today is the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

There he and his team were attacked by cannibals. All crew members became dinner. The remaining members of the group on two ships observed this terrible picture.

After this incident, Francisco de Torres took command of the expedition, but incredible bad luck seemed to haunt them - the ship was shipwrecked. However, the natives in the new land turned out to be quite friendly. They wore jewelry made of pure silver.

The observations of the expedition members turned into legends. Another explorer, Sebastian Cabot, found survivors a few years later who told him about the untold riches of those natives and mountains of silver. ("Sierra de la Plata").

The mouth Juan found was later called "silver river"("Rio de la Plata"). For many centuries, researchers searched for the legendary treasure, but to no avail. The name stuck, and the territory began to be called "land of silver"("Tierra Argentina"), "Argentina" is another word for "silver".

6. Chile. Origin of the country's name.

"Heated discussion"

The word "chili" comes from "Chilli" (in the language of the Mapuche people means "where the earth ends"). It is possible that the indigenous Mapuche people traveled west from Argentina and discovered that the continent ended on the Chilean shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Another theory for the origin of the name of this state is related to the Mapuche name for the birds. - "cheele-cheele". These legends came to the Spanish conquistadors from the mouths of the Incas. After returning to Europe they began to call themselves "Men of Chile".

5. Spain

"A History of Misnomers"

The Spaniards came up with several names for the lands they discovered. Many of them have survived to this day. One of the legends tells about the involvement of a nation living in South America in the origin of the name of this state.

In 1499, the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda and the traveler Amerigo Vespucci discovered in a certain part South America people living on stilts along the coast. They named the land "Venezuela", which translates as "Little Venice"

The Spanish tradition of naming lands in connection with erroneous conclusions and observations goes back thousands of years. Ancient sailors of Phenicia ( ancient state, located on east coast Mediterranean Sea, the center of which was located on the territory of modern Lebanon) were the predecessors of modern explorers.

About 3,000 years ago they found land in the far west of the Mediterranean. On the found territory lived great amount, as they believed, hyraxes ("hyrax" - shrew mouse), so the lands received the name "i-shapan-i", what does it mean in translation "Island of Hyraxes"("Island of the Hyrax").

When the Romans took over most of the European continent, they changed the name of this land to "Hispania".

However, the animals living on the "island of hyraxes" were not rodents, they were rabbits.

Thus Spain, an empire of explorers who named cities and countries based on fictitious legends or misinterpretations, itself received its name as a result of an error.

4. Moldova

"Man's Best Friend"

The most popular legend of the birth of the name of this state is as follows.

The Wallachian voivode Dragos hunted aurochs (wild bison) for many days in the company of large quantity hunters and hunting dogs.

In pursuit of the bison, the team ended up at the foot of the mountains, where a river flowed. The governor's favorite dog was the most active - Molda. When the bison fell into the river, the hunters' arrows immediately pierced it. The brave Molda also rushed into the river after the animal.

However, in this fight best friend person died. Dragos was so saddened by the loss of his faithful companion, that he named the surrounding lands in her honor.

Some sources only talk about the bison and the history of hunting, others do not forget to mention the dog Molda. Nevertheless, be that as it may, the head of a bison is depicted on the coat of arms of Moldova.

3. Canada

"Small villages and nothing more"

When French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed past the St. Lawrence River, his guides who inhabited the area noticed a road leading to "rope"("village").

However, none of the local tribes called themselves "Kanata". This word simply referred to several villages that spontaneously formed after people migrated from the wild, snowy terrain to more favorable living conditions.

Cartier probably misheard the term and called the lands he saw “Canada.”

Another, less popular version of the origin of the name of this state again involves the Spaniards. The story tells how explorers went in search of fabulous riches.

Finding nothing on these lands, they called them "aca nada" or "ca nada"(in translation - "there's nothing here"). When the French arrived a few years later, local residents they shouted “aca nada!” to them, trying to tell them that there was nothing interesting for the colonialists here.

The French thought that the inhabitants were shouting the name of the country, and ultimately called it “Canada”.

Combining the two stories, we can say that modern Canada is cities and villages, as well as a huge deserted desert in between.

2. Pakistan. Origin of the name of the state.

"Abbreviation"

"Pakistan" in Urdu means "pure land" ("pak" - pure, "stan" - land).

Modern Pakistan was formed on August 14, 1947 after the partition of India. However, the first use of the word "Pakistan" dates back ten years earlier, and is known to have been uttered by Ramat Ali, a Muslim nationalist who advocated the creation of a separate Muslim state on the subcontinent.

Ali published his pamphlet "Now or never" January 28, 1933. In it, he calls on the British government to "single out" independence, describing in vivid detail how 30 million Muslims want it.

These Muslims lived in regions such as Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. When you combine the first letters in the names of these places, you get "Pakstan".

1. Czechoslovakia

"Hyphen War"

After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe An interesting debate arose. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, dominated for the last 30 years communist regime, fell as a result of the “velvet revolution”, a bloodless coup.

Local politicians began working on what was to be called a new democracy. The first idea was to abandon the word “socialist” in the name. New nation should have been called "Czechoslovak Republic".

But Slovak politicians did not like this idea; they thought that such a name downplayed their importance. They wanted to add a hyphen to symbolize unification.

However, the title "Czecho-Slovak Republic" The Czechs didn't like it. Even Winston Churchill did not like this name; he spoke of the hyphen as “a vice that should be avoided in every possible way.”

As a result, Czechs and Slovaks began to call their country each in their own way. In Czech, the name of the country sounded like “Czechoslovak Federal Republic”, in Slovak it was exactly the same, only with a hyphen.

A month later the state was named "Czech and Slovak Federal Republic", but this did not satisfy anyone either.

This hyphen war only ended on January 1, 1993. Tired of conflicts over how to govern the country, the politicians gave in and peacefully decided that it was in the best interests of their state to separate.

Finally, everyone became happy. This peaceful split was called "velvet divorce" as a result of which the Czech Republic and Slovakia appeared.

+ the forgotten Welshman who gave America its name

Columbus, who found himself in the lands of modern Haiti, was sure that he was somewhere in India. But one person who was part of his expedition, the aforementioned Amerigo Vespucci, knew very well that this was a new continent, which he enthusiastically writes about in his stories.

His stories about the “new world” amazed two Germans, who reprinted the ancient treatise on geography. The Germans immortalized Vespucci's discovery in the preface to the treatise:

"There is a fourth continent that Amerigo Vespucci discovered. For this reason we call it "America" or "Land of America".

There is a second theory, which believes that the Welshman Richard Amerike financed the expedition that reached Newfoundland in 1496. One piece of evidence for this theory is that the American flag's "stars and stripes" design is exactly the same as Richard's coat.

In the same era, Russia could bear different names, because the self-name differed from the designations adopted by other peoples.

Antiquity

The lands corresponding to the territory of modern Russia were described as early as ancient geographers and historians in those days when there was no talk of any state formations. Often these descriptions were fantastic.

For example, the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote about Hyperborea - the mysterious northern Earth. Presumably, this “country” corresponded to the territory of the Russian North. According to Diodorus Siculus, the life of the Hyperboreans is so carefree and happy that they throw themselves into the sea, fed up with pleasures. You shouldn't be surprised: people have always tended to populate lands with fantastic creatures about which they knew little.

Foreign names

In the 10th century, Arab historians described three Slavic territories, which they called As-Slavia with its capital in the city of Salau, Aratinia and Cuiaba. Modern historians identify As-Slavia with the Novgorod land, and its capital with the city of Slovensk, located near Novgorod, and Cuiaba with Kiev. The location of Artania remains unclear. Presumably, it was located on the territory of modern Ryazan.

In the Viking Age, the Normans called Rus' “the country of cities” - Gardariki. One should not think that in those days in Rus' there were many highly developed cities-trading centers, like Novgorod was in a later era. The word Gardariki would be more correctly translated as “land of fortresses.”

In Europe in the 15th-18th centuries. Russia was called Muscovy. However, not all Europeans called Russia this way, but only residents of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as those who received information from this state.

Self-name

Most ancient name territory inhabited by the Eastern Slavs - Rus'. This name goes back to the name of the Rus tribe, which became the basis for the unification of Slavic tribes. There is no consensus among historians regarding the origins of this people. Some historians consider Rus' a Scandinavian tribe, others - a Western Slavic one, and others trace this name to the Sarmatian tribes of the Roxolans and Rosomans.

At the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. another form of the name is approved - Russia. This happened under the influence of Greek literature, and this name originally appeared.

October 22, 1721 after the victory in Northern War Peter I takes the title of All-Russian Emperor, and the state receives a new name - the Russian Empire.

This is what the country was called until 1917. On September 1, 1917, the Provisional Government proclaimed the Russian Republic.

In 1922, “on the ruins” of the Russian Empire, a new state emerged - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the center of which became Russia, now called the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the modern name was adopted - the Russian Federation.