In the II century. BC e. under the pressure of the Celts, the Proto-Slavs settled from the Vistula regions to Pripyat Polesie and the nearby Middle Dnieper lands. The “Zarubinets” and later the “Kiev” cultures (the names are given from archaeological sites) were formed there, the population of which was influenced by the Balts, Scythians, and local tribes. The cultural achievements of the early Slavs included a hearth, a gable thatched or clay roof, an iron sickle, a scythe, an axe, a chisel, fish hooks, an awl, needles, bronze jewelry, etc. As for the Kievan culture, its population largely used bone , not iron, as well as clay spindle whorls, crucibles and very rarely millstones and stone grain grinders.
The population of these villages used provincial Roman products: pottery, brooches (special fasteners for clothing), buckles, glass beads, bone combs, and silver coins. The Kiev population, in addition, used jewelry with champlevé enamel, which indicated contacts with the Balts, who owned the corresponding technology.
In the Danube and Carpathian region in the 2nd–5th centuries. n. e. processes of assimilation of the Gothic and Scythian-Sarmatian populations by the Slavs took place. As a result of such ethnic symbiosis, a Slavic community was born, which written sources call the Ants. The ethnonym is not of Slavic, but most likely of Indo-Iranian origin (“living on the outskirts”, Iranian, or antas - “edge”, “end”, Ind.)
In the IV-V centuries. active settlement of all the peoples of Europe began, including the Slavic ones. What made the tribes move from their conquered places? Historians note several reasons for the “great migration of peoples.” Firstly, once again nature brought surprises. A sharp cooling, increased soil moisture, and rising levels of rivers and lakes forced people to leave their homes. Secondly, the eastern nomadic tribes - the Huns - began their advance to the west. In the 70s of the IV century. they invaded the area of Slavic and Germanic tribes, as well as the borders of the Roman Empire. Under the influence of the above factors, the Slavic cultural community began to disintegrate.
Consolidation of Slavic tribal unions. Slavic proto-states and early states
Several large groups of Slavs emerged. The Prague-Korchak Slavic group settled on the Sava, Vistula, and Dniester rivers, and Jordan called them Slavs. This was the first mention of the Slavs under their ethnic name. There are several assumptions about this ethnonym in historical science. The most convincing seems to be the hypothesis about its origin from the concept of “word”, which in those days meant “clearly speaking” in contrast to the Germans, i.e. “dumb”. This group also included Dulebs, Vistula (in the Upper and Middle Vistula regions), Polans (Upper and Middle Warta), Lenchitsans and Seredzyans, Slenzyans (Middle and Upper Oder), Dedoshans and Bobryans (along the Bobr River). It was these tribes that formed the basis of the future Polish nation. In the Middle Danube, the nationalities of the Czechs and Slovaks formed, the basis of which was Slavic tribes Sepdlichan, Luchan, Dechan, Pshovan, Duleb, Czech, Moravian, etc. The Duleb settled between the upper reaches of the Western Bug and the Dnieper, from which in the 7th–9th centuries. Volynians, Drevlyans, Polyans and Dregovichs branched off.
In the southeast of the early medieval Slavic world, a tribal group of Antes stood out. They had specific molded ceramics, earthen dwellings, and brooches for women's clothing that were characteristic only of them - finger clasps with mask-like bases. It is interesting that the Ants only had group burial grounds. In the V-VI centuries. The Antes settled in the left bank of the Middle Dnieper region and reached the Seversky Donets, and in the western direction - the Danube and the Sea of Azov.
According to the descriptions of Procopius of Caesarea, the Ants and Slavs used the same language, had a similar way of life, common beliefs and even similar appearance. After 602 the name Antes does not appear in written sources. Some researchers believe that the Ants were exterminated by the Avars, others - that on their basis new Slavic tribes were formed (Tivertsi, Ulics, Croats). Archaeological excavations confirm the second version rather than the first.
At the beginning of the 7th century. There was a new wave of Slavic settlement caused by the invasion of Europe by the Avars. At the invitation of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, the Slavic tribes of Serbs and Croats settled in the lands of the Byzantine Empire devastated by the Avars. In the second quarter of the 7th century. In the Middle Danube, a large political union of Slavs led by Serbs was created, which soon became part of the Avar Kaganate. Here, on the basis of the ethnic synthesis of Serbs, Avars, Narechans, Zakhlumians and other Slavic tribes, the Serbian nationality is formed. The Croatian nation was born in the fight against the Avars. In the middle of the 7th century. The Croats created their own proto-state - the principality in Dalmatia. It was under the supreme authority of the Franks. The names “Serbs” and “Croats” are Iranian. The word “Croats” most likely comes from the Iranian “guardian of livestock”, however, it is also possible from the ethnonym “Sarmatians” (“feminine”, “abundant with women”).
Along with the Venets and Antes, in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. the third large cultural and tribal group of Slavs was formed. Some of the Slavic tribes were influenced by natural and climatic factors in the 4th–5th centuries. moved from the regions of the Middle Povislenye to the Novgorod-Pskov lands. Fear of river floods forced them to settle on hills and far from bodies of water. In the new place, they came into contact with the local Finno-Baltic population, which, unlike the newcomers, did not know agriculture and cattle breeding. The Slavic villages were not fortified and consisted of log houses. The settlers used a slash-and-burn farming system and were closer in dialect (language) to the Balts than to other Slavs. It is interesting that in the new place the aliens created a new funeral rite. The remains of cremation (corpse burning) were buried in low mounds. The burial grounds were collective, so the mounds were quite long, up to 10-100 meters.
From the end of the 6th century. In northwestern Europe, serious climate changes were observed. Warming was setting in, humidity was decreasing, and the mirror was lowering Baltic Sea, marshy areas were drained. All this allowed the Slavs of the northern regions of Europe to advance 200-300 km deep into the Russian Plain. In the 7th century they settled in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River and began to be called Ilmen Slovenes. Now people settled more often along the banks of rivers and lakes, without fear of floods. In addition to traditional agricultural settlements, they had fortified urban settlements (Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod). At the source of the Volkhov River from Lake Ilmen, the Slovenians built a tribal sanctuary. On Peryn Hill, in a sacred grove, there stood a huge wooden statue of the god of thunder and lightning - Perun.
Slovenes had a specific funeral rite. The remains of the cremation were buried in high, steep-sided mounds, the so-called. "hills". These were collective burial grounds belonging to big family, but they did not grow in length, but in height and width. In historical science there are several versions about the origin of the Ilmen Slovenes. Some scientists are inclined to consider them aliens from Western and Central Europe, others see their kinship with the Baltic peoples. In fact, in terms of anthropological type, the Ilmen Slovenes are close to the Balts (low or low-medium narrow face).
Apparently, the Baltic Slavs, having set off on a northern journey, stayed in the Pskov-Novgorod lands, assimilated and took with them the local population, arrived in the area of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River and formed a union of Ilmen Slovenes here. The remaining part of the Pskov and Novgorod residents began to be called Krivichi (“cut off”). As a result of the settlement of other Slavic groups, new tribal unions of Vyatichi and northerners were formed , Radimichi, Dregovich. The East Slavic people - the direct ancestors of the Russians - took shape within the framework of the Old Russian state on the basis of the ethnic synthesis of the Venets, Acts, Pskov-Polotsk Slavs and Ilmen Slavs.
The Slavic tribes of the Polabs, Vagrs, Warns and Obodrites, who settled in the southwestern direction (in northern Germany and northern Poland), participated in the formation of the ethnocultural community of the Obodrites (which meant, according to one version, “living on both sides of the Oder” and, according to another, “those who robs, rips off"). The Obodrites were allies of the East Francian state. They built many fortified cities, centers of political life, crafts and trade.
In the VI–VII centuries. The Velet tribe settled on the Lower Oder. Its name speaks for itself. The Slavic root “vel” was used to form such words as “giant”, “hero”. Apparently, these heroes were distinguished by their stern disposition, for the second ethnic name of the tribe was “Lyutich” (i.e., fierce).
The ethnogenesis of the Slovenes took place in close contact with the Germans. The Slavs actively explored the Balkan Peninsula. It is no coincidence that Byzantine sources name a whole series political unions, so-called “Slaviny” or “Slaviy” tribal unions, created for both defensive and aggressive purposes. After the Bulgarian conquest of the Balkan territories, the local Slavic unions were subjugated. However, the Slavs assimilated the conquerors, adopting their ethnic name.
From the 6th century The Slavs came to Greece. In the 9th–10th centuries, when Greece entered the Byzantine Empire, the Slavs were assimilated by the peoples of the empire. Finally, the Slavs penetrated the eastern regions of the Frankish state. In the basin of the Maina River (the right tributary of the Rhine), they created the first Slavic state under the leadership of Samo (mid-7th century). Back in the 9th century. this area was known as "Terra Slavorum". Subsequently, the local Slavic population was completely assimilated by representatives of the Romano-Germanic culture.
Thus, in the IV–VII centuries. The Slavs experienced several migration waves, which resulted in an acceleration of the processes of ethnogenesis.
Migration contributed to the consolidation of tribes. They also led to the emergence of squads and warriors. Favorable conditions appeared for the development and rise of princely power. Gradually, tribal unions began to be divided into large and small tribes, and only in the latter did the veche - the people's assembly - survive. Large tribal unions of Croats, Serbs, Dulebs, and Krivichi occupied vast territories. Some Slavic princes tried to imitate the Byzantine emperor, wore rich clothes and knew how to speak Greek. Some tribes (Serbs, Croats, Polans) had princely dynasties. However, the invasions and conquests of the nomads interrupted this natural process of internal evolution of the tribes towards statehood. This, for example, happened to the Balkan Slavs when they came under Bulgarian rule. Further development of statehood took place here under the conditions of the Slavic-Bulgarian synthesis in the First Bulgarian Kingdom.
Internal tendencies towards the unification of Slavic tribes and the growth of independence of princely power were reflected in the formation of the Samo state in Central Europe, which has already been mentioned on the pages of this manual. On the territory of Moravia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia in the 7th–7th centuries. the tribes remained within the territories they had long occupied. Political processes were not accelerated by migration. Their catalyst was the onslaught of the Avar Khaganate of the Suga and the Frankish Empire from the west. Legend says that the Frankish merchant Samo came to the Slavs. He led an uprising against Avar rule, collection of tribute, and captivity of wives and children. After a successful rebellion, he ruled for 35 years, was rich, had 12 wives and 37 children. Thus, a respected person was elected as the ruler of the state, based on his merits, valor and wisdom. It was a typical barbarian kingdom of the early Middle Ages.
The next stage in the formation of Slavic statehood occurred in the 7th–10th centuries. The First Bulgarian Kingdom, the Serbian state of Raska, the Early Polish state, the Great Moravian state and, finally, Ancient Rus' took shape and developed. In the 7th–10th centuries. Slavic peoples created early state formations or entered into other ethnic political unions. The Bulgarians, having conquered the Slavs, founded the First Bulgarian Kingdom. From the 7th century The early Serbian, Croatian, and Polish states are also known. In the 7th–9th centuries. The Great Moravian Principality was gaining strength. At the same time, tribal reigns took shape Eastern Slavs, whose territories in the 9th century. were united into the state - Kievan Rus. Thus, the politogenesis of the Slavic tribes proceeded almost synchronously, perhaps with some delay (1-2 centuries) among the Eastern Slavs.
What are the features of the early Slavic states?
Firstly, they all experienced the stage of transition from a tribal to a state structure for quite a long time. Virtually all Slavic states were tribal unions. The traditions of tribal life were still strong: in some places, universal armament of all men, a veche - a people's assembly, a thousand-strong organization of the population, etc. were preserved.
Secondly, in the tribal unions there was an active process of forming supra-communal, supra-tribal state structures - princely power, the allocation of a princely squad, a princely administration. The social structure of the tribes underwent significant changes. The importance of the old tribal nobility was becoming a thing of the past. A new nobility was formed, the selection of which was often carried out by the prince himself. In this case, the decisive role was played by service to the prince, and not belonging to a noble at clan, tribe, etc. In some Slavic states, rich people also formed a new nobility.
In contrast to the egalitarian social structure of the tribe, the early state already knew social inequality. Along with the tribal elite, there was a significant number of free farmers, as well as dependent people (debtors, for example) and slaves.
Thirdly, in the Slavic states the clan community disintegrated and a neighboring one was formed. This process took place especially quickly in Croatia and Great Moravia. Many cities appeared here, which is a consequence and at the same time a factor in the collapse of the tribal community.
Fourthly, in most Slavic political unions the state was considered the supreme titular owner of the land. Somewhere, for example in Croatia and Great Moravia, the prince acted only as a political holder of state lands, and land relations were built on the basis of private and beneficial rights (i.e., conditional land ownership), and somewhere, such as in Serbia or In the Bulgarian kingdom, the economic freedom of landowners was limited by the state. These differences, along with other reasons, are explained by the proximity or distance of the Slavic states to those countries where land relations were built on the basis of Roman private law.
Fifthly, early Slavic state institutions performed the following functions: organized the fight against nomads, defended Slavic territories, collected taxes , organized the fulfillment of duties (for example, construction), regulated social relations (in most Slavic countries the state prevented the impoverishment of free community members - potential warriors and a source of taxes), introduced laws (for example, the “Law of Judgment for People” - early Christian legislation that was in circulation in all Slavic countries ), created favorable internal and external conditions economic activity, eliminated the remnants of tribal separatism, introducing for this, for example, a territorial division of the state instead of a tribal one, etc.
Sixth, Christianity began to have a significant influence on the life, everyday life, and social relations of the early Slavic states. Early Polish, Croatian, Moravian society was predominantly influenced by the Western Christian Church, and Serbian and Russian society by the Byzantine Christian Church.
Thus, at the end of the early medieval era, the Slavs created statehood. A number of factors, including proximity to certain centers of civilization (Byzantium, the empire of Charlemagne, etc.) often determined the sociocultural and political orientations of young political unions.
The basis of the Slavic worldview was paganism. It should be noted that about the Slavic religion until the 6th–10th centuries. little evidence remains. Paganism contained animatic beliefs. The Slavs were convinced that everything in nature is alive: stone, fire, wood, and lightning. Animistic ideas (ideas about the soul) rested on the belief in the transcendence of the soul, in its ability to pass into another flesh. The Slavs believed in the ability of supernatural power to metamorphose, transform, and turn a person into a goat or a dog. According to their views, the supernatural and, above all, evil spirits the entire universe was inhabited. Gradually, pagan deities apparently emerged from this supernatural force. By the 6th century The Slavs not only had a pantheon of gods, but were also close to monotheism. Christianity had a modest influence on the culture of the Slavs. In the 9th–10th centuries. Most Slavic peoples are baptized.
In the first place was the deification of the forces of nature. The Slavs had up to 400 pagan characters. Each tribe worshiped its own deities. The most famous gods were: Svarog- God of the Sky, Horse- god of the Red Sun, Yarilo- god of the mature sun, Dazhbog− (Giving God) − Sun deity, Svetovid- god of light. Veles- god of cattle. The Slavic Zeus was the god of thunder and lightning Perun. The house, bathhouse, forest, and ponds were inhabited by good and evil spirits - brownies, bathhouses, forests, and mermaids. Tribal deities and spirits were especially revered. Relatives worshiped the mythical ancestor - Grandfather. Echoes ancient conspiracy, addressed to the grandfather-ancestor, are heard in the modern children's saying - “Chur! (i.e. Ancestor) not me!”
People believed that with the help of ceremonies, conspiracies, prayers, and sacrifices it was possible to influence the forces of nature. The object of special veneration was the land, which was called “mother”. Items that once brought good luck were kept for a long time. Amulets were worn to ward off dark forces. Religious Beliefs could not but influence the way of life of the Slavs. They did not know the concept of “sin”. “Kidnapping of girls” (theft of brides), foul language was considered the usual norm and was not condemned.
The burial was accompanied by a special ceremony. In some areas, corpses were burned at the stake, the ashes were collected in a special urn, which was displayed on a pole at a crossroads. It was believed , that for 30 days the souls of the dead can visit the house, therefore sacrificial food was set out for them. The burial was accompanied by a funeral feast - a wake that consisted of feasts and war games. After the due date, the urn was buried. Like many barbarian peoples, the Slavs were not alien to the custom of blood feud.
Christianity had a huge influence on the culture of the Slavs. Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, as well as their disciples (9th-10th centuries), made a great contribution to the spread of Christian doctrine among the Slavs. Methodius and Cyril belonged to a famous family in the city of Thessalonica. They learned from childhood Slavic language. Methodius was at first military service and ruled the Slavic region , and later became a monk. Cyril was educated at the court of Constantinople, took holy orders and remained in the capital. Later he entered the Olympic Monastery, whose abbot by that time was Methodius. At the request of the Great Moravian prince in 862, the Byzantine emperor sent the brothers to bring the word of God to the Western Slavs. The brothers translated the Holy Scriptures into the Slavic language, compiled the Slavic alphabet, and conducted sermons in the Slavic language. The struggle between German and Greek missionaries was difficult. The Germans pursued Cyril and Methodius and their disciples. At the beginning of the 10th century. The Great Moravian state came under German influence, and local peoples were baptized according to the Roman rite. Catholicism also established itself among the Poles (Poles) who lived on the Vistula and Varga rivers. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius contributed to the spread of the Orthodox faith in the Bulgarian kingdom. In the 9th–10th centuries. most Slavic peoples accepted Christianity, either in the Catholic or Orthodox versions.
By the 9th–10th centuries. The division of the Slavs into Western, Eastern and Southern was clearly defined. The ancestors of the Russian people were the Eastern Slavs. More recently, the dominant point of view was about the original unity of the Eastern Slavs, about the spread of all Eastern Slavs from a single center, which, as a rule, was considered to be the Dnieper region. The language of the Eastern Slavs was also considered unified, which, as expected, became a dialect only during the times of feudal fragmentation. However, as research has shown, this approach is simplistic and inaccurate.
D.K.’s point of view is finding more and more supporters. Zelenin, expressed by him at the beginning of the twentieth century. about polycentrism and the multiethnic basis of the formation of the Eastern Slavs. D.K. Zelenin wrote that the southern Russian population differs from the northern Russian population much more than from the Belarusians. He saw the ethnic roots of this phenomenon in the fact that the Slavs, who took part in the formation of the East Slavic people, were not homogeneous. The Polochans and Novgorod Slovenians had a genetic relationship with the Western and Baltic Slavs. It has now been proven that the Ilmen Slovenes differed from the Dnieper Slavs in 20 important characteristics (see section “On the origin and settlement of the Slavs”).
15 Slavic tribal unions occupied the territory from the Southern Bug and Dnieper to the Volga, from the Danube to the Volkhov and laid the foundation for the Old Russian people. The chronicles have preserved their names. In the north of the East European Plain, near Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, lived, as we already know, Slovenes. Their tribal center was the city of Novgorod. The soils of the north turned out to be unsuitable for agriculture, so crafts, trade, and crafts developed here.
Polyans (fields) settled on the fertile lands of the Dnieper River valley. Their city was Kyiv, the name of which recalls its legendary founder - Kiy (according to some sources, a Slavic prince, according to others, a carrier on the Dnieper crossing). As a rule, the Slavs settled along the banks of rivers. It was convenient for farming and trading.
The Drevlyans (forest dwellers) lived along the Pripyat River. The upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Volga, and Dnieper were occupied by the Krivichi and Polochans. Along the Oka River and the Moscow River - Vyatichi. Along Sozha and Desna - Radimichi. Along the Desna, Seimas and Seversky Donets - northerners, along But - Buzhans, Volynians, Dulebs. Some of the tribes settled in the Black Sea region (Tivertsy, Ulichi).
The cities of the Slavs were tribal and religious centers. Depending on the area, the Slavs were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, crafts, and trade. Agricultural tribes, in addition to the wooden plow, used a plow with an iron tip. However, Slavic agriculture remained slash-and-burn for a long time. The crops were planted in areas where forests were cleared. The first two to three years they received a good harvest, and then they moved to a new place.
The Slavs grew rye, barley, wheat, oats, millet, beans, peas, flax, and hemp; raised domestic animals: cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats. Peasant labor formed the basis of the life of the people. It is no coincidence that the epics glorified the plowman-hero Mikula Selyaninovich. The Slavs knew blacksmithing, foundry, and pottery. The Slavs were tall, strong, and hardy. They were distinguished by their simplicity of life. They ate coarse and even raw food, eating barley, millet, milk, and kvass. At feasts they drank an intoxicating drink made from honey. In the warm season they wore only underwear, and in the cold season they threw animal skins over their shoulders. The shoes were bast bast shoes. Weapons were made of wood and iron. Wooden spears and arrows were widely used. In harsh climates, they needed warm dwellings, for the construction of which wood was used. These were log houses - houses made of logs, which were illuminated by oil lamps. In case of danger, the Slavs retreated to forests and cities (cities protected by earthen ramparts and wooden walls).
Geopolitical conditions (middle position between East and West, uniformity of nature, isolation from the seas, and therefore from world trade routes, distance from “axial civilizations”, weak population of the territory, short cycle of agricultural work) did not contribute to the individualization of economic and social life, on the contrary, led to the conservation of tribal relations and the long-term preservation of the community - a collective of relatives or neighbors who, as a rule, conduct private farming on land, the right to dispose of which belonged to the entire collective.
The gathering (meeting) of community members arranged equal redistribution of land plots and other farmland according to the justice so valued by the Slavs. The values of communal behavior became mutual assistance, patience, unity, devotion to charismatic (i.e., endowed with divine grace) leaders, and an inclination not to law, but to will. Even today, proverbs about the benefits of the community have not been forgotten: “With peace (that’s how the community was called) we will move the Torah,” “With peace, one by one.” – naked shirt”, etc. In the pre-state period, an important role in the tribes was played by elders and military leaders, as well as popular assemblies - veche.
In the east, the neighbors of the Slavs were the Turkic peoples, who had already created their own states. These are the Turkic, Khazar, Avar Khaganates, Volga Bulgaria. Some Turkic peoples converted to Islam. The rulers of these states - the Khagans - had unlimited power. In Khazaria, the official religion was Judaism, which allowed L. Gumilev to make the assumption that the Khazar state was founded by Jews who at one time made their way from Babylon through the Caucasus to the Volga River valley and founded their settlements here, including the largest trading city of the Middle Ages Itil.
The Slavs were from time to time tributaries of the Turkic peoples and Khazars. In the northeast, the Slavs lived peacefully with the Finno-Ugric peoples (Mordovians, Vesye, Muroma, Chud). The Finns were short in stature, engaged in hunting, lived in dugouts and huts, exchanged furs and leathers for weapons and Arabic fabrics brought from Volga Bulgaria. The Slavs settled among the Finno-Ugric tribes and built the cities of Izborsk, Beloozero and others.
Quite active figures of the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. There were Germanic tribes of Normans living on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whom Europeans called “Vikings” and Slavs called “Varangians”. These were brave sailors and warriors. It is known that one of the Norman kings (military leaders) Leif the Happy already in the 10th century. on his boats (as the ships of the Scandinavians were called) he reached the shores of North America. The Vikings often invaded and plundered European cities.
Slavic merchants often hired Varangians to guard their trade caravans moving along the famous trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” in the Middle Ages, the route of which began in Scandinavia, crossed the Gulf of Finland, the Neva and Volkhov rivers, Lake Ilmen, the Dnieper River and ended in Byzantium . At the time in question, the Normans were experiencing the process of disintegration of the tribal community. The young kings broke with tradition and sought support not so much among their relatives as among their warriors. The energy of the passionaries spilled out into campaigns of conquest. In the West, the lands of the ancestors of the Russians bordered on the territories of the Western Slavs and Baltic peoples. Both of them increasingly came under Catholic influence.
Finally, Byzantium was a rich and authoritative neighbor of the Slavs. Military campaigns to Constantinople (Constantinople) became a matter of honor for the Slavic princes. Reciprocal distributions of looted property raised the authority of tribal leaders, creating opportunities for the promotion of “capable and ambitious” to leadership roles in the community.
By the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. The Eastern Slavs had accumulated many problems, the solution of which was beyond the power of individual tribes. These are, for example, the need for defense and the elimination of tributary relations, the establishment of trade contacts with developed countries, overcoming fratricidal rivalry, and the development of intertribal exchanges. However, tribal separatism, fueled by paganism, turned out to be so great that it did not allow the creation of unified, supra-communal power structures.
The Old Russian state was formed in the 9th century. on the lands of the Eastern Slavs. The Eastern Slavs are the common ancestors of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples. In the VI-IX centuries. The Eastern Slavs settled over a large area from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, from the Carpathian Mountains to the upper reaches of the Oka and Volga rivers (see map). The Eastern Slavs were divided into various tribal unions: Polyans, Drevlyans, Krivichi, Vyatichi and others. At the head of each tribe was a prince. The power of the prince was hereditary. The princes created armed units - squads.
The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs were the Finnish tribes - in the north, west and east; Lithuanians and Poles - in the west; nomadic tribes are in the south. For several centuries, the Eastern Slavs fought against the nomads who came from Asia. In the VI century. The Slavs were attacked by the Huns. Then the Avars and Khazars appeared. Important role in the history of the Slavs in the 9th-10th centuries. played relations with the two countries. These were Scandinavia in the north and Byzantium in the south. People from Scandinavia in Rus' were called Varangians.
By the 9th century. The first cities appeared among the Eastern Slavs. The largest of them were Kyiv, Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, Murom. By the beginning of the 9th century. Slavic tribes who lived along the banks of the Dnieper River united around Kyiv. Novgorod became another center of unification of the Eastern Slavs. Tribes united around Novgorod and settled around Lake Ilmen.
In 862, the residents of Novgorod invited the Varangian, Prince Rurik, to reign in Novgorod (i.e., to rule Novgorod). Rurik laid the foundation for the Rurik dynasty, which ruled Russia until the end of the 16th century.
After the death of Rurik in 879, his relative Oleg began to rule Novgorod. He did not remain in Novgorod for long. In 882
Oleg and his squad sailed along the Dnieper River to Kyiv. At this time, the Varangians Askold and Dir ruled in Kyiv. Oleg killed them and began to reign in Kyiv. He subjugated all the East Slavic and some Finnish tribes, and then united the Novgorod north and the Kiev south under his rule. This is how the Old Russian state was formed, which was called “Kievan Rus”. Oleg became the first ruler Old Russian state.
The rulers of the Old Russian state bore the title "Ve-
lyky prince of Kyiv". The first Kyiv princes were:
Svyatoslav (son of Igor and Olga).
Oleg, Igor (son of Rurik), Princess Olga (wife of Prince Igor) and
Igor Olga Svyatoslav
The activities of the Kyiv princes were aimed at:
to unite the Slavic tribes under the rule of Kyiv;
to protect trade routes;
to establish profitable trade relations with other states;
to protect Rus' from external enemies.
The prince was the supreme ruler of Rus'. He issued laws (“charters”), judged the population, and carried out administrative and military functions. However, the prince did not make a single decision without the “princely council.” The princely council included boyars close to the prince. The veche played an important role in the political life of Rus'. That was the name of the people's assembly. The veche could expel a bad prince and invite a new one. The veche also gathered the people's militia.
The main source of income for the prince and his squad was
tribute collected from the local population. Tribute was collected in money or furs. Part of the tribute was sent as goods to Byzantium. Traditional Russian goods would be
whether furs, honey, wax, as well as slaves. Russian monetary units were called "hryvnia" and "kuna". Part of the tribute was sent as goods to Byzantium. Traditional Russian goods were furs, honey, wax and captive slaves. Foreign merchants brought weapons, cloth, silk, and expensive jewelry to Kyiv. The main trade route along the Dnieper River was called the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” He led from Scandinavia to Byzantium.
Heyday Kievan Rus falls during the reign of princes Vladimir the Saint and Yaroslav the Wise.
The following is associated with the name of Prince Vladimir an important event in Russian history, as the baptism of Rus', i.e. the transformation of Christianity into the dominant religion in Rus'. The exact date of the baptism of Rus' has not been established. It is generally accepted that this happened around 988. At the head of the Russian Orthodox Church a metropolitan was installed, who was appointed from Constantinople. The entire population of Rus' was obliged to pay a tax in favor of the church - tithe.
The Baptism of Rus' was an important factor in the unification of Russian lands. It contributed to:
strengthening the central government;
consolidation of the ancient Russian people;
the formation of a unified ancient Russian culture;
the spread of writing in Rus';
craft development;
strengthening international relations of Kievan Rus.
Under Yaroslav the Wise, Kyiv became one of the richest and most beautiful cities in Europe. There were about 400 in the city
churches. The Hagia Sophia Cathedrals built in Kyiv and Novgorod became a symbol of the power of Rus'. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the first libraries appeared in Rus'. The name of Yaroslav the Wise is associated with the compilation of “Russian Truth” - the first set of Russian laws. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, the international authority of the Kyiv
Rus'. Kyiv conducted extensive trade with Byzantium, Poland, Germany, the states of the Caucasus and the countries of the East. Many European sovereigns sought kinship and friendship with Yaroslav the Wise.
However, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, the collapse of the Old Russian state began and a new period began in Russian history.
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Ancient historians were sure that warlike tribes and “people with dog heads” lived on the territory of Ancient Rus'. Much time has passed since then, but many mysteries of the Slavic tribes have not yet been solved.
Northerners living in the south
At the beginning of the 8th century, the tribe of northerners inhabited the banks of the Desna, Seim and Seversky Donets, founded Chernigov, Putivl, Novgorod-Seversky and Kursk. The name of the tribe, according to Lev Gumilyov, is due to the fact that it assimilated the nomadic Savir tribe, which in ancient times lived in Western Siberia. It is with the Savirs that the origin of the name “Siberia” is associated. Archaeologist Valentin Sedov believed that the Savirs were a Scythian-Sarmatian tribe, and the place names of the northerners were of Iranian origin. Thus, the name of the Seym (Seven) river comes from the Iranian śyama or even from the ancient Indian syāma, which means “dark river”. According to the third hypothesis, the northerners (severs) were immigrants from the southern or western lands. On the right bank of the Danube lived a tribe with that name. It could easily have been “moved” by the invading Bulgars. The northerners were representatives of the Mediterranean type of people. They were distinguished by a narrow face, an elongated skull, and were thin-boned and nosed. They brought bread and furs to Byzantium, and back - gold, silver, and luxury goods. They traded with the Bulgarians and Arabs. The northerners paid tribute to the Khazars, and then entered into an alliance of tribes united by the Novgorod prince Oleg the Prophet. In 907 they took part in the campaign against Constantinople. In the 9th century, the Chernigov and Pereyaslav principalities appeared on their lands.
Vyatichi and Radimichi - relatives or different tribes?
The lands of the Vyatichi were located on the territory of Moscow, Kaluga, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula, Voronezh and Lipetsk region. Outwardly, the Vyatichi resembled northerners, but they were not so big-nosed, but they had a high bridge of the nose and Brown hair. The Tale of Bygone Years states that the name of the tribe came from the name of the ancestor Vyatko (Vyacheslav), who came “from the Poles.” Other scientists associate the name with the Indo-European root “ven-t” (wet), or with the Proto-Slavic “vęt” (large) and put the name of the tribe on a par with the Wends and Vandals. The Vyatichi were skilled warriors, hunters, and collected wild honey, mushrooms and berries. Cattle breeding and shifting agriculture were widespread. They were not part of Ancient Rus' and more than once fought with the Novgorod and Kyiv princes. According to legend, Vyatko's brother Radim became the founder of the Radimichi, who settled between the Dnieper and Desna in the Gomel and Mogilev regions of Belarus and founded Krichev, Gomel, Rogachev and Chechersk. The Radimichi also rebelled against the princes, but after the battle on Peshchan they submitted. Chronicles mention them in last time in 1169.
Are Krivichi Croats or Poles?
The passage of the Krivichi, who from the 6th century lived in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Volga and Dnieper and became the founders of Smolensk, Polotsk and Izborsk, is not known for certain. The name of the tribe came from the ancestor Kriv. The Krivichi differed from other tribes in their tall stature. They had a nose with a pronounced hump and a clearly defined chin. Anthropologists classify the Krivichi people as the Valdai type of people. According to one version, the Krivichi are migrated tribes of white Croats and Serbs, according to another, they are immigrants from the north of Poland. The Krivichi worked closely with the Varangians and built ships on which they sailed to Constantinople. The Krivichi became part of Ancient Rus' in the 9th century. The last prince of the Krivichi, Rogvolod, was killed with his sons in 980. The principalities of Smolensk and Polotsk appeared on their lands.
Slovenian vandals
The Slovenes (Ilmen Slovenes) were the northernmost tribe. They lived on the shores of Lake Ilmen and on the Mologa River. Origin unknown. According to legends, their ancestors were Sloven and Rus, who founded the cities of Slovensk (Veliky Novgorod) and Staraya Russa before our era. From Sloven, power passed to Prince Vandal (known in Europe as the Ostrogothic leader Vandalar), who had three sons: Izbor, Vladimir and Stolposvyat, and four brothers: Rudotok, Volkhov, Volkhovets and Bastarn. The wife of Prince Vandal Advinda was from the Varangians. Slovenes continually fought with the Varangians and their neighbors. It is known that the ruling dynasty descended from the son of Vandal Vladimir. The Slavens were engaged in agriculture, expanded their possessions, influenced other tribes, and traded with the Arabs, Prussia, Gotland and Sweden. It was here that Rurik began to reign. After the emergence of Novgorod, the Slovenes began to be called Novgorodians and founded the Novgorod Land.
Russians. A people without territory
Look at the map of the settlement of the Slavs. Each tribe has its own lands. There are no Russians there. Although it was the Russians who gave the name to Rus'. There are three theories of the origin of the Russians. The first theory considers the Rus to be Varangians and is based on the “Tale of Bygone Years” (written from 1110 to 1118), it says: “They drove the Varangians overseas, and did not give them tribute, and began to control themselves, and there was no truth among them , and generation after generation arose, and they had strife, and began to fight with each other. And they said to themselves: “Let’s look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus'. Those Varangians were called Rus, just as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, so are these.” The second says that the Rus are a separate tribe that came to Eastern Europe earlier or later than the Slavs. The third theory says that the Rus are the highest caste of the East Slavic tribe of the Polyans, or the tribe itself that lived on the Dnieper and Ros. “The glades are now called Rus'” - it was written in the “Laurentian” Chronicle, which followed the “Tale of Bygone Years” and was written in 1377. Here the word “Rus” was used as a toponym and the name Rus was also used as the name of a separate tribe: “Rus, Chud and Slovenes,” - this is how the chronicler listed the peoples who inhabited the country.
Despite research by geneticists, controversy surrounding the Rus continues. According to the Norwegian researcher Thor Heyerdahl, the Varangians themselves are descendants of the Slavs.
The Russian part of the East European Plain was populated in waves, by tribes belonging to the “Ant” and “Sklaven” groups of the Slavic ethnic group. Colonization of these lands took place in two forms: both in the form of relatively one-time movements of large tribal groups, and through the gradual “spreading” of individual clans and families. Unlike the southern and western directions Slavic colonization, the development of most of the Eastern European territory (its forest zone) was carried out for the most part peacefully, without any serious clashes with the native Finnish and Baltic populations. The main enemy of man in these places was not a hostile stranger, but deserted dense forests. Over the course of many centuries, the forested part of the country had to be populated rather than conquered.
In the southern forest-steppe zone, on the contrary, the Slavs had to endure a grueling struggle, but not with the local population, but with the alien nomadic hordes. Thus, according to the apt remark of one historian, Russian history from its very beginning seemed to split into two: in it, along with European history itself, which has always been the true basis of the national-state and cultural life Russian people, an imposed and persistent Asian history arose, which the Russian people had to overcome over the course of a whole millennium at the cost of incredible efforts and sacrifices ( Shmurlo E.F. Course of Russian history. The emergence and formation of the Russian state (862 - 1462). Ed. 2nd, corrected. St. Petersburg, 1999. T. 1. P. 43). But this very work of overcoming Asian history was truly European work - a slow, persistent and extremely difficult overcoming of barbarism through civilization and culture.
The Tale of Bygone Years lists the following East Slavic tribes that settled in the second half of the 1st millennium between the Baltic and Black Seas: Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Slovenes, Buzhans (or Volynians, fragments of the Duleb tribal association), White Croats, northerners, Uglich and Tivertsy. Some of these tribes are known by their proper names and other medieval authors. Konstantin Porphyrogenitus knows the Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Krivichis, Severians, Slovenes and Lendzians (apparently, people from the area of modern Lodz); The Bavarian geographer reports on the Buzhans, Volynians, Northerners and Uglichs; Arab historians, giving preference in their reports to the general term “Slavs” (“as-sakaliba”), especially highlight the Volyn-Dulebs among them. Most of the East Slavic tribes that inhabited the Russian land belonged to the “Sklavensk” branch of the Slavs, with the exception of the Northerners, Uglich and Tivertsi - the “Antes” of the Byzantine chronicles.
Sometimes the same Slavic tribes that colonized the Balkans and Western European territories participated in the settlement of the lands of ancient Rus'. Archaeologically this is confirmed, for example, by finds in the forest area of Eastern Europe(in the Dnieper-Dvina and Oka basins) the so-called lunar temporal rings, whose origin is firmly linked to the Middle Danube lands, where they were a very common decoration of the local Slavs - Droguvites (Dregovichi), Northerners, Smolyans (who were probably relatives of the Old Russian Krivichi, whose the main city was Smolensk), and the Croats, who originally lived in the Upper Povislenie and in the lands of modern Czech Republic and Slovakia ( Sedov V.V. Lunar temporal rings of the East Slavic area. In the book: Culture of the Slavs and Rus'. M., 1998. P. 255).
The popularity of the “Danube theme” in Russian folklore, which is especially surprising in the epic epic of the Northern Russian lands, is most likely associated with the advancement of the bearers of lunar temporal rings to the north. The Danube, on the banks of which the Slavs realized their ethnic independence and identity, will forever remain in the people's memory as the cradle of the Slavs. The chronicle news of the settlement of the Slavs across Europe from the banks of the Danube, apparently, should be considered not as a scientific, literary, but as a folk, pre-chronicle tradition. Weak echoes of it can be heard in some early medieval Latin monuments. Anonymous Bavarian geographer of the 9th century. mentions a certain kingdom of Zerivani (Serivan) on the left bank of the Danube, from where “all the Slavic peoples originated and, according to them, have their origins.” Unfortunately, this name does not correlate with any of the known state entities early Middle Ages. An even earlier Ravna anonymous person placed the ancestral home of the Slavs “at the sixth hour of the night,” that is, again in the Danube region, to the west of the Sarmatians and Carps (inhabitants of the Carpathians), who, according to this geographical and astronomical classification, lived “at the seventh hour of the night.” Both authors wrote their works at a time when the Slavs did not yet have writing, and, therefore, drew their information from their oral traditions.
Rivers generally attracted the Slavs - this truly “river” people - as was noted by Byzantine writers of the 6th century. The Tale of Bygone Years testifies to the same thing. The general contours of the settlement of East Slavic tribes always correspond to river beds. According to the chronicler, the glades settled along the middle Dnieper; Drevlyans - northwest of the glades, along the Pripyat River; Dregovichi - north of the Drevlyans, between Pripyat and Western Dvina; Buzhans - to the west of the glades, along the Western Bug River; northerners - east of the glades, along the Desna, Seim and Sula rivers; Radimichi - north of the northerners, along the Sozha River; the Vyatichi advanced eastward the furthest - to the upper reaches of the Oka; Krivichi settlements stretched along the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina; Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, occupied by the Ilmen Slovenes, marked the northern border of settlement, and the Dniester and Southern Bug, developed by the Tivertsy and Uglich people, marked the southern border.
Arab sources and Procopius of Caesarea report the advance of the Slavs even further east - into the Don basin. But they failed to gain a foothold here. In the 11th - 12th centuries, when the Tale of Bygone Years was created, these lands (with the exception of the Tmutorokan principality) had long and completely belonged to nomadic tribes. The memory of the Slavs’ presence there was lost, which is why the chronicler did not include the Don among the rivers on the banks of which our ancestors “sat.” In general, the chronicle evidence of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs is different high degree reliability and is generally confirmed by other written sources, archaeological, anthropological and linguistic data.
Two migration flows to ancient Russian lands
So, the East Slavic ethnos did not know either tribal or dialect unity, or a common “ancestral home”, which until recently was unconditionally recognized as the Middle Dnieper region. In the complex process of settlement of the Eastern Slavs, two main streams are distinguished, originating in vast territories from the lower reaches of the Vistula to the North Danube lands. The direction of one of them ran through the Southern Baltic in the interfluve of the Dnieper and Western Dvina, where it bifurcated: its northeastern branch (Ilmen Slovenes and, partly, Krivichi) branched into the Pskov-Novgorod region, and the southeastern branch (Krivichi, Radimichi and Vyatichi ) “bent” into the Sozh, Desna and Oka basins. Another stream rushed through Volyn and Podolia into the Middle Dnieper region (glades) and, branching, went to the north, northwest and northeast (Drevlyans, Dregovichi, northerners).
Let us consider each of these flows, giving them the conventional names “northern” and “southern”.
In the northwestern lands of Ancient Rus', the Slavic population appeared no later than the 5th century. — the emergence of the culture of Pskov long mounds, scattered along the shores of Lake Pskov, the rivers Velikaya, Lovat, Msta, Mologa and partly Chadogoschi, dates back to this time. Its archaeological appearance (material inventory, funeral rituals, etc.) differs sharply from local Balto-Finnish antiquities and, on the contrary, finds direct analogies in Slavic monuments on the territory of Polish Pomerania. From this time on, the Slavs became the main population of this region ( Sedov V.V. Slavs in early middle ages. pp. 213 - 216).
The next wave of the “northern” flow of Slavic migration is archaeologically represented by bracelet-shaped temple rings - characteristic female jewelry not characteristic of any of the Finno-Ugric and Baltic cultures. The center of this migratory movement was Povislenie, from where Slavic tribes, bearers of bracelet-shaped rings, settled western part area of the Pskov long mound culture, advanced to the Polotsk Podvinia, Smolensk Dnieper region and further east in the interfluve of the Volga and Klyazma, reaching in the 9th - 10th centuries. southern shores of Beloozero. The local Finnish and Baltic population was quickly subjugated and partly assimilated by the newcomers.
Almost simultaneously, the Danube Smolensk people came to these same lands, whose hallmark are the lunar temporal rings. These different groups of the Slavic population united into a powerful tribal union of the Krivichi. The chronicler noted that the Krivichi lived “...on the top of the Volga, and on the top of the Dvina, and on the top of the Dnieper, their city is Smolensk”; they were “the first nuns... in Polotsk”, Izborsk stood in their land. The fact that the Krivichi were a border population of the entire Old Russian North-West is evidenced, in particular, by the Latvian name for the Russians - krievs (“krievs”).
Another place where the Slavs settled, participants in the “northern” colonization flow, was the northwestern Ilmen region and the source of the Volkhov. The earliest Slavic monuments (the culture of the Novgorod hills) date back here to the 8th century. Most of them are concentrated along the banks of the Ilmen, the rest are scattered in the upper reaches of the Luga, Plyussa and the Mologa basin.
As for the Radimichi and Vyatichi, modern data fully confirms the chronicle information about their origin “from the Poles.” But if the Radimichi, like the Ilmen Slavs and Western Krivichi, retained the South Baltic anthropological type, then the Vyatichi inherited some racial traits of the Finno-Ugric population of the East European Plain.
The “Southern” stream poured onto the Central Russian Plain a little later. The settlement of the Middle Dnieper region and the forest-steppe zone with its black soil expanses by the Slavs began in the last decades of the 7th century. Two circumstances contributed to this: firstly, the departure of the Bulgars from the Northern Black Sea region and, secondly, the formation of the Khazar Kaganate in the steppes between the Volga and Don, which temporarily blocked the road to the west for the warlike Trans-Volga nomads - the Pechenegs and Hungarians; at the same time, the Khazars themselves almost did not bother the Slavs throughout the first half of the 8th century, as they were forced to enter into a long war with the Arabs for the North Caucasus.
However, when settling the Dnieper region, the Slavs for a long time preferred to stick to forest areas that descended along river valleys into the steppe. In the 8th century The early Slavic Romny culture arose here. In the next century, Slavic settlements moved even further into the depths of the steppes, as can be seen from the monuments of the Borshev culture in the Middle and Lower Don.
Anthropological studies show that Slavic tribes belonging to both the Baltic anthropological type (high forehead, narrow face) and the Central European type (low forehead, wide face) took part in the settlement of the forest-steppe zone.
The settlement of the Slavs in the ancient Russian lands was accompanied by clashes between tribes, which sometimes became very violent. The clashes were caused by attacks on neighboring territory, primarily hunting grounds.
Conflicts of this kind were probably a widespread phenomenon, but The Tale of Bygone Years remembered only one of them: the Polyans, according to the chronicler, “were offended by the Drevlyans and the devious ones.” To offend a tribe or people means to violate good neighborly relations. Hence, we're talking about about some kind of violation of the rights of the glades to the territory they occupy on the part of neighboring tribes.
It seems that the essence of the conflict is clarified by one of the epics of the Kyiv cycle, which preserved the realities of the “pre-Kiev” era. One day, during the next “honorable feast” in Kyiv, his servants appeared to Prince Vladimir - and in what form?
They were all beaten and wounded.
Violent heads are pierced with clubs,
Their heads are tied with sashes.
It turned out that they “ran into open field"at the crowd of unknown "well done" - "for three hundred and for five hundred", who "beat and wounded" the prince's people, "caught" all the "white fish", "shot the aurochs-deer" and "snatched the clear falcons." The offenders called themselves “Churilov’s squad.” Later it turns out that this Churila Plenkovich lives “not in Kyiv”, but “lower than Malov Kievets” (on the Lower Danube), and in his power and wealth he surpasses Prince Vladimir - his yard is “seven miles away”, surrounded by an “iron wall” ”, and “on every tyninka there is a crown, and there is also a strawberry.” This epic seems to be a folklore version of the chronicle news of the attack of the “Drevlyans and Okolniks” on the lands of the glades.
Two migration flows independent from each other, which absorbed different groups of Slavic tribes, determined the “bipolar” development of early Russian history. For a long time, the Russian south and the Russian north followed, if not completely different, then completely independent paths. Eagerly emphasizing their differences from each other, they too often forgot about what united them. And in the end, the historical task of achieving state and popular unity turned out to be beyond the power of either one or the other. Therefore, we can say, following S. M. Solovyov, that the Novgorod and Kiev lands were not two centers, but two main scenes of our ancient history. The true center of the Russian land was not there and did not reveal itself immediately. The seed of its statehood—Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'—slowly ripened away from the vibrant life of the ancient Russian borderland.
Comment: It is better to do the work step by step, sequentially completing tasks for the contour maps. To enlarge the map, simply click on it.
TASKS
1. Label different colors territories of settlement of the Eastern, Western and Southern Slavs.
Eastern Slavs - in green
Western Slavs - yellow
Southern Slavs - in pink
2. Write the names of the rivers along which the Eastern Slavs settled.
Volga, Desna, Seim, Southern Bug, Dnest, Prut, Pripyat, Bug, Dnieper, Western Dvina, Lovat, Neva, Volkhov
3. Write the names of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs, about which the chronicler wrote:
1. “These Slavs came and sat down along the Dnieper... [in the fields]” - clearing
2. “And others sat down in the forests” - Drevlyans
3. “And others sat down between Pripyat and Dvina [in the swamps]” - Dregovichi
4. “Some sat down along the Dvina, along a river that flows into the Dvina and is called Polota” - Polotsk residents
5. “The same Slavs who settled around Lake Ilmen were called by their own name” - Slovenian Ilmenskie
6. “And others sat along the Desna, and the Seim, and the Sula” - northerners
7. “And they sit in the upper reaches of the Volga, and in the upper reaches of the Dvina, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper” - Krivichi
8. “After all, the Poles had two brothers - Radim, and the other - Vyatko; and they came and sat down: Radim on the Sozh, and Vyatko sat down with his family along the Oka" - Radimichi and Vyatichi
9. “There were many of them: they sat along the Dniester and near the Danube all the way to the sea” - Tivertsy
Write the names of the cities that became the centers of these unions.
Kyiv, Iskorosten, Smolensk, Polotsk, Chernigov, Izborsk, Pskov, Novgorod, Ladoga, Rostov
4. Write the names of non-Slavic tribes neighboring the Eastern Slavs.
Merya, Murom, Meshchera, Mordovians, Hungarians (Magyars), Yases (Alans), Wallachians, Avars, Golyad, Yatvingians, Lithuania, Semigallians, Latgallians, Chud (Ests), Vod, Korela, all.
5. Circle the borders of the three largest states at the beginning of the 9th century. and sign their names.
Byzantine Empire
Khazar Khaganate
Bulgarian kingdom
