Slavs (origin of the Slavs). Slavs - a family of related peoples

Slavic countries are states that existed or still exist, having for the most part its population of Slavs (Slavic peoples). Slavic countries of the world are those countries in which the Slavic population is about eighty to ninety percent.

Which countries are Slavic?

Slavic countries of Europe:

But still, to the question “which country’s population belongs to the Slavic group?” The answer immediately arises - Russia. The population of Slavic countries today is about three hundred million people. But there are other countries in which Slavic peoples live (these are European states, North America, Asia) and speak Slavic languages.

Countries Slavic group can be divided into:

• Western Slavic.
• East Slavic.
• South Slavic.

Languages ​​in Slavic countries

The languages ​​in these countries originated from one common language(it is called Proto-Slavic), which once existed among the ancient Slavs. It was formed in the second half of the first millennium AD. It is not surprising that most words are consonant (for example, Russian and Ukrainian languages ​​are very similar). There are also similarities in grammar, sentence structure, and phonetics. This is easy to explain if we take into account the duration of contacts between the inhabitants of the Slavic states. Russian occupies the lion's share in the structure of Slavic languages. Its carriers are 250 million people.

It is interesting that the flags of Slavic countries also have some similarities in color and the presence of longitudinal stripes. Does this have anything to do with their common origin? More likely yes than no.

Countries where Slavic languages ​​are spoken are not that numerous. But still Slavic languages still exist and are thriving. And several hundred years have passed! This only means that the Slavic people are the most powerful, persistent, and unshakable. It is important that the Slavs do not lose the originality of their culture, respect for their ancestors, honor them and preserve traditions.

Today there are many organizations (both in Russia and abroad) that revive and restore Slavic culture, Slavic holidays, even names for their children!

The first Slavs appeared in the second and third millennium BC. Of course, the birth of this mighty people took place in the area of ​​modern Russia and Europe. Over time, the tribes developed new territories, but still they could not (or did not want to) go far from their ancestral homeland. By the way, depending on migration, the Slavs were divided into eastern, western, southern (each branch had its own name). They had differences in their way of life, agriculture, and some traditions. But still the Slavic “core” remained intact.

The emergence of statehood, war, and mixing with other ethnic groups played a major role in the life of the Slavic peoples. The emergence of separate Slavic states, on the one hand, greatly reduced the migration of Slavs. But, on the other hand, from that moment on their mixing with other nationalities also dropped sharply. This allowed the Slavic gene pool to gain a strong foothold on the world stage. This affected both the appearance (which is unique) and the genotype (hereditary characteristics).

Slavic countries during the Second World War

Second World War brought great changes to the countries of the Slavic group. For example, in 1938, the Czechoslovak Republic lost its territorial unity. The Czech Republic ceased to be independent, and Slovakia became a German colony. The following year the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to an end, and in 1940 the same happened to Yugoslavia. Bulgaria sided with the Nazis.

But there were also positive sides. For example, the formation of anti-fascist movements and organizations. A common misfortune united the Slavic countries. They fought for independence, for peace, for freedom. Such movements especially gained popularity in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia.

The Soviet Union played a key role in World War II. The citizens of the country selflessly fought against the Hitler regime, against the cruelty of German soldiers, against the fascists. The country has lost a huge number of its defenders.

Some Slavic countries during the Second World War were united by the All-Slavic Committee. The latter was created by the Soviet Union.

What is Pan-Slavism?

The concept of Pan-Slavism is interesting. This is a direction that appeared in the Slavic states in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It had the goal of uniting all the Slavs of the world on the basis of their national, cultural, everyday, and linguistic community. Pan-Slavism promoted the independence of the Slavs and praised their originality.

The colors of Pan-Slavism were white, blue and red (these same colors appear on many country flags). The emergence of such a movement as Pan-Slavism began after the Napoleonic wars. Weakened and "tired", the countries supported each other in Hard time. But over time, they began to forget about Pan-Slavism. But at the present time there is again a tendency to return to the origins, to the ancestors, to the Slavic culture. Perhaps this will lead to the formation of a neo-Panslavist movement.

Slavic countries today

The twenty-first century is a time of some discord in the relations of the Slavic countries. This is especially true for Russia, Ukraine, and EU countries. The reasons here are more political and economic. But despite the discord, many residents of countries (from the Slavic group) remember that all the descendants of the Slavs are brothers. Therefore, none of them wants wars and conflicts, but only want warm family relationships, as our ancestors once had.

Slavic countries

History of the formation of the Slavic state

traditionally divided into three major branches: eastern, western and southern. This is the largest ethnolinguistic group in Europe. The Eastern Slavs are represented by three peoples: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The western branch includes Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovins, Koshubians, Lusatians, etc. The southern Slavs include Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians, etc. The total number of all Slavs is about three hundred million.

The historical regions of residence of the Slavs are the eastern and southern and central parts of Europe. Modern representatives Slavic ethnic group inhabit most of the Eurasian continent up to Kamchatka. Slavs also live in Western Europe, USA, Canada and other countries. By religion, most Slavs are Christians, Orthodox or Catholics.

East Slavs

There is very little reliable information about the origin and settlement of the East Slavic tribes in the prehistoric period. It is known that around the fifth to seventh centuries, the Eastern Slavs settled the territory of the Dnieper basin, and then spread to the upper reaches of the Volga in the east and the southern coast of the Baltic in the northeast.

Most researchers believe that by the ninth – tenth centuries, various tribal unions united into a coherent ancient Russian ethnos. It was he who formed the basis of the Old Russian state.

The majority of the people adhere to the Roman Catholic faith. However, among Poles there are Lutherans and Orthodox Christians.

Slavic peoples today

The Slavs today are the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe. They inhabit vast territories and number about 300-350 million people. In this article we will look at what branches the Slavic peoples are divided into and talk about the history of their formation and division. Let's also touch a little modern stage distribution Slavic culture and those religious views that the tribes adhered to during their development and formation.

Origin theories

So, according to medieval chroniclers, our peoples descend from a common ancestor. He was Japheth. This character, according to the chronicles, gave birth to such tribes as the Medes, Sarmatians, Scythians, Thracians, Illyrians, Slavs, British and other European peoples.

The Arabs knew the Slavs as part of the community of peoples of the West, which included the Turks, Ugrians and Europe. In their military records, historians associate this conglomerate with the word "Sakalib". Later, deserters from the Byzantine army who converted to Islam began to be called this.

The ancient Greeks and Romans called the Slavs “Sclavinians” and correlated them with one of the Scythian tribes - the Skolots. Also, the ethnonyms Wends and Slavs are sometimes brought together.

Thus, the three branches of the Slavic peoples, the diagram of which is given below, have a common ancestor. But later, the paths of their development diverged significantly, due to the vast territory of settlement and the influence of neighboring cultures and beliefs.

History of settlement

Later we will touch upon each group of tribes separately, but now we should understand into which branches the Slavic peoples are divided and how the settlement process took place.
So, for the first time these tribes were mentioned by Tacitus and Pliny the Elder. These ancient Roman historians spoke in their notes about the Wends who inhabited the Baltic territories. Judging by the period of life of these statesmen, the Slavs existed already in the second century AD.

The next who spoke about these same tribes were Procopius of Caesarea and Priscus, a Byzantine writer and scientist. But the most complete information that relates to the pre-chronicle period is available from the Gothic historian Jordan.

He reports that the Sklavens are an independent tribe that separated from the Venets. In the territories north of the Vistula River (modern Vistula) he mentions " numerous people Veneti", which are divided into Antes and Sklavens. The first lived along the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea) from Danaster (Dniester) to Danapra (Dnieper). The Sklavens lived from Novietun (the city of Iskach on the Danube) to Danastra and Vistula in the north.

Thus, in the sixth century AD, the Sklavens already lived in the lands from the Dniester to the Vistula and the Danube. Later, various chroniclers will mention a much wider area of ​​settlement of these tribes. It covered the lands of Central and Eastern Europe.

How did the three branches of the Slavic peoples split? The diagram we gave above shows that the movement went north, south and east.

Initially, the tribes moved towards the Black and Baltic Seas. It is precisely this period that is described by the Gothic historian Jordan. Then the Avars invade these lands and split the unified area of ​​the tribes into parts.

Over the course of two centuries (from the sixth to the eighth) they settled in the eastern foothills of the Alps and fell under the rule of Emperor Justinian II. We know this from references in the chronicles, which spoke of the campaign of the Byzantine army against the Arabs. Sklavins are also mentioned as part of the army.

In the eighth century, these tribes reached the Balkan Peninsula in the south and Lake Ladoga in the north.

Southern Slavs

Western and southern Slavs, as we see, were formed in different time. First, the Antes separated from the conglomerate of tribes and went east, towards the Black Sea and the Dnieper. Only in the eighth century did this people begin to populate the Balkan Peninsula.

The process went as follows. Some East and West Slavic tribes moved in search of better lands to the southwest, towards the Adriatic Sea.

Historians highlight in this migration the following groups: obodrites (in European chronicles known as pre-denicents), Severtsy (possible connection with the northerners), Serbs, Croats and others. Basically, these are tribes that lived along the Danube River.

Later it was replaced by the Penkovsky archaeological community. There is a gap of two centuries between these cultures, but it is believed that such a gap is caused by the assimilation of some tribes with others.

Thus, the origin of the Slavic peoples was the result of the authentic formation of larger communities from a number of small tribal associations. Later, the chroniclers of Kievan Rus would give names to these groups: Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Vyatichi and other tribes.

According to ancient Russian chronicles, as a result of the unification of fifteen groups of Eastern Slavs, such a powerful medieval power as Kievan Rus was formed.

Current situation

So, we discussed which branches the Slavic peoples are divided into. In addition, we talked about how exactly the process of resettlement of tribes to the south and east took place.

Modern Slavic peoples are slightly different from their direct ancestors. In their culture they combine the imprints of influences from both neighboring peoples and many alien conquerors.

For example, most of the western regions Russian Federation and Ukraine, once part of Kievan Rus, were under the Mongol-Tatar yoke for several centuries. Therefore, many borrowings from Turkic languages ​​are included in the dialects. Also, some traditional ornaments and rituals preserve the imprints of the culture of the enslavers.

The South Slavs were more influenced by the Greeks and Turks. Therefore, at the end of the article we will have to talk about religious issues. The once pagan tribes today are adherents of different denominations of the Abrahamic religions.

Descendants may not know in detail what branches the Slavic peoples are divided into, but, as a rule, everyone easily recognizes their “countryman”. The Southern Slavs are traditionally darker-skinned, and their dialect contains specific phonemes that are characteristic only of this region. A similar situation exists with the descendants of Western and Eastern tribal associations.

So, what countries today have become the homeland for different branches of the Slavic people?

States of the South Slavs

Modern Slavic peoples are spread across much of Eastern and Central Europe. However, in the context of globalization, their representatives can be found in almost every country in the world. Moreover, the peculiarity of our mentality is such that after a short time our neighbors begin to understand Slavic languages. The Slavs have always sought to introduce foreigners to their culture, while giving in little to the process of their own assimilation.

Modern southern Slavs include Slovenes and Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgarians, Croats, Bosnians and Serbs. Basically, these peoples live on the territory of their national states, which include Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia.

That is, in fact, this is the territory of the Balkan Peninsula and the northeastern part of the Adriatic Sea coast.

The southern Slavic peoples today are increasingly moving away from the idea of ​​​​the community of these peoples, joining new family European Union. True, several decades ago there was an attempt to create one common country with a population consisting only of southern Slavs, but it failed. This state was once called Yugoslavia.

Outside the national states, representatives of this branch of the Slavic peoples, according to official statistics, live quite a lot in Italy, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Turkey, Albania, Greece and Moldova.

Countries of the Western Slavs

Since the ethnogenesis of the Slavic peoples mainly took place initially on the territory of modern Poland and Germany, representatives of Western tribes practically did not leave their homes.

Today their descendants live in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Traditionally, ethnologists distinguish five peoples that belong to the West Slavic branch. These are Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Kashubians and Lusatians.

The first three ethnic groups live mainly in states with corresponding names, and the last two live in separate regions. Lusatian Serbs, to whom the Vends, Lugians and Sorbs also belong, inhabit Lusatia. This territory is divided into Upper and Lower parts, which are located in Saxony and Brandenburg, respectively.

The Kashubians live on a land called Kashubia. It is part of the modern Polish People's Republic. The unofficial capital of this people is the city of Kartuzy. There are also many representatives of this nationality found in Gdynia.

Kashubians consider themselves an ethnic group, but they recognize Polish citizenship. In their environment, they are divided into several formations depending on their place of residence, features of the national costume, activities and class differences. So, among them there are zaboriaks, parchan gentry, gburs, taverns, gokhs and other groups.

Thus, we can say with confidence that the majority of Western Slavic peoples have preserved their customs as much as possible. Some of them are even still engaged in traditional trades and crafts, although more to attract tourists.

East Slavic powers

The modern territory belongs to countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Today, these states can be said to be at a crossroads. Their peoples are faced with a choice: to remain committed to traditional ways of life or to follow the path of their southern brothers, adopting Western European values.

The once powerful power - Kievan Rus over time transformed into three countries. The Muscovite kingdom was formed around Moscow, and then the Russian Empire. Kyiv united around itself the lands of many tribes from the Carpathians to the Don. And Belarus was formed in the forests of Polesie. Based on the name of the territory, the main part of the country is inhabited by descendants of Poleschuks and Pinchuks.

Religions of different branches of the Slavs

Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus - modern territory Eastern Slavs. Here the majority of the population is Orthodox Christians.

In principle, the official departure from paganism occurred in the tenth century, when Kyiv prince Vladimir the Great baptized Rus'. But in 1054 there was a great schism, when separate Orthodox and Catholic faiths appeared in Christianity. The eastern and southeastern tribes remained loyal to the Patriarch of Constantinople, while the western and southwestern ones became supporters of the Roman Catholic Church.

At a certain stage in history, certain groups of southern Slavs converted to Islam. This is explained by the fact that their lands were under oppression Ottoman Empire. The Turks made many concessions for their co-religionists. Today, Muslims include Gorani, Bosniaks, Pomaks, Kuchis and Torbeshis.

Thus, in this article we studied the ethnogenesis of the Slavic peoples, and also talked about their division into three branches. In addition, we figured out which modern countries belong to the territory of settlement of the southern, western and eastern tribes.

Slavic peoples belong to one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in Eurasia and Europe. Despite this, their history is replete with blank spots. Moreover, some scientists believe that the history of the Slavs was rewritten more than once, which means that it is incredibly difficult to identify reliable facts from the abundance of information. However, year after year, historians manage to piece together more and more data about the lives of our ancestors and their cultural traditions. And they, as experts say, are very diverse. After all, the Slavs have never been a single nation with identical beliefs, culture and language. They were settled over quite vast territories, so over time they became more and more different from each other.

Our article examines the historical development of the Western Slavs, their identity and religious beliefs, which differ significantly from the peoples who are commonly called the Eastern and Southern Slavs.

Brief characteristics of the ethno-linguistic group

The Western Slavs, as our reader probably already understood, are a kind of community of tribes united by a single name, cultural values ​​and traditions. Historians claim that this group emerged as a result of the settlement of tribes in various territories. This became the catalyst that launched the process of isolation of some Slavs from others.

For many, it remains unclear who belongs to the Western Slavs. After all, the common ethno-linguistic group includes quite a few tribes. The most prominent representatives of the named block are Croats, Czechs, Poles, Polans and similar nationalities.

The Slavic peoples, according to historians, even at the initial stage historical development were never united. They had certain differences due to their residence in one area or another. Initially, it was difficult to call them noticeable and in any way significant, however, after time, the cultural gap between the Slavic peoples only began to widen. This was mainly influenced by two factors:

• mass relocation to new territories;
• interbreeding with representatives of other ethnic groups.

The first wave of resettlement gave way to a new one, and gradually communities were created on the reclaimed lands that were significantly different from their prototypes. Cultural and trade ties between the Slavic tribes began to break down, which was largely influenced by distance. We can say that this particular moment is considered the starting point at which the isolated history of the Western Slavs begins.

If we consider the topic of tribal settlement in a little more detail, it should be noted that it occurred in three directions: south, east and west. The Slavs, who later became known as Western Slavs, headed to the lands of the Middle Danube, and also settled the territories between the Oder and Elbe.

Territory of the Western Slavs

Historians write that the process of separation of this Slavic branch began before our era and continued for several centuries. It was during this period that the very traits that in the future became the basis of a new ethnic group were formed. The first thing that united the resettled tribes was territorial boundaries.

The settlement of the Western Slavs was a long process, as a result of which vast territories were occupied:

• Odra River;
• Labe River;
• Saala River;
• middle Danube.

According to the latest data, it can be judged that the Slavs reached all the way to modern Bavaria and even entered into military conflicts with ancient Germanic tribes. It is interesting that today more than a hundred tribes are classified as Slavic, of which approximately fifty ethnic groups are Western, bringing their traditions to new lands.

Historians, studying the language and culture of peoples who trace their history back to the West Slavic group, have noted that the latter have much in common with their ancestors. This can be seen in the etymology of names and, first of all, in religious beliefs, which played a very important role until the adoption of Christianity.

By the way, many scientists believe that the Slavs, who mastered the western territories, accepted Christian religion according to the type of Catholicism, another nuance that divided the once fraternal peoples. However, even during the times of the ancient Western Slavs, a religious split between them was already observed and subsequently only changed its form and scale.

Religious Beliefs

Before the adoption of Christianity, the people described were pagans who worshiped not only certain deities, but also nature spirits, as well as animals. A distinctive feature of Slavic religious cults is the fact that they often did not single out individual gods, but worshiped spirits as a whole. For example, according to the beliefs of ancient tribes, a huge number of deities lived in the forest. Therefore, when going hunting or collecting forest gifts, our ancestors turned to everyone at once, asking for their mercy and protection.

It is noteworthy that the Slavs also believed in demons. However, in their minds they were not evil entities. Ancient peoples believed that demons were just the souls of animals, plants and stones. They can live in certain objects, but if necessary, they leave them and travel around the world.

Totemism, or the veneration of the animal progenitor, was also widespread among tribes. This cult was especially important for the Western Slavs. Each tribe chose its own totem animal and worshiped it, but killing a sacred animal was not considered something criminal. This fact is a significant difference between Slavic totemism and the form that it later took, for example, in Egypt. It is interesting that some historians consider the legends about werewolves, so widespread in Europe, to be the result of the influence of such cults. Many Slavic communities revered wolves and wore their skins during ritual events. Sometimes the ritual required movement in such a way across the terrain, which, naturally, looked wild and even terrifying for random travelers.

In the paganism of the Western Slavs, it was customary to serve the gods in specially constructed places where idols were installed. The temples, as they were called, were built mainly on hills, which were clearly visible from all sides. Nearby there was a place for sacrifices or a breviary. Pagan cults always involve the sacrifice of animals during ritual services.

The Western Slavs, after their final formation into a separate community, slightly modified the temples. They began to build them closed and placed all the idols inside at the same time. It is noteworthy that only the Magi could enter this semblance of a temple. Ordinary members of the tribe had the opportunity to attend some rituals near the temple, but most of the rituals were hidden from prying eyes.

The gods of the Western Slavs were not much different from the deities of their eastern and southern counterparts. And this is quite natural, because all the Slavs had a common pantheon of gods. Although each tribe separately revered its own idol, which was considered the patron saint of this particular community. If we turn to the classification of deities, we can say that they are divided into three groups:

• higher;
• average;
• inferior.

Such a division corresponded to the understanding of the world order, according to which our world consists of three levels: Reality, Rule and Nav.

Slavic deities

In the religion of the ancient Slavs, the highest group of gods included representatives of the celestial sphere such as Perun, Svarog, Dazhdbog and others. For most tribes, Perun was the supreme deity, as he was responsible for thunder and lightning. A little later, he began to be considered the patron of the princely squad and remained in this status until the adoption of Christianity. However, the Western Slavs revered him as an ordinary deity of the highest level. Among them he was known as Perkūnas.

It is interesting that the described group revered Svarog above other spirits and gods. Once upon a time, for all tribes he was the highest power, as he mastered fire and metal. Our ancestors believed that he not only gave the people fire and taught them how to smelt metal, but also sent down from above a certain set of rules and regulations relating to all aspects of life. For example, it was Svarog who ordered a man to have only one woman and take her as his wife until the end of his days.

The Western Slavs called him Sventovit, and over time he turned into the god of war. To glorify him, sanctuaries were built where absolutely everything, including the walls and roof, was red. The deity itself was depicted with four heads turned in all directions. Usually he held a hunting horn in his hands, which the priests filled with wine once a year. After this period, they looked at how much wine remained at the bottom of the vessel and made assumptions about the future harvest.

The gods of the middle group were close to the earth, human needs and fears. Among them, Lada, the goddess of fertility, was very revered. TO lower group included various spirits and entities: mermaids, goblins, brownies.

To summarize, we can say that the religion of the ancient Slavs practically did not change as a result of the settlement of tribes in different territories. Before the adoption of Christianity, it had common recognizable features.

A few words about tribes

The article already briefly mentioned which nationalities can be classified as Western Slavs. However, this information does not reveal the full diversity of these groups, which have common roots. I would like to note that at the first stage of their settlement into new territories, the Slavs actively created military-tribal alliances. Such communities had clear advantages, as they made it possible to quickly develop land, establish trade, build fortified settlements, and even gradually move from defense to the seizure of new territories.

Historians divide all Western Slavs into several groups. The most numerous of them were the Polabian Slavs. Several tribes and military-tribal alliances are united under this name. The largest unions were considered to be the Bodrichi, the Lusatians and the Luticians. The latter, by the way, worshiped wolves and inspired real terror in their neighbors. Their military-tribal union united fifteen tribes.

Scientists also distinguish Polish (Kujaws, Lubushans, Goplians), Silesian (Opolans, Slupians, Dedoshans) and Czech tribes (Hods, Dudlebs, Hanaks). In addition to those listed, there were also Pomeranians (Slovinians, Kashubians, and so on).

If we mention settlement, then the Obodrites were located to the west of all. They established their settlements, starting from Kiel Bay and further along the rivers. Their southern and eastern neighbors were the Lutichi. Since they were a large tribe, they actively populated the Baltic coast. Almost very close to them was the island of Rügen. It belonged entirely to the Ruyans. And the vast territory from the Odra to the Vistula was occupied by the Pomeranians. Their settlements were also often found near the Notech River. The neighbors of the Western Slavs of this group were Polish tribes, who settled in small communities on fertile lands, suitable for agriculture.

It is interesting that despite the common roots and a large number of identical cultural traditions, the Slavic tribes were scattered. No connections were established between them, and the unification occurred only under the influence of a common threat. Scientists believe that it is precisely the reluctance of the tribes to pursue a policy of unification and develop in in this direction slowed down the transition to statehood, despite the abundance of prerequisites for the emergence of a single centralized power.

Emergence and assimilation of the Western group

Scientists are looking for the origins of the Slavic ethnic group around the 1st century BC. It was during this period that small pro-Slavic tribes united with the Wends, who lived east of the German lands. By the 2nd century, other tribes joined this group, which began to form a single cultural layer with a similar linguistic base.

From the 3rd to the 6th centuries, the Slavs began their settlement in various territories, occupying the Baltic coast, the Elbe, Vistula, Oder and Danube basins. Byzantine chroniclers noted that they constantly met numerous tribes of Slavs, as the Slavs were then called. They confidently moved through the Danube territories and in the process established contacts with the indigenous local population - the Germans.

Their main occupation until the 8th century was agriculture. Cattle breeding was after it in second place, since cattle were used for arable land. By the 6th century Western Slavs managed to master two types of agriculture:

• slash-and-burn;
• arable.

The latter was more advanced and required the use of iron tools. Each tribe produced them independently and did it very skillfully.

It is interesting that, having moved to new lands, the Slavs began to be in close contact not with their brothers, but with their neighbors, gradually adopting their cultural traditions. The Western Slavs, depending on their place of residence, came under the influence of the Germans, Greeks, Thracians and other peoples. As a result, they literally assimilated, acquiring more and more traits from more developed cultures.

The first Slavic states

By the 7th century, the Western Slavs began to form the first states. They arose in the Danube and Laba basin. The reason for their formation was class stratification and constant wars with German tribes. The first Slavic state was formed by Czech and Slovenian tribes, as well as Polabs. They all united under the rule of one single prince, who ruled until the middle of the 7th century.

The capital of the Western Slavs during the reign of Prince Samo was located not far from today's Bratislava and was a fairly fortified settlement. The young state very quickly established trade relations with neighboring tribes, which caused discontent among the Germans. The war with them turned out to be successful for Samo, but his state did not last long. The death of the prince led to its disintegration. In place of the once single center, several small associations arose, created on the principles of statehood.

From the 7th to the 9th centuries, more than thirty such centers already existed on the Moravian Plain. They were fortified settlements that provided a roof over their heads and protection for an entire community. Its head was the prince, and inside settlements Crafts, shipbuilding, ore mining, agriculture and cattle breeding actively developed.

The beginning of the 8th century was marked by the formation of the Great Moravian Power, which became the second West Slavic state in history. It was based on the lands of several tribes:

• Moravians;
• Czechs;
• Slovenes;
• Serbs;
• Polabian Slavs;
• Polish Slavs.

The territory of the state was quite vast and bordered on Bavaria, Bulgaria and Khorutania. From the 9th century, the principality began to strengthen, which was facilitated by the wise policy of its ruler, Moimir. Over the next century, the state expanded by seizing neighboring lands and political course princes who advocated strengthening the state and its ties with the Orthodox world.

For these purposes, even the well-known Cyril and Methodius were invited to the principality, who conducted services according to the Orthodox model, which did not suit the Catholic priests, who dreamed of taking such rich lands under their power.

Over time, they managed to cause discord between the Moravian princes and at the end of the 9th century. Small appanage principalities gradually began to emerge from a single power. The Czech Slavs were the first to separate, creating two independent principalities that sought to improve relations with Russia.

Formation of Polish states

Polish Slavic tribes went through their own development path. The initial stage of their unification dates back to the 9th century. Initially, this process took place around several centers, but soon two independent states were formed: Lesser Poland and Greater Poland. The first was captured by Moravian rulers at the end of the 9th century, and the second became the only Old Polish state.

Its formation occurred at the beginning of the 11th century, when the system was finally formed government controlled. It was based on cities and their rulers. They simultaneously performed a lot of functions, among which were, for example, military and judicial.

It’s interesting that Greater Poland’s relations with its neighbors have always been difficult. Often military conflicts arose between them, which were resolved not in favor of the Polish state. It is worth noting that his position was rather weak, therefore, from approximately the middle of the 11th century. it periodically fell into vassalage from stronger neighbors.

Western Slavic culture

Cultural traditions The West Slavic group was formed under the influence of more developed states. On the one hand, they contributed to the rapid cultural growth of the tribes, but deprived the Slavs of the opportunity to go their own way and preserve their identity. Since the adoption of Christianity, the influence of the West has only intensified; now it was reinforced by priests who implanted their own rituals and even language. Western Slavs on long years were forced to speak and write in Latin. Only to XIII century Some states began to develop their own written language.

The cultural traditions of different West Slavic tribes differed markedly, so it is quite difficult to talk about all of them in one article. It is enough to give several characteristic features of the cultural development of this group using the example of a comparison of two states - the Czech principalities and Greater Poland.

In the Czech state, chronicles on native language were carried out since the 12th century, which allowed the literary and theater arts. Interestingly, satirical works were often staged on stage. This was very rare for that time. But Polish literature began to take shape only in the 13th century. Moreover, for a long time teaching was carried out only in Latin, which significantly hampered the development of the literary movement.

Czech architecture is distinguished by a certain symbiosis of Romanesque and Gothic styles. This art reached its greatest flowering in XIV century, while Polish architecture reached its peak only in the 15th century. In Greater Poland, the Gothic style prevailed, to which most of the monuments of West Slavic architecture belong.

In general, we can say that by the 15th century. in many West Slavic states there was a rise in painting, architecture, sculpture and science. The cultural achievements of this period are today the real heritage of modern states.

Instead of a conclusion

The history of the Slavs is more interesting and eventful than it might seem at first glance. However, it has not yet been fully studied and keeps many secrets.

General information. Ethnogenesis. Ethnic divisions.

Material production and culture

Social life and spiritual culture.

Ethnopsychology of the Eastern Slavs.

It is customary to organize the overview of the peoples of the CIS according to large historical and ethnographic regions: Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia and the Far East.

We will begin our review with the East Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. The peoples of this region, due to special historical conditions, were destined to play in both the civil and cultural history of all the peoples of the CIS.

The East European Plain, bounded from the north and south by the seas, from the east by the Ural ridge and the steppes of the southern Urals, from the west by the conditional political border with Poland. Despite its enormous extent (about 2.5 thousand km from north to south), individual parts of this region have always been connected with each other by economic and cultural, and later by political ties. In physiographic terms, Eastern Europe can be divided into two main zones: forest in the north and steppe in the south, with an intermediate forest-steppe zone between them. In each of these zones, characteristic economic and cultural types historically developed: in the north, a unique combination of forest agriculture with hunting and fishing, in the south, a combination of steppe agriculture with cattle breeding.

The main economic and cultural types just mentioned have emerged in Eastern Europe since the Stone Age: archaeologists distinguish here two main types of Neolithic cultures: the agricultural, pastoral and steppe Neolithic and the hunting and fishing forest Neolithic. It is very likely that the main nodes of ethnogenetic processes in Eastern Europe were tied in that distant era - in the III-II millennia BC. e. Science has written evidence about the population of the East European Plain, starting from about the middle of the 1st millennium BC: this is the news of Herodotus and other Greek, and later Roman writers about the tribes of the Scythians, Sarmatians and others who replaced each other in the territory of interest to us . Although specific historical connections between certain ancient peoples and modern ethnic groups is not so easy to establish, however, the almost continuous stream of historical evidence flowing from ancient times to the present day and supplemented in the same way by an almost continuous chain of material archaeological monuments, allows us to make one very important statement: before We see an undoubted continuity of cultural development on the territory of Eastern Europe throughout observable history, and to a large extent, continuity of ethnic development.

Eastern Europe, as a single historical and ethnographic region, is divided into smaller parts-subregions, each with its own specifics. These sub-regions are: a) the main and central part of Eastern Europe, the territory of the original settlement of the East Slavic peoples (Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians); b) Baltic states; c) Eastern European North; d) Volgo-Kamye; e) southwestern outskirts of the USSR.

1. General information. Ethnogenesis. Ethnic divisions.

The Russian ethnic group, together with its closely related Ukrainian and Belarusian ones, not only historically played the most important role among other peoples of Eastern Europe (as well as other regions and countries), but also, purely geographically, has long occupied a middle place between other peoples of Eastern Europe. Ethnically, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians form a group of so-called East Slavic peoples. The East Slavic group of peoples is part of the family of Slavic peoples. This family is divided into three main branches: Eastern, Western and Southern Slavs. The South Slavic branch includes Bulgarians with Macedonians, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The West Slavic branch includes, not counting the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian tribes, the Poles and the adjacent but independent small group of Kashubians, then the Lusatian Serbs, Czechs and Slovaks. As for the East Slavic group (branch) of languages ​​or peoples, this group consists of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

However, the commonality of the Eastern Slavs is not only linguistic. Also culturally, there are very characteristic elements - we will see them later - that create the unity of the East Slavic peoples, in contrast to other Slavic and non-Slavic peoples. But, of course, one cannot imagine the existence of some kind of impenetrable wall between the East Slavic and other Slavic peoples. There is significant commonality between them and there is whole line transitional forms.

The question of the origin of the Slavs. The unity of origin of the Slavic peoples does not raise any doubts. But the question of the origin of the Slavs, despite the huge number of books and articles devoted to it, still cannot be considered completely resolved.

In the past, many scientists, mostly German, tried to prove the Asian origin of the Slavs, linking them with the Sarmatians, Huns and other steppe nomads. Much more serious is the “Danube” (or “Pannonian”) theory, based on the legend about the settlement of Slavic tribes from the Danube, set out in the chronicles. Supporters of the theory of the initial settlement of all Slavs on the Middle Danube also substantiate it with folklore data: “Danube” is mentioned in the songs of all Slavic peoples. However, many European Slavists have long expressed doubts about the correctness of this “Danube” theory and believed that the ancestral home of the Slavs should be sought north of the Carpathians, in the Vistula basin, even in the Baltic states.

The work of researchers in the USSR formed the basis of modern concepts about the origin of the Eastern Slavs. These are the following provisions:

that the East Slavic peoples form an inseparable part Slavic circle peoples and, together with the Western and Southern Slavs, are part of the Indo-European family of peoples;

that they were formed in Europe, on the East European Plain, and did not come from somewhere in Asia;

that they have historical roots with the ancient peoples of Eastern Europe.

East Slavic peoples were formed on a heterogeneous ethnic basis.

For the first time in history, the Slavs appear in written sources, not counting controversial and semi-legendary reports, in the first centuries AD. e. under the name of the Wends. The Weneds lived in the Vistula basin and along the shores of the “Wened (Gdansk) Bay” Baltic Sea. They write about them in the 1st-2nd centuries. Pliny, Tacitus, Ptolemy; the latter calls them “a very numerous people.” Archaeologists identify the Wends with the bearers of the so-called “Przeworsk” culture of the Vistula and Oder basins. These were, apparently, semi-sedentary farmers and cattle breeders. That the Wends were the ancestors of the Slavs is recognized by almost all scientists. The name “Vends” is probably a Latinized form of the ethnonym “Vend” (“Vent”), “Wind”, which has survived to this day: the Germans still call the remnants of the West Slavic Polabian tribes (Serbian Luzhians) “Vends”, a region formerly inhabited by the Slavs in the lower reaches Elbe-"Wendland"; Slovenes were formerly called “Winds”; Finns call Russians “Vene”.

The name “Slavs” appears in sources for the first time in the 6th century. -writers of that time reported about them: Procopius of Caesarea, Jordan, etc. But only the Western Slavic tribes were then called Slavs, or “Sclavinians.” The Eastern Slavic tribes were called Ants.

Different opinions have been and are still being expressed about who the Ants were and what their relationship was to the later Slavic tribes. There is no doubt that the Antes were Slavs. The Byzantine historian Procopius (6th century) directly writes that the Ants and Slavs, although they often quarrel with each other, speak the same language, and in appearance and way of life they do not differ from each other. Both the Slavs and the Antes come, according to Procopius, from the same people - from disputes. Many people associate the name “ant” with the earlier name of the Slavs “Vend” “vened”. Jordan directly indicated that Antes, Slavs and Vinids are different names for one people. After the 6th century the name of the Antes disappears from written sources. Some believed that they were exterminated in the wars with the Avars, but it is more correct that the Antes disappeared among the East Slavic tribes.

East Slavic tribes IX-X. centuries known to us only in the Tale of Bygone Years, supplemented by some other written sources. The chronicle will give a list of the dead tribes and indicate their geographical location. The East Slavic tribes mentioned by the chronicler were distributed in approximate order from south to north as follows: Ulichs, Tivertsy, Croats, Volynians (formerly Dulebs), Polyans, Drevlyans, Northerners, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Dregovichi, Krivichi, Novgorod or Ilmen Slovenes. Among the listed East Slavic tribes, there were apparently groups of a real tribal type, and more complex and larger formations that formed during the collapse of the tribal system, during resettlement. The first could include, for example, the Ulichs, Tivertsy (only vague memories were preserved about these two tribes already in the 11th century), Dulebs (even earlier, probably dissolved in purely geographical associations of Volynians and Buzhans), Radimichi (patronymic name); to the second are the mentioned Volynians and Buzhanians, the later Polovtsians, etc. Many “tribes” of the Kievan Chronicle have a long history behind them, and their names indicate connections with the southern and western Slavs (probably they are older than the division of the Slavic main branches), even with non-Slavic ethnic groups.

Kievan Rus and Old Russian people. IN IX-X centuries The East Slavic tribes were united under the rule of the Kyiv princes into the state of Rus (Kievan Rus). Its formation was accompanied by the collapse of old tribal ties. Already in the 11th century. the names of almost all former tribes disappear from the pages of the chronicle; The Vyatichi were mentioned for the last time in the 12th century. By this time, instead of tribes, there were regional groups corresponding to the feudal principalities: Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolyan, Kuryan, Galician, Vladimir.

There is absolutely no doubt that in the era of Kievan Rus there was national unity: there was a Russian nationality, which modern Soviet historians prefer to call “Old Russian nationality” to avoid misunderstandings. These were neither Great Russians, nor Belarusians, nor Ukrainians.

The question of the origin and existence of the Old Russian ethnos is still largely unclear. Most researchers share the conclusions of Academician B.A. Rybakova. In his research, he showed, first of all, the presence of a consciousness of unity (self-awareness) of the “Russian land” both in the era of the Kievan state and even later, in the Golden Horde era. The concept of “Russian land” covered the entire East Slavic territory, from the lower reaches of the Danube to Lakes Ladoga and Onega, from the Upper Western Dvina to the Volga-Oka interfluve inclusive. This “Russian land” was the area of ​​settlement of the ancient Russian people in the 9th-14th centuries. But it is very interesting that at the same time, in the same era, there was a narrower meaning of the term “Rus”, corresponding only to the southeastern part of the Russian (East Slavic) ethnic territory - the Middle Dnieper: Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav and Seversk lands; this territory in many cases was contrasted as “Rus” proper to all other East Slavic lands. According to the very plausible opinion of B.A. Rybakov, this narrower meaning of the term “Rus” was preserved from the previous era, more precisely from the 6th-7th centuries, when there was a strong tribal union just in the Middle Dnieper region; this is proven by written information about the Rus Rus tribe in the 5th-6th centuries, and by archaeological data. This tribe included not only Slavs, but most likely also descendants of Iranian-speaking Sarmatian-Alan tribes.

The origin of the ethnonym Rosrus remains unclear, but there is no doubt that it is not Slavic. All the names of the East Slavic tribes have Slavic formants: Ichi (Krivichi, Radimichi) or –ane –yane (Polyane, Drevlyane). The initial “r” is not characteristic of the Turkic languages, so the Turkic origin of the ethnonym Rosrus is incredible (the ethnonym Russian in the Turkic languages ​​took the form Orosurus). The term Rus is clearly not Scandinavian; it is closely related to the southern geographical and ethnic nomenclature and has appeared in Byzantine sources since the beginning of the 9th century. It remains to assume the Iranian origin of the tribal name in question. Obviously, the ethnic name of the local Iranian-speaking population was adopted by the Slavs in the process of its Slavicization. The latter has been convincingly proven by anthropology (two different anthropological types) and funerary biritualism (two different methods of burial that existed simultaneously). By the end of IX in the glade, the descendants of the Ros finally mixed with each other, while the ethnonym Ros Rus turned out to be more tenacious and subsequently spread to all the Eastern Slavs.

The collapse of the Old Russian nationality and the formation of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples. All-Russian national unity was struck first by the feudal collapse of Kievan Rus in the 11th-12th centuries, and then by the Tatar-Mongol raid and vassalage to the Golden Horde in the 13th-14th centuries. The political and economic decline, the reshuffling of the population, especially in the southern, steppe and forest-steppe parts of the country, all this caused a sharp weakening of the previous ties.

The formation of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples took place at a later time. This was the creation of new ethnic ties. Between individual East Slavic tribes of the 9th century. and there is no direct continuity between the contemporary East Slavic peoples, for already in the era of Kievan Rus the old tribal ties disappeared. The formation of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples took place in a completely different historical situation: in connection with the formation of the Moscow-Russian and Lithuanian-Russian states.

From the beginning of the 14th century. under the rule of Moscow, the principalities located in the Upper Volga and Oka basin began to unite one after another; already by the beginning of the 16th century. Lands in the south and southwest - along the upper reaches of the Don and along the Desna, and in the west along the Upper Dnieper, and in the northwest, north and northeast of the regions of Pskov and Novgorod, the Northern Dvina and the White Sea, and the Vyatka land - were merged into the Moscow state. Along with political unification, economic ties strengthened and interregional trade grew. The Moscow dialect began to gradually replace local dialects. Political unification, the fight against external enemies, cultural growth - all this contributed to the development of a new all-Russian ethnic identity, which hardly existed in the previous era of feudal collapse and the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Residents of Ryazan, Suzdal, Novgorod, and Muscovites were getting used to feeling like a single Russian people. Russified non-Slavic, predominantly Finno-Ugric elements also joined its composition.

A parallel process of the formation of a nationality on the basis of regional feudal groups also took place in the Western Russian regions. They began to unite in the 14th century. under the rule of Lithuanian princes. But in the Lithuanian state the dominant cultural element was East Slavic. The state and literary language until the 16th century. was Russian. Unification with Poland (Union of Lublin 1569) led to an increase in Polish dominance in Lithuania and weakened the cultural role of the ancestors of the Belarusians: the dominant pan-szlachta elite began to gradually Polonize, while the masses of the peasantry remained Belarusian.

In the southern, Ukrainian lands of Lithuania, especially in the western Ukrainian regions, Polish influence was even stronger. At the same time, these southern regions, open from the south to raids by Tatars, Nogais, and Turks, lived a special life, always under martial law or under the threat of invasion, but at times in peaceful communication with these southern neighbors. This difference in the historical destinies of the northern and southern lands of Lithuanian Rus' led to the fact that in them, although within the framework of a single state, two closely related ethnic groups emerged - Belarusian and Ukrainian. Three close nations thus developed in parallel.

One of the important questions of the ethnogenesis of the East Slavic peoples is the question of the historical and ethnic ties of these peoples with the non-Slavic population of Eastern Europe. Many points of view have been expressed in historical literature, two of them reflect extremes in their opposites: the first - the non-Slavic, including the Finno-Ugric and Turkic population, did not take any part in the formation of the Russian people and Russian culture (Zelenin D.K.); the second - “at least 80% of Finnish blood flows in the veins of modern Russians” (Pokrovsky M.N.). They are one-sided and probably just as wrong. Most researchers adhere to the average position - the formation of the Great Russian people is associated with the colonization of the Oka and Upper Volga basin by the Slavs from the Dnieper region and was the result of a mixture of Slavic and local Finno-Ugric elements.

The presence of a non-Slavic element is absolutely certain in the composition of the Ukrainian people. There are a number of features even in the material culture of Ukrainians, borrowed from Turkic ethnic groups or common to both. As for the Belarusians, their origin is obviously more homogeneous; but the Belarusian population also contains non-East Slavic elements.

The name “Belarusians” is of not entirely clear origin. The term “White Rus'” was first used only by Poles and Lithuanians (the first mention was in a chronicle of 1382). Since the 17th century “Belaya Rus” is also used in Russian documents. Various assumptions were made about the origin of this name: some associated it with the predominant white color of clothing and blond hair among Belarusians; others believed that “white” Rus' meant “free”, that is, not paying tribute to the Tatars; still others derived the name “Belaya Rus” from the ancient toponymy of the river basin. Bug (Belovezh, Bialystok, Bielsk, Byala), from where the name subsequently spread to a wider area.

The name “Ukraine” originally meant (XVI-XVII centuries) the southern outskirts of the Moscow state: “Northern Ukraine” - Kursk and Chernigov regions, “Slobodskaya Ukraine” - Kharkov and Poltava regions. To the south was a “wild field” desolate from the Tatar pogroms. Other parts of present-day Ukraine bore their own names: Volyn, Podolia, Podlyashye, Galicia, Zaporozhye, Novorossiya. Instead of “Ukraine” they sometimes said “Little Rus'”, “Little Russia” - a name that, in a narrower sense, also applied only to the Chernigov, Poltava and Kharkov provinces. Only in the 19th century, in connection with the growth of national self-awareness, the term “Ukraine”, “Ukrainians” acquired a broad, national meaning.

Despite all the national unity of the Russian people, some local groups stand out within it, more or less unique and isolated. The formation of some of these groups is associated with the history of the settlement of the Russian people in the territory they occupied or with later movements; some of them represent mixed or assimilated ethnic entities, although they are Russian in language.

In the indigenous territory of their settlement, Russians (Great Russians) are divided primarily into northern Great Russians and southern Great Russians. This division is basically linguistic - it is associated with the division of the Russian language into the North Great Russian and South Great Russian dialects (each with a subdivision of slander). Northern Great Russian dialects are called okaya, and southern Great Russian dialects are called Akaya. The Middle Great Russian (Moscow) dialect combines the features of these two dialects. In addition to purely linguistic differences, there are also noticeable differences in cultural appearance between the northern and southern Great Russians.

Among the southern Great Russians, the following regional groups stand out most noticeably: “Polekhs” - residents of the Kaluga-Orlov-Bryansk Polesie, obviously descendants of the ancient population of this forest strip, who did not leave with the inhabitants of the steppe to the north from the attack of nomads; “Meshchera” - the population of the so-called “Meshcherskaya side”, i.e. the northern forest part of the Ryazan region (left bank of the Oka). A peculiar group is made up of “odnodvortsy” - descendants of service people whom the government in the 16th-17th centuries. settled along the southern edge of the state to protect the steppe border. These service people came from the majority of Northern and Middle Great Russians, and carried with them to the south the characteristic Northern Russian cultural and everyday way of life. As a social stratum, the odnodvortsy occupied an intermediate position between peasants and small landowners, not merging with either one or the other, and this explains the preservation of their unique features in costume, type of housing, etc.

Among the northern Great Russians in the indigenous areas of their habitat there are fewer isolated cultural groups and names, because there was less movement of the population: mainly local groups are distinguished, known under purely geographical names: “Onezhans”, “Kargopolshchina”, “Belozers”, “Poshekhontsy”, “Sitskari”, “Tebleshan”, Ilmen “Poozers” - direct descendants of ancient Novgorodians, etc.

On the outskirts of the indigenous Russian territory and in places of later colonization, much more unique and isolated cultural and geographical types of the Russian population developed. Among them are primarily the Pomors on the shores of the White and Barents Seas. These are the descendants of Novgorod and “Nizovsky” immigrants who appeared here back in the 12th century. Finding themselves in unusual conditions, they developed a completely unique cultural and economic type, based on the predominance of a commercial coastal economy (fishing and sea hunting); brave sailors, enterprising industrialists, Pomors are distinguished by special character traits; but their material culture retained a pure North Great Russian imprint.

Smaller groups of the same “Pomeranian” origin are also distinguished: such, for example, are the “Ust-Tsilema” and “Pustozery” on Pechora.

The Trans-Volga Old Believers retained a somewhat isolated position, settling the forests along Vetluga and Kerzhenets, escaping persecution in the 17th-18th centuries. Their conservative, closed way of life, which retained purely national characteristics in material culture.

Even more unique in terms of cultural and everyday life are the Cossacks, individual geographical groups of which were formed in connection with the colonization of the southern and eastern outskirts of the country, colonization partly free, partly governmental, for the armed defense of borders. The earliest in origin and at the same time the largest group is the Don Cossacks, whose origins date back mainly to the 16th-17th centuries. and which was made up mainly of the runaway peasantry and for a long time retained its political and, especially, cultural and everyday independence. Various local and alien ethnic elements took part in the formation of the Don Cossacks: Great Russian elements predominated among the “Verkhovsky” Cossacks, and Ukrainian elements predominated among the “Nizovsky” Cossacks. The Don Cossacks had archaic features in clothing and other aspects of life.

The Ural Cossacks, formerly called Yaitsky, began to take shape with late XVI c., mainly from people from the same Don. A strip of villages stretched along the right bank of the river. Ural, former Yaik. The long struggle with the nomads of the steppe left its sharp imprint on their entire culture and way of life. The emergence of the “Grebensky” (Terek) Cossacks, partly made up of the same Don immigrants, dates back to the same time. Previously, there also existed “Orenburg”, “Siberian” and “Semirechensk” Cossacks - the villages of these Cossacks stretched in a narrow strip along the southern outskirts of the former. Orenburg province, in the north of the former Akmola and Semipalatinsk regions, approximately from Orenburg to Omsk and up the Irtysh to the Altai Mountains. Now these groups of Cossacks have dissolved among the mass of the Russian population, although among the Orenburg Cossacks there were also Bashkirs, Tatars, Kalmyks, etc. Somewhat more unique features of life developed among the Transbaikal Cossacks, settled along the Russian-Chinese border in the 2nd half of the 18th century. The Transbaikal Cossack Army (officially formalized only in 1851) also included non-Russian units—Buryat and Tungus Cossack regiments.

The Amur Cossack army was formed even later, after the annexation of the lower Amur region to Russia (1860). At the same time (1858-1862) the Ussuri Cossack army began to be created. Both were made up of the same Transbaikal Cossacks, whom the government transferred to the new border. At the very end of the 19th century. Another group of Don and Orenburg Cossacks was resettled in Ussuri. The Amur and Ussuri Cossacks did not manage to develop a special cultural and everyday way of life. Before the revolution, they did not have time to settle down in the new desert lands, in the harsh conditions of nature.

The Russian population in Siberia as a whole was formed only in modern times: Russians began to penetrate into Siberia from the end of the 16th century. The modern Russian population of Siberia, however, is far from representing a single whole, either in terms of the time of origin or the composition of the elements included in it. The so-called old-timer population, that is, the descendants of the early settlers of the 16th-18th centuries, was comparatively more established and developed unique features of life and character. The main source from which waves of colonization of Siberia came in the early period were the regions of the Russian North and the Northern Urals. Traces of this have been preserved in the Siberian old-timers' dialects, and in cultural and everyday characteristics, and even often in surnames that are widespread in Siberia: Kholmogorovs, Dvinyaninovs, Ustyuzhaninovs, Mezentsovs, Permyakovs, etc. From the southern Great Russian provinces a flow of immigrants began to come to Siberia generally later, in the second half of the 19th century, and from these elements predominantly groups of “new settlers”, or “Russians”, as the Siberian old-timers called them, were made up. There was discord between the old-timers and the new settlers in Siberia based on the struggle for land; it worsened during the civil war. Common Siberian features in language and way of life are extremely few: these include some archaisms in dialects and partly unique character traits developed by settlers in the conditions of a difficult struggle with harsh and unusual nature, and partly with the native population. Such character traits usually include the Siberian’s special practicality, determination and perseverance, courage and endurance, but also a certain severity, isolation and distrust towards outsiders. This type of Siberian “chaldon” peasant has been described more than once in fiction. But there are still much more local differences in Siberia. They are explained both by the heterogeneity of origin of the settlers and by the influence of the local population, with whom the settlers mixed to one degree or another. In terms of material culture, Russians in Western and Eastern Siberia differ quite noticeably. Smaller local groups stand out even more clearly. Of these, we should note, first of all, the descendants of exiles and fugitive Old Believers, who still maintain their isolation from the surrounding population: these are the “Kerzhaks” in Altai, that is, the descendants of people from Kerzhezza, who were previously also called “masons” (for they took refuge in “stones”, in the mountains) and geographically close to them “Poles” who moved in the 18th century. from liquidated Old Believer hermitages on the river. Vetka (in what was then Poland, hence the name); in Transbaikalia, a closed group is made up of the “semeiskie” - descendants of the Old Believers exiled here in the 18th century. with families; In terms of language, the Semeis belong, in contrast to the Altai Kerzhaks, to the South Great Russian group.

A completely special cultural and everyday way of life developed among the Russians who came to the north: these are the “trans-Tundren” peasants in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, who speak Yakut and in their everyday life are no different from the indigenous population; Russian peasants in Yakutia, especially along the Lena (driver settlements) and on the Amga; they became very close to each other in language and way of life. Kolyma residents have even fewer Russian national traits, whose language is greatly distorted and their national Russian self-awareness is weakened: “What kind of Yusskis we are, we are Koyim nayod”). On the contrary, the inhabitants of the Russian Ustye on Indigirka better preserved their national Russian characteristics. Finally, the “Kamchadals” - the mixed population of Kamchatka from Russified natives and Russian settlers - are strongly distinguished by their dialect and way of life, and by their mestizo anthropological type. A mixed group also consists of “Markovites”, residents of the village of Markova in Anadyr, largely Russified Chuvans. Now this old-time Russian population of the northeastern outskirts calls themselves “local Russians.”

With the exception of the last, very small groups, all local groups of the Russian population, even the most isolated and closed, everywhere retain a strikingly clear consciousness of national unity. They consider themselves Russian everywhere and in most cases retain original Russian characteristics in their material culture, customs and legends.

Ukrainians, their units. As for the Ukrainian people, they are much more homogeneous in cultural and geographical composition than the Russian people. This is sufficiently explained by the fact that the territory it occupies is more limited. However, differences in historical destinies and partly geographical conditions gave rise to a certain disparity in the cultural and everyday life. Some cultural differences exist between left-bank and right-bank Ukraine: the latter has experienced more Polish influence. In Western Ukraine, former Galicia and Bukovina, where the Ukrainian population for a long time was under foreign rule and where Polish influence was especially strong, the bulk of the Ukrainian population nevertheless retains its national culture. It considers and calls itself Russians (“Rusky”, “Rusyn”), and in literature is often referred to as “Rusyns”, or (among the Germans) “Ruthens”. The Ukrainian population of Transcarpathian Rus', which has long been under Hungarian rule, is somewhat more isolated in culture. The Magyar influence there is very strong, and many groups of the Carpatho-Ukrainian population have become “Magyarized” to a certain extent. However, the bulk of the population retained their nationality and native language.

But the greatest isolation and originality are revealed by the mountain Ukrainians living in the Carpathians: Hutsuls, Boykos and Lemkos. The Hutsuls are a completely unique group, perhaps a remnant of some special tribe; The origin of the name “Hutsul” itself is unclear. Apparently, this is a Romanian word, at least its ending is the well-known Romanian postpositive term. The Boyks are the western neighbors of the Hutsuls, living in the mountains. The word “boyki” is a mocking nickname from the word “boy” (“only”) and is somewhat offensive to the population (“How smart I am! I’m the same Rusin, like you”). Now they are more often called Verkhovinians. The Lemkos live further west, in the upper reaches of the Sapa. Their name is also a mocking nickname (from “lem” - “only”).

One of the isolated Ukrainian groups of newest origin is the Kuban Cossacks. The core of this group was the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who settled in the lower reaches of the Kuban at the end of the 18th century. (in 1792), after the destruction of the Zaporozhye Sich by Catherine II. They were then called “Black Sea Cossacks”, later (1860) Kuban. In the 1st half of the 19th century. To increase the number of this Cossack group, over 10 thousand people from Ukrainian provinces were resettled there. But in recent times, many Great Russians have appeared in the Kuban, especially in its upper reaches, so that the modern population of the Kuban region is mixed in national composition.

During the 19th century. and the first half of the 20th century, as a result of socio-economic experiments in the Russian Empire and especially in the USSR, Ukrainian settlements appeared far beyond the borders of Ukraine - in the Trans-Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the Far East. There is no special cultural type among these Ukrainian immigrants.

Belarusians. The Belarusian people of all three East Slavic peoples are the most united and monolithic due to the compactness of the territory they occupy. The dialects of the Belarusian language - southwestern and northeastern - differ very little from each other. The culture of the Belarusians is homogeneous, although on the outskirts of the Belarusian territory, naturally, there is the influence of neighboring peoples or even an admixture of them: in the east - Great Russian, in the south - Ukrainian, in the west - Polish and Lithuanian. But these influences do not give rise to special ethnic types, but only intermediate and transitional groups.

Such transitional groups are, in particular, the “Pinchuks” and “Poleschuks”, inhabitants of Pinsk and Chernigov Polesie in the southern part of the Belarusian SSR. Their transitional dialects were formed on the basis of Ukrainian dialects, which is why on old dialectological and ethnographic maps they were usually classified as Ukrainians. However, economically and culturally they gravitate towards the Belarusian territory and are now part of the Belarusian nation.

2. Material production and culture

The ethnography of the East Slavic peoples is one of the relatively well-developed areas of our science.

Main features of the economy of the Eastern Slavs. Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are peoples of an old agricultural culture. These peoples inherited agricultural traditions from their pre-Slavic ancestors: the cultivation of grain plants was known in Eastern Europe back in the Neolithic era, in the 3rd millennium BC. e. East Slavic tribes at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. were real farmers. Even the northern forest Slavic tribes were engaged in agriculture, only it was of a different type - slash-and-burn. With the development of cities, agriculture remained the occupation of the vast majority of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples. Next to agriculture, other branches and areas of the economy were of secondary importance for the East Slavic peoples, although sometimes important. Breeding domestic animals is no less ancient than plant culture. Fishing, hunting and other forestry industries still retain their importance in the northern regions.

Agriculture. The first place in the agricultural economy of the East Slavic population has always been and continues to be occupied by grain crops. Of these, for Russians and Belarusians the main one is rye, for Ukrainians it is wheat. In Russian life, rye has always been considered as folk, peasant bread, and wheat as lordly bread. In the northern regions, where rye does not ripen well, main role Barley played a part in the peasant farm. In some walled areas, especially among the Ukrainians, corn became important. IN in native language reflected this difference specific gravity different cultures. People usually call the prevailing bread in a given area “zhit” (from the root “to live”): in the northern regions (Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, etc.) “zhito” is barley, in other Great Russian regions, as well as among Belarusians and Ukrainians, “ Zhito means rye.

Both in the northern and southern zones, a lot of oats are sown, mainly for livestock feed. Buckwheat is also common in the northern zone, and millet, one of the oldest types of grain plants, is common in the southern zone. From the end of the 18th century. Sunflower began to spread in the southern regions. At first it was used only as an ornamental plant and was used for “seeds” (instead of nuts); it was sown in small quantities; But since the 1840s, when sunflower oil began to be produced, sunflower culture quickly became widespread among Ukrainians and southern Great Russians. In the northern regions, the fate of the potato crop was somewhat similar. The superstitious population, especially the Old Believers, considered potatoes to be “devil’s apples.” Only from the 2nd half of the 19th century. Potatoes became firmly established in peasant farming, especially among Russians and Belarusians. However, its recent introduction into everyday life was reflected later in the fact that, unlike bread, potatoes are not associated with a single ritual or belief among the people.

Traditional industrial crops include flax (especially in the north and Belarus) and hemp (in the central regions). Tobacco growing has long been developed among Ukrainians.

Farming systems. Farming systems refer to different ways of using land for crops. In the agriculture of the Eastern Slavs, one can trace all stages of the development of farming systems, from the most primitive to the most advanced.

In the northern, forested and sparsely populated areas, until very recently, remnants of the so-called slash-and-burn or slash-and-burn economy remained. It consists in the fact that the area of ​​​​the forest where it is planned to sow grain is cut down, and the felled trees are burned next spring, and the ash from the fire richly fertilizes the land. On such a “lyadina” (“lyada”), sometimes even without plowing, barley, rye, flax, etc. were sown, covering up the scattered grain. Such well-fertilized land gave, despite poor cultivation, good harvests for several years. When a site was depleted, it was abandoned and moved on to another. Such a very extensive, barbaric economic system was possible, of course, only with an extremely sparse population, an abundance of forests, and, in addition, it required the combined labor of large collectives, usually patriarchal family communities. WITH mid-19th V. slash-and-burn farming in the northern regions of Russia began to gradually disappear, being replaced by more advanced methods.

A similar, very extensive form of agriculture developed in the steppe zone of southern Russia, partly in Ukraine and Siberia, while its population remained sparse and land was plentiful. This is the so-called fallow (or fallow) system. The owner plowed up any part of the steppe he liked and sowed the same or different plants on it for several years in a row, without fertilizer and without a specific order, and when the area was exhausted, he abandoned it and moved on to the next one. Chernozem soil produced good harvests, but manure fertilizer was even considered harmful. As the steppe zone became more densely populated, the fallow farming system also fell out of use. In Siberia it persisted until the 80s and 90s of the 19th century.

More cultural farming systems are “fallow”, based on the correct alternation of crops and “fallow” and on the use of fertilizer. Of these, the most common among Russians was the three-field system. Under it, the entire area of ​​arable land was divided into approximately equal parts; of them, one was sown with winter grain - rye, wheat, the other with spring grain - oats, the third remained fallow, that is, it rested and received manure fertilizer; the next year, the winter “wedge” turned into spring, spring into fallow, and the fallow was plowed under winter. This system is known from written data from early XVI century, and by the end of the 19th century. it dominated almost the entire Russian territory. This system turned out to be stable, but very conservative - it hardly allows the introduction of new crops and produces low yields. The preservation of this system was supported by a community organization with striping and mandatory crop rotation.

Land cultivation technology. Arable tools. East Slavic agriculture has long been based on plowing (arable farming). The main cultivation of the land is carried out with arable implements using work force livestock The Russian plow comes in many varieties, allowing one to trace its evolution; If you add to this the Ukrainian and Belarusian forms of arable tools, then the variety will be even greater. To give an idea of ​​this diversity, it is enough to say that in one former Vyatka province, according to the research of D.K. Zelenin, up to 30 species of plow could be counted, and they all had their own local names.

According to the design of the working part, arable implements are divided into plows with a skid (sole, heel) and plows and plows that do not have one. The majority of Western and Southern European plows belong to the first group. Their opener is mounted on a horizontal “runner” - the lower part of the implement, on which it can stand stably; the runner rests on the ground, and when working, the plowman only guides the plow. All East Slavic arable tools - plows, etc., belong to the type of implements without a runner (unstable). When working, the plowman leans on the plow with his hands so that it goes deeper into the ground, which is impossible with a plow with a runner. Unstable arable tools without a skid are divided into single-blade (single-bladed, single-toothed) and double-bladed (double-bladed, double-toothed) tools: the former included the ancient Ukrainian “ralo”, the Russian single-toothed “cherkusha”, the Belarusian single-toothed “bipod”, etc.; Double-edged weapons are different types of Russian and Belarusian plows.

According to the method of movement, arable implements are divided into implements with a wheeled limber (plows) and those without a wheeled limber (plow). Arable tools by type of action: tools of the “scooping” type are the most primitive, which only slightly furrow the soil; tools of the “plowing” type - more advanced ones, which, during their movement, loosen the soil and carry its particles along with them; and tools of the “screaming” type, the most developed, which cut and turn over a layer of earth. These three types can be considered as three stages of development. Among East Slavic arable tools, the majority belong to the second and third types.

The Ukrainians, inhabitants of the steppe with its heavy and thick black soil, developed other types of tools. In the old days, a primitive “ralo” was used, which consisted of a long drawbar and a rake attached to it at an acute angle; sometimes he did not even have an iron ploughshare. But since ancient times, the Ukrainians have also used a heavy wheeled plow with two asymmetrically located coulters, which went deep, but required a lot of draft power - up to 8 pairs of oxen. This plow was adapted for deep plowing. According to some archaeologists, the plow, moreover with a runner, appeared on the territory of Ukraine back in the pre-Kiev period - in the 6th-8th centuries.

Harrowing and sowing. The second stage of land cultivation is harrowing. Northern Great Russians say “boronit”, southern Great Russians say “borodit”, Belarusians say “baranavac”, “skarodzits”, Ukrainians say “boronuvati”, “drag”.

The harrow, as already mentioned, may be an older tool than the plow, at least in the northern forest belt. Among the Eastern Slavs, in some places it retained a primitive form until recently. The most primitive of them is the “Vershalina” harrow, which was used here and there in ancient times in Belarus and the North. This is just the top of a tree with branches sticking out in all directions, which was dragged across the field by its thin end. A somewhat more complex type is the “knot” harrow, or “smyk”, used in the northern regions. These are several pieces of a spruce trunk split lengthwise with stumps of branches; they were tied together with transverse bars, so that the branches all stuck out in one direction. The most common was a wooden or wicker harrow in a lattice frame with inserted wooden or iron teeth.

Previously, they sowed everywhere by hand, from a basket. The sower walked along the arable land and scattered the grain with his right hand, trying to distribute it evenly. This required great skill and experience. This work was always performed by an adult man, usually an old man, the head of the family.

Before the introduction of harvesting machines, grain crops were harvested using sickles or scythes. In the northern Great Russian and Belarusian regions they used sickles. The East Slavic sickle has a serrated notch along the working edge, in contrast to the Central European smooth sickle. Sometimes they also reaped with a sickle in more southern regions. But the southern Great Russians, and especially the Ukrainians, used mowing bread much more often. The scythe used for this was equipped with a special rake, the fingers of which were directed parallel to the blade of the scythe. This is the so-called “hook”, or “rake” (among Belarusians). The mown bread is knitted into sheaves using pre-prepared “svyasly” (“over-hung”) from bundles of the same straw. Before transporting them from the field, the sheaves are piled up.

In the old days, grain was ground using hand millstones. The dominant method of grinding everywhere is mills. There are two types of traditional mills: water and wind. The former are common both in the southern, middle and northern zones, although in the north they are less profitable due to the long winter freeze-up. The most primitive type of water mill is the "whorl" mill, where a small water wheel and millstones are mounted on a common vertical axis. Windmills - "wind turbines" - are common in both the southern and northern parts of the country. They appeared later, from the 17th century. In some places, for example in the Arkhangelsk region, the windmill gradually almost replaced the water mill. The flour mill is the most common folk way of using the power of the wind. To install the wings of the mill against the wind, the mill body can be rotated either entirely (“German” type, or “post-type”), or only its upper part with wings (“Dutch”, or “tent” type).

Animal husbandry. Breeding domestic animals is an important, but secondary branch of the economy of the Eastern Slavs. Livestock farming is no less affected by the cultural community and ethnic characteristics of the East Slavic peoples.

Horses, cattle, small livestock such as goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry are raised almost everywhere. The horse is used by Russians and Belarusians as a working and transport animal, and by Ukrainians only as a transport animal. In this regard, the presence and number of horses on the farm of a Russian and Belarusian peasant could serve in the past as one of the most accurate indicators of the degree of his economic power. Russians and Belarusians have long kept cattle for milk and manure. For work, cattle (oxen) are used only in the steppe zone by the Ukrainians, and among the Russians only by the Cossacks, on the Don.

Small livestock—goats and sheep—are ubiquitous, but in small numbers. A peasant family held, rarely more. There is a sharp difference here from everyday life steppe nomads, whose flocks of sheep reached hundreds and thousands of heads. Sheep are bred for wool and meat and are not milked.

Hunting, fishing and sea hunting. In ancient times, hunting for animals and birds played a major role in the economy of the Eastern Slavs. Its products, especially furs, were exported. As the population grew, forest area decreased and animals were exterminated, the importance of hunting fell. In the central and southern regions, hunting has become a sport. Fishing in the central and southern regions, like hunting, has lost its former economic importance and turned into an amateur activity. Fishing has become large-scale industrial in the North, in the Northern Dvina basin, in the lower reaches of the Volga and Don, in the Caspian, Barents, and White seas, in the large rivers of Siberia and on the Pacific coast. Fishing was practiced there using large seines reaching several hundred meters in length. The seine was also used for winter ice fishing: it was pulled on poles through ice holes. On the coasts of the Barents and other seas, on some lakes, fishing was supplemented by sea animal hunting.

Waste trades. In addition to handicraft industries, various latrine trades were very developed in the Russian village, as well as in the Belarusian and Ukrainian ones. They took on a particularly wide character in the same non-chernozem zone.

Many latrine trades were associated with handicrafts: such were carpentry, stoves, roofing, painting, plastering and other trades. The masters of these industries left their villages - mostly from the Northern Great Russians, from the Upper Volga region - to work in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities, some in one season, some over a longer period of time, and having saved a little money, returned to their homeland. Many worked in artels. This type of seasonal otkhodnik artisan was one of the very characteristic images of the Russian pre-revolutionary ethnic environment.

Other waste trades were associated with small-scale trade. Particularly characteristic is the type of “peddler”, or “ofeni”, a seller of small haberdashery goods, who traveled with his “box” on his shoulders around the villages. Most of these peddlers came from the villages of the Yaroslavl province.

Before the construction of a network of railways and the development of shipping in Rus', the coachman and hauler crafts were widely developed. Yamskaya driving along postal routes and transporting various goods by horse-drawn route fed many thousands of coachmen who came from land-poor villages.

Finally, begging was a kind of latrine trade. It was widespread, but very heterogeneous. Among the beggars who were begged in the name of Christ in villages and cities were the crippled, the disabled, the elderly, and orphans, for whom this was a permanent or long-term livelihood. But there were also fire victims who were temporarily forced out of the economy, victims of crop failure, etc., for whom begging was only a way to survive in difficult times.

Types of settlements. The ethnographic study of the types of East Slavic settlements has not yet been sufficiently developed. Some ethnic differences can be established in their types, but they are mainly related to landscape conditions and the history of settlement of the Eastern Slavs. These types are as follows: 1) northern valley type (approximately north of 58° N): settlements are stretched along the valleys of rivers and lakes, which served as the main routes of communication in ancient times (the watersheds in the north are swampy and unsuitable for settlement); 2) central and northwestern watershed type with two subtypes - moraine and ridge: the population spreads evenly across moderately irrigated areas, populating watersheds; 3) southern valley type (in the area dominated by chernozem and feather grass steppes) with two subtypes—valley-ravine and purely valley: the population is drawn to rare reservoirs in this zone, avoiding irrigated watersheds.

In addition to different locations on the ground, rural settlements differ in type and shape. There are two main types: single-yard (single) and multi-yard (group, village). Single-yard settlements do not constitute a historically single type: this includes very ancient “pochinki” and “zaimki” in the North, which appeared there during the initial development of the northern forest belt, and later grew into “cemeteries” and “villages”; and the newest single-yard settlements such as farms, which arose mainly in the 19th century, most of all among the Ukrainians and Cossacks.

Multi-yard (group, village) settlements differ in their form, in which ancient ethnic traditions are most clearly manifested. For northern and southern Great Russians, and partly for both Belarusians and northern Ukrainians, a street or linear village plan is typical, in which the estates are stretched out in one or two lines along the road. This type, which remains extremely stable wherever there is a Russian population, has very ancient roots and can also be traced among other Slavic peoples: among the eastern Poles, among the Slovaks, and in some places among the Slovenes and Croats. The linear settlement plan itself is very ancient in Eastern Europe and is probably associated with the colonization of the northern part of the country, heading along the river of streams. However, the modern “street” type of village with the regular arrangement of estates on both sides of the street, on the contrary, developed late, under the direct pressure of government decrees, starting from the era of Peter I (the first such decree was 1722), during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the south of our country, among the majority of Ukrainians, another type predominates: cumulus, or disorderly, in which estates are located without apparent order, separated by crooked and confusing streets. This type, characteristic of open steppe areas, is also found among other Slavs: among the southern Poles, on the Balkan Peninsula. An extremely rare type for the Eastern Slavs is the so-called circular village plan, well known among the Western Slavs.

Construction equipment and materials. From the point of view of material and construction technology, significant unity is found throughout the East European Plain, a unity beyond which only the southern part of Ukraine remains: a variety of materials are used there, stone, adobe and wicker buildings are found. But in Northern Ukraine, in Belarus and all Great Russians use the same construction equipment and the same material.

In all these areas, log houses made of logs laid horizontally and tied into “crowns” dominate. The technique of connecting logs into crowns varies somewhat. Of the various methods of joining logs, the most widely predominant is the so-called method of cutting “into the corner” (“into the oblo”, “into the cup”): not far from the end of the log, a semicircular depression is cut out in it, into which the end of another log is inserted across. A more advanced (and later) version of this method is cutting out a recess not on the upper, but on the lower surface of the log, which is superimposed by this recess on the lower log. The ends of the logs protrude somewhat. In addition, there is a more complex and less widely used method of cutting “in the paw”, when the logs are connected at the very ends, one end is hewn flat and placed on the other. There are several other, purely local methods of cutting the corners of a log house.

The log buildings of the Eastern Slavs are characterized by certain features. The material is usually round, unhewn logs, rather than rectangular hewn beams, as in Central Europe. A groove is usually cut along the top of the log, into which moss is placed to insulate the building. There is no foundation; the lower crown is placed directly on the ground or placed at the corners big stones or short poles dug into the ground. The bottom of the building is covered with earth for warmth, especially in winter. This is the so-called zavalinka, for Ukrainians it’s prizba, for Belarusians it’s prizba.

Ukrainian housing appears almost universally to be very monotonous in appearance: it is the well-known “hut” with white plaster walls. Unpainted log buildings are found only in the northernmost part of Ukraine, on the border of Polesie, and on the other hand, in the Carpathians, especially among the Hutsuls. In other places there are whitewashed huts everywhere, which are considered a characteristic feature of Ukrainian folk housing. But this feature is not only not related to constructive technology, but rather masks the differences in this technology. In fact, the design of Ukrainian buildings is very diverse.

Underwear and outerwear. The basis of the folk costume of the Eastern Slavs, both women's and men's, was a shirt made of homespun canvas. Unlike a city women's shirt, it has sleeves. It is recognized that the ancient cut of the shirt was “tunic-like,” in which one or two panels are folded over the shoulders, with an opening for the head, and the sleeves are directly sewn to them.

A man's shirt is usually tunic-shaped. Its more ancient type, with a straight cut collar, was preserved by the Ukrainians (the collar is covered with embroidery). Among the Russians, the “kosovorotka” prevailed, with a collar slit on the left side, but this type of shirt spread no earlier than the 15th century, apparently from Moscow. The oblique cut of the collar is known among the Slovaks, but not on the left, but on right side breasts

For girls, the shirt previously served not only as underwear and indoor clothing, but also as weekend clothing; in the summer, nothing was worn over it. On the contrary, a married woman always wore some kind of outerwear. Its types differ among individual East Slavic peoples.

Archaic forms are found in women's belt clothing. The skirt came to the Eastern Slavs relatively late. Among Russians it appears only in the 19th century, and in some places only in recent decades. Among Ukrainians, the skirt (“spidnytsia”) appeared several centuries earlier, coming from the West. Belarusians too; there, the very name of the skirt (“andarak”) indicates, perhaps, its Western origin, although there are other explanations for the etymology of this word.

The most primitive form of women's original belt clothing was preserved in some places among the Ukrainians: this is a “derga” - a long piece of fabric simply wrapped around the waist. Derga was worn mainly as work clothes. Previously, a “plakhta” with a woven or embroidered ornament served as a festive one. The plakhta is made from two pieces of fabric, narrow and long (2 m), which are sewn halfway along the length; at this point the scaffold is folded over and worn so that the sewn part covers the back and sides, and the unsewn ends hang from the sides or are tucked under. The front is covered with a special apron (“front”). Clothing similar to the plakhta was recently used by the southern Great Russians (in some places it still exists today) - this is the so-called “poneva”.

Among the northern Great Russians, the ponevu is replaced by a sundress. The sundress is considered a purely national Russian costume, but it appeared with us not so long ago. Its name is Persian (“serapa” - “from head to toe”), but the cut is more likely of Western origin. It spread around the 15th-16th centuries.

The sundress, although a shoulder-length garment, has supplanted and replaced the waist-length garment. It has spread everywhere in the North, but in some places it is also found among the southern Great Russians, probably brought there by members of the same palace.

Men's waist clothing is pants. Men's trousers are known in two types: with a narrow step and with a wide step. The latter have a wedge-shaped or even rectangular insert in step and are sometimes very wide. Such wide trousers spread among Ukrainians during the Cossack times under Tatar influence. Wide trousers are worn with a “spectacle” - a special strap that tightens them with ruffles. Some Western Ukrainians and all Belarusians and Great Russians have tight pants. The way the shirt is worn also differs: over the pants (untucked) or tucked in. The first method, which is more ancient, has been preserved by Russians and Belarusians. Ukrainians tuck their shirt into their pants - this is also influenced by nomads.