Ancient peoples on the territory of Russia. Origin of the Eastern Slavs

1. Subject of the course. Historical sources and historiography.
2. The peoples who inhabited the territory of Ukraine in ancient times.
3. Kievan Rus.
4. Feudal fragmentation of Rus'. Galicia-Volyn principality.

1. Subject of the course. Historical sources and historiography.

When determining the subject of the history of Ukraine, it is necessary to take into account two
aspect. Firstly, by the history of Ukraine we mean the history of those
lands that make up the territory of the modern state “Uk-
Raina." And secondly, the history of Ukraine includes the history of Ukrainian
people in all the lands of their settlement around the world. Ukrainian diaspora.
According to various estimates, e? population ranges from 14 to 20 million people
century Of these: Russia - 8 million, USA - 2 million, Canada - 1 million, Kazakhstan -
900 thousand, Moldova - 600 thousand, Brazil - 400 thousand, Belarus - 300 thousand and
etc.
The main feature of the history of Ukraine is that on the territory
rhetoric of modern Ukraine at the same time (in parallel) existing
There were different state formations. Western lands of Ukraine
at all long time lived separately from the rest of the Ukrainian ze-
stranded In Western Ukrainian lands, several historical
Russian regions that have their own history. This is Eastern Ga-
Lycia (or Galicia) with a historical center in Lviv, Northern Buko-
guilt ( historical Center- Chernivtsi), Volyn (historical center -
Lutsk), Transcarpathia (historical center - Uzhgorod).
However, all Ukrainian lands, starting from the Middle Ages, were
villages by one people who have common origin, general
language and common cultural traits.
Historical sources. Any history and history of Ukraine in part-
ness is studied on the basis of historical sources. Historical
sources - this is everything that directly reflects the historical
process and makes it possible to study the past, that is, everything that was previously created
given by humanity and has survived to this day in the form of material objects
Noah culture, written monuments and other evidence.
All historical sources are conventionally divided into several types:
written (for example, chronicles, legal acts, periodic
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Denmark, correspondence, etc.); material (they are mainly studied by archaeological
gia); ethnographic (data about life, morals, customs); linguistic
(language data); oral (epics, fairy tales, songs, thoughts, proverbs, weather-
workers, etc., i.e. folklore); photo, film, video, background materials and sources
nicknames on electronic media.
The term "historiography" has two meanings. Firstly, this is the
historical science, or scientific discipline that studies history
riya of historical science. Secondly, this is a body of research
dedicated to a specific topic or historical era.

2. The peoples who inhabited the territory of Ukraine in ancient times.

The first traces of humans discovered on the territory of modern
Ukraine, are about a million years old. These are found in Transcarpa-
at the site of the Early Paleolithic the tools of the archaeoanthropist. About 150
thousand years ago people of the following anthropological type appeared -
paleoanthropes (Neanderthals). On the territory of Ukraine, archaeologists have used
followed by more than 200 sites of Neanderthals, in particular Negroid
type. Modern man is a neoanthrope (Cro-Magnon, homo sapiens)
appeared no earlier than 40 thousand years ago. Throughout Ukraine
no more than 20-25 thousand people lived then.
The first highly developed primitive agricultural
pastoral culture on the territory of modern Ukraine, about which
historians have enough information, there was a Trypillian culture (V - III
thousand BC e). It existed when pyramids were built in Egypt
yes. Trypillians inhabited the Dnieper and Transnistria regions. They knew how
process copper, knew how to make tools, weapons, build 1-
2-storey rectangular adobe dwellings with a wooden frame,
sculpted completely perfect dishes, which were decorated with original
ornament.
From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. the south of Ukraine from the foothills of the Carpathians and the lower
the Danube region to the Kuban was inhabited by agricultural and pastoral tribes
Cimmerians, the first on the territory of Ukraine, about whom we're talking about V
written sources (“Odyssey” by Homer, ancient Greek historians
Herodotus, Eustatius, Skimp, contemporary Assyrian Cimmerians, Ju-
Deyskie, Urartian authors). The Cimmerians already widely used
lezo. Thanks to this, they had relatively highly developed agriculture.
Lie and crafts have reached great success in military affairs. Memories
about the Cimmerians disappear after 570 BC.
In VIII Art. BC e. from Asia to the steppe Ukraine militias are moving
tribal tribes of the Scythians (Iranian origin), who gradually
drove out the Cimmerians. The Scythians successfully fought with the Persian king
Darius, who in 514-513 tried to win them over. All R. 1st millennium BC e.
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Scythian tribes united and created a primitive state
new formation - Scythia. This is the first state association in
territory of Ukraine. At first, the capital of Scythia was on the Left Bank (city.
Gelon). From the end of the III century. BC e. the Scythian capital was in the city of Ne-
Apol-Scythian in Crimea, near Simferopol. Expressive
monument of Scythian times - grandiose funeral mounds, which
scattered across steppe Ukraine. In the burial places of noble Scythians
archaeologists find highly artistic gold jewelry.
From III Art. BC e. they also come to southern Ukraine from the Volga and Ural
Iranian-speaking tribes of the Sarmatians, who partially displaced, partially
conquered and absorbed the Scythians, thus establishing dominance over
Ukrainian steppe. This situation continued until the III century. n. e., when with
The ancient Germanic tribes of the Goths came to the Baltic. The Goths subjugated the place
ny agricultural-pastoral tribes, Sarmatians and remnants of the Scythians.
They created a powerful state, adopted Christianity, had a written
mentality (their translation of the Bible into Old German has been preserved).
From IV Art. n. e. The Great Migration (relocation) of peoples begins.
And almost all waves of this migration go through Ukraine. The first such wave
Noah for Ukraine were the Huns. They came from Transbaikalia and in 375
They smashed the Gothic state. Then most of the Goths went to the Danube
lands, a minority remained in the Azov region and Crimea, where the state
The Goths existed until 1475.
Then the Bulgarians (V-VII centuries), Avars passed through the steppe strip of Ukraine
(VI century), Khazars (VII century), Ugrians (Hungarians) (IX century), Pechenegs (X-XI century), Polovtsians
(XI-XII centuries), Mongol-Tatars (XIII century). Some of them are completely (badly)
negs, Polovtsians), and some partially settled on the territory of modern
of Ukraine.
Since the 7th century. BC e on the northern coast of the Black Sea
The Greeks are credited with creating the most developed civilization at that time.
tion of the world. They founded the cities of Istria (at the mouth of the Danube), Borysthenes
(near modern Ochakov), Tire (at the mouth of the Dniester), Olvia (at the mouth
Southern Bug, near modern Nikolaev), Chersonesos (modern
Sevastopol), Karkinitida (modern Feodosia), Panticapaeum (city.
Kerch), etc. These colony cities became centers of crafts and trade. They
had the status of independent states. In the 5th century BC. Greek colonies on
The Taman and Kerch peninsulas united into the Bosporan kingdom.
estvo with the center in the city of Panticapaeum. Connections of highly developed Greek cities
with the population of the south of Ukraine - Scythians, Sarmatians and other tribes
actively influenced the development of these peoples. From the 1st century BC e. Greek cities in
northern Black Sea region fall under the rule of the Roman Empire and remain
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live under it until the invasion of nomads who destroyed them. Later there was
Only Chersonesus was restored.
Thus, in ancient times, the peoples who inhabited the
temporary Ukraine, replaced one another repeatedly (Cimmerians,
Scythians, Sarmatians, Greeks, Goths, Huns, etc.). And they all contributed to
ethnogenesis Ukrainian people. When some peoples are displaced by others
there has always been some part of the displaced people who were
strongly tied to the earth. And this part remained in place. Therefore, do-
mother, that with the arrival of some peoples, others completely disappeared - it was
It would be naive. New peoples gradually assimilated with the previous ones.
Ukraine at that time was a huge ethnic cauldron in which
clans, gradually melting down, formed the basis of the Ukrainian ethno-
sa. And the decisive role in the process of ethnogenesis of the Ukrainian people was played by
the Slavs fought.
More than 2000 years ago on the territory of modern Ukraine,
In Belarus and Poland, tribes appeared that were called Slavic
Not. It is difficult to say whether the Slavs were autochthons in these lands, or al-
Lochtons. Most scientists believe that the ancestral home of the Slavs is located
was located in the territory between the middle Dnieper, Pripyat, the Carpathians and
Vistula. The movement to the south of the Germanic tribes of the Goths and the Great Migration
peoples violated the integrity of the Slavic world. Division has occurred
three Slavs large groups: western, southern and eastern.
In the 4th century. it was the Eastern Slavs who most likely formed the core
states of the Antes. This state extended from the Dniester to the Don.
In addition to the Slavs, it included the remnants of the Goths, Greeks, Scythians, and Sarmatians.
The Antes traded and fought with Byzantium. The state of the Antes lasted
lasted until the 7th century. and died in the fight against the Avars. The Eastern Slavs divided
settled on tribes and alliances of tribes (of which 15 were large), which settled
were located on the territory of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. So, the glades lived in
Middle Dnieper, the Drevlyans - mainly in modern life
Tomir region, Siverians - mainly in Chernigovshchensk, Dulibs (they are also
Buzhans, or Volynians) - in the Bug basin, white Croats - in the Carpathian region,
Tivertsy - in Transnistria, between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers.
East Slavic tribes occupied a very advantageous geography
economic position - the most important middle-grounds passed through their lands
centuries-old trade routes.
The centers of the tribes were cities. The main city of the Siverians was
Chernigov, Drevlyans - Iskorosten (modern Korosten). In the middle of I
thousand N. e. Kyiv was founded. It became the center of the clearings. His favorable me-
standing at the crossroads of trade routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and from
Asia to Europe quickly turned the city into an economic, political
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and cultural center. At the beginning of the 8th century. the glades and the Severians recognized power
Khazar Khaganate and became his tributaries.

3. Kievan Rus.

Socio-economic and political development of the Eastern Slavs
led to the creation of their state, which soon became known as Kievan Rus.
In the middle of the 9th century. began to appear on the lands of the Eastern Slavs
the inhabitants of Scandinavia are the Varangians (Normans, Vikings). Typically this would be
whether warrior-merchants, who, together with their squads (armed
detachments) traveled along the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Along the way
they made attacks on Slavic and Finnish settlements, gr-
beat them. At that time, all of Europe was afraid of the raids of the warlike Vikings.
Their military organization, as well as their tactics and ability to fight, were unsurpassed.
ascended. The Varangians conquered some East Slavic and Finnish
tribes. And there were also tribes that themselves began to invite military
Varangian leaders (kings) with their squads to reign for the
go to protect against the expansion of neighbors.
Around 862, the Varangian king (prince) Rurik united several
East Slavic and Finnish tribes in the north (Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud,
Vesi) and founded a state with its capital in the Slovenian city of Novgorod.
In historical science, there are several interpretations of the emergence
of the state among the Eastern Slavs. Polar among them are
Norman and anti-Norman theories. Normanists believe that the state
The Normans (Varangians) brought power to the Eastern Slavs. Antinor-
Manists see in the Norman theory a hint of the inability of the Slavs to self-
it is necessary to create our own statehood and therefore completely
deny the main role of the Varangians in the formation of the ancient Russian state
va.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Historical
experience shows that a state can arise only if there is
deep internal, indigenous socio-economic conditions.
It is possible to create a state without these conditions. History knows such cases
measures. But such artificially created states are unstable and deteriorating.
collapse in a short period of time. Kievan Rus was very
stable state formation, the strongest European environment
a non-centuries-old state that lasted for several centuries.
This means that it arose and developed on its own, immanent (internal)
renna inherent) basis.
On the other hand, it is unhistorical and unscientific to ignore
the important role played by the Varangians in the formation of Old Russian
state, because it is impossible not to admit that all its first rights
rulers were Varangians and the ancient Russian elite was at first predominant
Vienna Varangian.
After the death of Rurik, power passed to his warrior and relatives.
vennik Oleg, since Rurik’s son Igor was still very small. Oleg re-
carried the capital of the state to Kyiv, after which Rus' became Kyiv. Next
The leading Kyiv princes were Igor, Olga, and Svyatoslav.
Vladimir I the Great (Red Sun, Baptist) ruled in
Kyiv from 980 to 1015. He united the lands that conquered him
predecessors, expanded his power to other territories. So
Thus, under the rule of the Kyiv prince Vladimir the Great there was the most
large state in Europe. Territory Kievan Rus included in
yourself from the earth Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from
Carpathians in the west to the river. Volga in the east.
In order to strengthen the unity of such large state And
raise his authority, Prince Vladimir decided to establish one state
national religion. The pagan cult of many gods slowed down the process of
unity of lands. Moreover, they are different social groups gave pre-
respect to different gods (combatants - Perun, blacksmiths - Svarog, earth-
lollipops - Yarile, sailors - Stribog, etc.), which also does not contribute
led to the consolidation of ancient Russian society. Moreover, paganism
prevented the establishment of equal relations with advanced peoples
of that time, who professed monotheistic religions and believed
whether pagans (including Russians) are savages. This means that the new state
The real religion had to be monotheistic. But which one? Basic
New world religions had already taken shape at that time. Asian countries, with
with which Kievan Rus actively strengthened economic ties, using
Islam and Judaism were in charge, Europe - Christianity. The choice of religion, which
paradise in the Middle Ages became the basis of the entire spiritual life of each individual
of a person and society as a whole, meant the choice of foreign policy
orientation of the state. Vladimir make this choice in favor of Europe and
accepted Christianity. But the specificity of the geopolitical situation of the Kyiv
Rus' (between the West and the East) determined the choice of Christianity to restore
exact, Byzantine rite.
Rus' was baptized in 988. Hierarchically, the ancient Russian church was
associated with the Constantinople (Constantinople) Patriarchate.
Baptism was of great importance for the entire life of the Kievan Ru-
si. It contributed to the unification of the state and raising the authority
Grand Duke. Baptism has greatly improved international status
the Kyiv state, which entered as an equal into the circle of European
countries It is difficult to overestimate the influence of baptism on the development of Chinese culture.
Eva Rus'.

4. Feudal fragmentation of Rus'. Galicia-Volyn principality.

After the death of his successor Vladimir the Great of Kyiv
Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the period of feudal fragmentation begins
Ancient Rus'. It is characterized by the gradual disintegration of a single state
donations to several independent principalities, strife between princes,
new economic trends, increased attacks by external enemies
to weakened Rus'.
The period of feudal fragmentation is a general historical
regularity, a certain stage in the development of feudal society. He
characteristic of most countries that had early feudal states
state and comes after the period of prosperity of these states.
The objective reasons for feudal fragmentation lie in
development of the productive forces of feudal society. This is development
led to the economic growth of local centers (for Ancient Rus' -
centers of appanage principalities). In the conditions prevailing under feudalism
me subsistence economy, individual territories of the reno-feudal state
states become economically independent from the national
nogo center. Economic independence inevitably leads to political
Russian separatism. Local feudal rulers not only no longer
needed centralized power to protect against external enemies, but
and on their own economic base could successfully resist this
authorities.
Subjective factors that became catalysts for the process
sa collapse of the Kyiv state, began the introduction of Yaroslav the Wise
the principle of lordship in succession and economic decline
Kyiv.
The introduction of seignorate in succession to the throne led to princely
discord.
The economic fall of the national center - Kyiv -
It also accelerated the disintegration processes in Rus'.
At one time, the separation of Kyiv from other East Slavic tribes
exchange centers were most facilitated by its cost-effective
geographical position at the crossroads of European-Asian trade
out ways. But from the end of the 11th century. the significance of these routes in international trade
The beef began to fall. Italian merchants connected Europe with the East
permanent Mediterranean sea routes, which are no longer
Vikings pirated. The Byzantine Empire entered its period
sunset, and trade relations with it became less and less profitable. And in
1204 Constantinople was sacked by the crusaders. After that
he was never able to recover from the blow until the conquest by the Turks. Ta-
Thus, the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” completely lost its meaning.
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The Arab Caliphate also suffered a rapid decline. As a result, Kyiv
not only lost its major trading partners, but was also left without
income from the transit of foreign merchants. This all had disastrous consequences.
actions for Kyiv. The impoverished “mother of Russian cities” was physically not
able to fulfill the role of a government center. United Rus' disintegrates
was given, and the princely strife caused heavy damage to the ancient Russian lands
loss.
For some time this disintegration was stopped by the Kyiv prince Vla-
Dimir Monomakh (1113-1125). But after the death of his son Mstislav (1132)
The Kiev state was finally divided into several separate
principalities, between which there were constant wars.
At the end of the 12th century. Volyn stood out among these principalities. In 1199
Volyn prince Roman united Galicia with Volyn and created Galicia
Ko-Volyn principality. After some time, he joined his
their possessions of Kyiv. Galicia-Volyn state with center in Vla-
dimire extended from the Carpathians to the Dnieper and was the strongest in Ru-
si.
In the 13th century the ancient Russian principalities had new enemies from Asia
- Mongol-Tatars. In 1222 they came to Ukrainian lands. Old Russian-
The princes united to protect their lands. But in 1223 the Mongol-
The Tatars defeated the army of the ancient Russian princes in the battle on the Kalka River.
On the Volga, the Mongol-Tatars created the state of the Golden Horde.
Roman's son, Prince Danilo Galitsky, was preparing for an active fight against the Tatars.
He significantly strengthened the Galicia-Volyn principality, but
could not free himself from Tatar dependence.
Danilo Galitsky founded the city of Lviv.
In the second half of the XIII - first half of the XIV centuries. Galicia-
The Volyn principality was constantly at war with its neighbors: Lithuania,
Poland, Hungary. As a result, in 1340 Lithuania occupied Volyn, and
in 1349 Poland took Galicia into its possessions. Under Polish rule
Galicia was located until 1772.
Transcarpathian Ukraine became part of Hungary, where it remained until
1918 After the collapse of the Galicia-Volyn principality, Bukovina became part of
composition of Moldova. She stayed there until 1774.

The first mentions of the Slavs are found in written sources of the 5th-6th centuries. But modern archeology claims that the first tribes of Ancient Rus' lived on the territory of present-day Russia even before our era.
Initially, the peoples who lived until the IV-VI centuries. in the area between the Oder and Vistula rivers, near the Dnieper River, they were called Wends. Later they began to be called Slavs. The Veneds were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, knew crafts, and built fortified houses. All members of the tribe worked equally, there was no social inequality. This way of life made the Slavs a civilized and developed people. Our ancestors were among the first to build cities and large settlements, establish roads and trade relations.
Historians count several tribes that lived in Ancient Rus' from the 6th to the 11th centuries.
The Krivichi occupied a vast territory of modern Vitebsk, Mogilev, Smolensk, and Pskov regions. The main cities of the family were Smolensk and Polotsk. This tribe is one of the most numerous in Ancient Rus'. They are divided into two groups: Pskov and Polotsk-Smolensk. The Krivichi tribal union included Polotsk residents.
The Vyatichi were the easternmost tribe of Ancient Rus', they lived along the banks of the Moscow River and in the upper reaches of the Oka. Their lands were located on the territory of modern Moscow, Oryol, Ryazan and other neighboring regions. The central city is Dedoslavl, its exact location has not yet been established. The people maintained paganism for a long time and resisted the Christianity imposed by Kiev. The Vyatichi were a warlike and capricious tribe.
The Ilmen Slovenes were neighbors with the Krivichi, inhabiting the lands near Lake Ilmen, which gave the tribe its name. According to written sources, they, together with other peoples, called on the Varangians, related to the Slovenes, to rule the lands of Ancient Rus'. The warriors of the tribal union were part of Prince Oleg's squad and took part in the campaigns of Vladimir Svyatoslavich.
Together with the Vyatichi and Krivichi they formed the people of the Great Russians.
The Dulebs are one of the most ancient clans of the Slavs. They lived in the area of tributaries of the Pripyat River. Little information has been preserved about them. Written sources of that time indicate that the Dulebs participated in the military campaigns of Prince Oleg. Two groups later emerged from the people: the Volynians and the Drevlyans. Their lands belonged to Kievan Rus.
The Volynians lived near the Bug and near the source of the Pripyat. Some researchers claim that the Volynians and Buzhans are the same tribe. In the territory occupied by this Slavic family, there were up to 230 cities.
The Drevlyans lived in the Polesie region, on the right bank of the Dnieper River. The name of the tribe comes from the habitat of the clan - forests. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Historical sources indicate that the tribe was peaceful and almost never fought. Associated with the Drevlyans famous story about the murder of Prince Igor in 945. Princess Olga, Igor's widow, burned their main city - Iskorosten, later known as Vruchiy.
The Polyans lived on the territory of present-day Kyiv and near the Dnieper River. Their settlements were located in the very center of the East Slavic lands. The culture of the glades was very developed, which is why Kyiv subjugated the peoples of other tribes by the 9th century. The largest cities of the tribe are Kyiv, Belgorod, and Zvenigorod. It is believed that the name of the genus comes from their habitat - fields.
The Radimichi inhabited Upper Transnistria, the basin of the Sozh River and its tributaries. The founder of this tribal union was Radim, his brother Vyatko founded the Vyatichi people. Archaeologists note the similarity of the customs of these tribes. IN last time Radimichi appear in the records of sources dating back to 1169. Their territories later became part of the Smolensk and Chernigov principalities.
Dregovichi are one of the most mysterious and little-studied tribes of Ancient Rus'. Presumably they settled in the middle part of the Pripyat basin. The exact boundaries of their lands have not yet been established. The Dregovichi moved from the south to the Neman River.
Northerners lived near the Desna until about the 9th-10th centuries. The name of the tribe does not come from their geographical location. Researchers suggest that the word translates as “black.” This theory is confirmed by the fact that the main city of the tribe was Chernigov. They were mainly engaged in agriculture.
Tivertsy inhabited the area between the Dniester and Prut rivers. Currently, these lands are located on the territory of Ukraine and Moldova. In the 12th century, the tribe left these lands due to military aggression from neighboring principalities. Subsequently, the Tiverts mixed with other peoples.
The streets occupied the territory of the lower Dnieper. Their main city was called Peresechen. For a long time, the tribe resisted the attempts of the capital of Ancient Rus' to subjugate them.
All the tribes of Ancient Rus' had their own customs and way of life, but they were united by a common faith and religion, language, and culture.

HISTORY OF UKRAINE

To be continued.

At the beginning of the first millennium BC new era on the territory of modern Ukraine there was the first of the historical peoples - the Cimmerians, who belonged to the Thracian (Thracian - in the Bulgarian language) tribes. The Cimmerians were replaced by the Scythians in the 7th century BC. The first mention of them is found in the Greek historian Herodotus, who himself sailed on a ship up the Dnieper and traveled along the Black Sea steppes. The Greeks at that time colonized the northern Black Sea coast. The colonies of Tire (at the mouth of the Dniester, which they called Tiras - modern Tiraspol), Olbia (at the mouth of the Dnieper), Chersonesus (near modern Sevastopol), Theodosia (Feodosia), Pontikapaeus (modern Kerch), Tanais (at the mouth of the Don), Phanagoria and others.
IN ancient sources it is mentioned that the Scythians drove cattle across the shallow waters at that time Kerch Strait.
For 4 millennia the level Sea of Azov did not decrease by more than ten and did not increase by more than one meter compared to the current situation. In ancient times, the Kerch Strait was called the Cimmerian Bosporus, that is, “the bull ford of the Cimmerians.” Parts of the buildings of the ancient cities of Olbia, Chersonesos, Phanagoria and others are currently at the bottom of the sea.
The ancient Greeks called the Sea of Azov “Meotis limine” - “lake of the Meotians,” the people who lived on its shores (the Cimmerians were just crossing the ford). The Romans gave it the ironic name “Palus Meotis” - “swamp of the Maeotians”.
The Cimmerians left the historical arena in the 7th century BC. They lived in a territory whose borders ran along the northern shores of the Black Sea, from the mouth of the Danube to Chisinau, Kyiv, Kharkov, Novocherkassk, Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. The geographer also wrote about them ancient world Strabo.
Despite the fact that different tribes lived in these places, the Greeks called them all Scythians (sketes). The lands of these tribes extended from the Danube to the Don. The Scythians were divided into nomads (on the left bank of the Dnieper) and grain growers (on both banks of the Dnieper), who sowed grain for sale. Actually, Scythian written sources have not survived; they are available only to the Greeks, Arabs and Romans. The Scythians called themselves Skolots. This name, according to Herodotus, meant “king”.
The Scythians worshiped a sky god named Patsay (compare with the surname of the Russian cosmonaut Patsayev). In 630 BC they went on campaigns to Assyria, Media, the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, and Egypt. Egyptian pharaoh Psametichos I bought them off. They then returned to Mesopotamia, from where King Cyaxares drove them out. The Scythians lasted in history for 500 years.

The Chalcolithic (Copper Age) and Neolithic periods are represented by the Trypillian, Sredny Stog and a number of other cultures.

For period Bronze Age The Yamnaya, Catacomb, Srubnaya, Belogrudovskaya cultures and a number of other archaeological cultures are typical.

Scythians, an Iranian-speaking people from Central Asia, in the 7th century. BC e. drove the Cimmerians out of the Ukrainian steppes. Around the same period, the Greeks began to found the first colonies in the Northern Black Sea region. It is believed that the Scythians created the first state on the territory of modern Ukraine. Around 200 BC e. The Scythians are replaced by the Sarmatians. In the 3rd century AD e. The Goths moved from the north-west to the territory of Ukraine, and here they created their kingdom of Oium - the second public education on the territory of Ukraine. The Chernyakhov archaeological culture on the Right Bank and in the Black Sea region, which existed at the turn of the 2nd-3rd - the turn of the 4th-5th centuries, is also closely associated with the Gothic era.

In 375, the Goths were defeated by the Huns, who came from the depths of Asia, and moved across the Danube, into the Roman Empire, where they eventually created their own kingdoms. The power of the Huns, having suffered several defeats of the Romans and allies, quickly loses strength and disintegrates.

After the invasion of the Huns, hegemony over the current territory of Ukraine at the end of the 5th century passed to the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sklavins, represented respectively by the Penkovo (also partially Kolochin) and Prague-Korchatsky archaeological cultures. Soon the left bank part of the territory of Ukraine with Tavria becomes dependent on the Khazar Khaganate (Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture).

The northwestern regions of Ukraine are currently considered the most likely place of origin of the Slavs.

At the end of the first millennium, the Slavic tribes on the territory of Ukraine included the Polyans, Drevlyans, Northerners, Buzhans, Tivertsy, Ulichs, Volynians and others.

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

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

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

Settlement of Slavic tribes

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

Slavic tribes and their settlement, table 1

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

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

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

Slavic tribes and their settlement on the map

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

The main East Slavic tribes and places of their settlement

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

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

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

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

East Slavic tribes on the map

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Western Slavic tribes

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

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

Southern Slavic tribes

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

Neighbors of the ancient Slavs

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

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

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

East Slavic tribes and their neighbors (map)

About 200 peoples live on Russian territory. The history of some of them goes back to distant millennia BC. We found out which indigenous peoples of Russia are the most ancient and from whom they originated.

Slavs

There are many hypotheses about the origin of the Slavs - some attribute them to the Scythian tribes from Central Asia, some to the mysterious Aryans, others to the Germanic peoples. Hence the different ideas about the age of an ethnic group, to which it is customary to add a couple of extra thousand years “for the sake of respectability.”

The first person to try to determine age Slavic people, there was a monk Nestor, taking the biblical tradition as a basis, he began the history of the Slavs with the Babylonian pandemonium, which divided humanity into 72 nations: “From these 70 and 2 languages the Slovenian language was born...”.

From the point of view of archaeology, the first culture that can be called Proto-Slavic was the so-called culture of podklosh burials, which received its name from the custom of covering cremated remains with a large vessel, in Polish “klesh”, that is, “upside down”. It originated between the Vistula and Dnieper in the 5th century BC. To some extent, we can assume that its representatives were Proto-Slavs.

Bashkirs

The Southern Urals and the adjacent steppes, the territories where the Bashkir ethnic group formed, have been an important center of cultural interaction since ancient times. The archaeological diversity of the region baffles researchers and adds the question of the origin of the people to the long list of “mysteries of history.”

Today, there are three main versions of the origin of the Bashkir people. The most “archaic” - Indo-Iranian says that the main element in the formation of the ethnic group were the Indo-Iranian Sako-Sarmatian, Dakho-Massaget tribes of the early Iron Age (III-IV centuries BC), the place of settlement of which was the Southern Urals. According to another, Finno-Ugric version, the Bashkirs are “siblings” of the current Hungarians, since they together descended from the Magyars and the Eney tribe (in Hungary - Eno). This is supported by the Hungarian legend, recorded in the 13th century, about the Magyars’ journey from the East to Pannonia (modern Hungary), which they made in order to take possession of Attila’s inheritance.

Based on medieval sources in which Arab and Central Asian authors equate the Bashkirs and Turks, a number of historians believe that these peoples are related.

According to the historian G. Kuzeev, the ancient Bashkir tribes (Burzyan, Usergan, Bailar, Surash and others) emerged on the basis of Turkic early medieval communities in the 7th century AD and subsequently mixed with Finno-Ugric tribes and tribal groups of Sarmatian origin. In the 13th century, historical Bashkortostan was invaded by nomadic Kipchakized tribes, who shaped the appearance of modern Bashkirs.

The versions of the origin of the Bashkir people are not limited to this. Passionate about philology and archaeology, public figure Salavat Gallyamov put forward a hypothesis according to which the ancestors of the Bashkirs once left ancient Mesopotamia and reached the Southern Urals through Turkmenistan. However, in the scientific community this version is considered a “fairy tale”.

Mari or Cheremis

The history of the Finno-Ugric people of the Mari begins at the beginning of the first millennium BC, along with the formation of the so-called Ananyin archaeological culture in the Volga-Kama region (VIII-II centuries BC).

Some historians identify them with the semi-legendary Fyssagetae - an ancient people who, according to Herodotus, lived near the Scythian lands. Of these, the Mari subsequently emerged, settling from the right bank of the Volga between the mouths of the Sura and Tsivil.

During times early Middle Ages they were in close cooperation with the Gothic, Khazar tribes and Volga Bulgaria. The Mari were annexed to Russia in 1552, after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate.

Sami

The ancestors of the northern Sami people, the Komsa culture, came to the north in the Neolithic era, when these lands were freed from the glacier. The Sami ethnos, whose name translates as “land” itself, traces its roots back to the carriers of the ancient Volga culture and the Dauphinian Caucasian population. The latter, known in the scientific world as the culture of reticulated ceramics, inhabited a wide territory from the middle Volga region to the north of Fennoscandia, including Karelia, in the 2nd-1st millennium BC.

According to the historian I. Manyukhin, having mixed with the Volga tribes, they formed an ancient Sami historical community of three related cultures: the late Kargopol in Belozerye, Kargopolye and South-East Karelia, the Luukonsaari in Eastern Finland and Western Karelia, the Kjelmo and “Arctic”, in northern Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Kola Peninsula.

Along with this, the Sami language emerged and the physical appearance of the Lapps (Russian designation for the Sami) took shape, which is characteristic of these peoples even today - short stature, wide-set Blue eyes and blond hair.

Probably the first written mention of the Sami dates back to 325 BC and is found in the ancient Greek historian Pytheas, who mentioned a certain people “Fenni” (finoi). Subsequently, Tacitus wrote about them in the 1st century AD, talking about the wild Fenian people living in the area Lake Ladoga. Today the Sami live in Russia in the territory Murmansk region with indigenous status.

Peoples of Dagestan

On the territory of Dagestan, where remains of human settlements dating back to the 6th millennium BC are found, many peoples can boast of their ancient origins. This especially applies to the peoples of the Caucasian type - the Dargins and Laks. According to historian V. Alekseev, the Caucasian group formed on the same territory that it now occupies on the basis of the ancient local population of the Late Stone Age.

Vainakh

The Vainakh peoples, which include the Chechens (“Nokhchi”) and Ingush (“Galgai”), as well as many peoples of Dagestan, belong to the ancient Caucasian anthropological type, as the Soviet anthropologist Prof. Debets, “the most Caucasian of all Caucasians.” Their roots should be sought in the Kura-Araks archaeological culture that lived in the territory North Caucasus in IV beginning of III millennium BC, as well as in the Maikop culture, which inhabited the foothills of the North Caucasus during the same period.

Mention of the Vainakhs in written sources is found for the first time in Strabo, who in his “Geography” mentions certain “Gargarei” living in the small foothills and plains of the Central Caucasus.

In the Middle Ages, the formation of the Vainakh peoples was strongly influenced by the state of Alania in the foothills of the North Caucasus, which fell in the 13th century under the hooves of the Mongol cavalry.

Yukaghirs

The small Siberian people of the Yukaghirs (“people of the Mezlots” or “distant people”) can be called the most ancient on the territory of Russia. According to historian A. Okladnikov, this ethnic group emerged in the Stone Age, approximately in the 7th millennium BC in the east of the Yenisei.

Anthropologists believe that this people, genetically isolated from their closest neighbors - the Tungus, represents the oldest layer of the autochthonous population of polar Siberia. Their archaic nature is also evidenced by the long-preserved custom of matrilocal marriage, when after marriage the husband lives on his wife’s territory.

Until the 19th century, numerous Yukaghir tribes (Alai, Anaul, Kogime, Lavrentsy and others) occupied a vast territory from the Lena River to the mouth of the Anadyr River. In the 19th century, their numbers began to decline significantly as a result of epidemics and civil strife. Some of the tribes were assimilated by the Yakuts, Evens and Russians. According to the 2002 census, the number of Yukaghirs decreased to 1,509 people.