Slavs constantly entered into cultural interaction and mixing with neighbors and invaders. Even during the migration of peoples, the Slavs were under the influence of the Avars, Goths and Huns. Later, we were influenced by the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Tatar-Mongols (which, characteristically, did not leave a trace in our genetics, but had a strong influence on the Russian language and even more strongly on our statehood), the nations of Catholic Europe, the Turks, the Balts and many other nations. Here the Poles fall away immediately - their culture was formed under the strong influence of their Western neighbors.

In the XVIII-XX centuries. Poland was divided between neighboring powers, which also affected the national culture and self-consciousness. Russians too - there are a lot of Finnish and Turkic borrowings in our language, the Tatar-Mongols, Greeks, as well as quite alien, from the point of view of tradition, Peter's transformations had a very strong influence on our traditions. In Russia, for several centuries it has been customary to build a tradition to Byzantium or to the Horde, and at the same time completely forget about, for example, Veliky Novgorod.

The southern Slavic peoples without exception were subject to the strongest influence of the Turks - we can see this in the language, and in the cuisine, and in traditions. The least influence of foreign peoples was experienced, first of all, by the Slavs of the Carpathians: Hutsuls, Lemkos, Rusyns, to a lesser extent Slovaks, Western Ukrainians. These peoples were formed in the area of ​​Western civilization, however, due to isolation, they were able to preserve many ancient traditions and protect their languages ​​from a large number of borrowings.

It is also worth noting the efforts of peoples who are striving to restore their traditional culture spoiled by historical processes. First of all, they are Czechs. When they fell under the rule of the Germans, the Czech language began to rapidly disappear. By the end of the 18th century, it was known only in remote villages, and Czechs, especially in cities, did not know any other language than German.

Maria Yanechkova, a teacher at the Department of Bohemianism at Karollav University in Prague, says that if a Czech intellectual wanted to learn the Czech language, he went to a special linguistic circle. But it was precisely such national activists who restored bit by bit the almost lost Czech language. At the same time, they cleared it of all borrowings in a rather radical spirit. For example, theater in Czech is divadlo, aviation is leitadlo, artillery is shooting, and so on. The Czech language and Czech culture are very Slavic, but this was achieved through the efforts of the intellectuals of the New Age, and not through the continuous transmission of the ancient tradition.

The Slavs are the largest linguistic and cultural community of the peoples of Europe. Among scientists there is no consensus about the origin of this name. For the first time ethnonym( 1 } "Slavs" is found among Byzantine authors of the 7th century. in the form of a "clave". Some linguists consider it the self-name of the Slavs and raise it to the concept of "word": "those who speak." This idea is rooted in antiquity. Many peoples considered themselves "speaking", and strangers, the language of which was incomprehensible, - "dumb". It is no coincidence that in the Slavic languages ​​one of the meanings of the word "German" is "mute". According to another hypothesis, the name "sklavins" is associated with the Greek verb "kluxo" - "I wash" and the Latin cluo - "I cleanse". There are other equally interesting points of view.

Scientists identify Eastern, Western and Southern Slavs . The eastern ones include Russians (about 146 million people), Ukrainians (about 46 million) and Belarusians (about 10.5 million). These peoples inhabit the east of Europe and widely settled in Siberia. Western Slavs - Poles (about 44 million people), Czechs (about 11 million), Slovaks (about 6 million) and Lusatians (100 thousand). All of them are inhabitants of Eastern and Central Europe. South Slavic peoples live in the Balkans: Bulgarians (about 8.5 million people), Serbs (about 10 million), Croats (about 5.5 million), Slovenes (over 2 million), Bosnians (over 2 million), Montenegrins (about 620 thousand).

Slavic peoples are close in language and culture. By religion, the Slavs are Christians, excluding the Bosnians, who converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule. Believing Russians are mostly Orthodox, Poles are Catholics. But among Ukrainians and Belarusians there are many Orthodox and Catholics.

Slavs make up 85.5% of the population of Russia. Most of them are Russians - about 120 million people, or 81.5% of the country's inhabitants. Other Slavic peoples - Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles - almost 6 million people. Bulgarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats also live in Russia. However, their number is very small - no more than 50 thousand people.

(1) Ethnonym (from the Greek "ethnos" - tribe, "people" and "onyma" - "name") - the name of the people.

HOW THE EASTERN SLAVIC PEOPLES ARISED

The ancestors of the Slavs were probably the Wends, who in the first centuries of the new era settled along the banks of the Vistula and Venedsky (now Gdansk) Bay of the Baltic Sea. Byzantine authors of the 6th c. the name "sklavins" appeared, but it was applied only to the tribes living west of the Dniester. To the east of this river were placed the Ants, whom many scientists consider the direct predecessors of the Eastern Slavs. After the 6th c. the name of the Ants disappears, and the names of the East Slavic tribes become known: glade, drevlyans, vyatichi, radimichi, dregovichi, krivichi, etc. Some historians see them as real tribes, while others see them as a kind of "pre-nationality" or "proto-state". These communities were not "pure": they included racially, linguistically and culturally diverse elements. For example, in the East Slavic burials of the 10th-11th centuries. found the remains of people belonging to at least six racial types, not only Caucasoid, but also Mongoloid.

In the 9th-11th centuries. East Slavic tribes were united into one of the largest states medieval Europe- Kievan Rus. It stretched from the lower reaches of the Danube in the south of the Ladoga and Onega lakes in the north, from the upper reaches of the Western Dvina in the west to the Volga-Oka interfluve in the east. Within these boundaries, a single ancient Russian nationality arose. She was neither Russian, nor Ukrainian, nor Belarusian - she can be called East Slavic. The consciousness of community and unity among the population of Kievan Rus was very strong. It was reflected in chronicles and literary works telling about the defense of the homeland from nomadic raids. In 988 the prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich made Christianity the state religion of Kievan Rus. Pagan idols were overthrown, and the people of Kiev were baptized in the Dnieper. The adoption of Christianity contributed to close cultural ties with Europe, the flourishing of ancient Russian art, and the spread of writing. A new religion was sometimes introduced by force. So, in Novgorod they burned half the city. The people said: " Putyata( 2 } baptized the people with fire, and Dobrynya( 3 } - with a sword". Under the external cover of Christianity in Russia, a "dual faith" was established: for several centuries, pagan traditions were preserved.

The unity of Kievan Rus was not strong, and by the end of the 12th century. The state broke up into independent principalities.

Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians how independent peoples developed, according to various estimates, in the 14-18 centuries.

Moscow state - the center of education of the Russian people - first united the lands in the basins of the Upper Volga and Oka, then in the upper reaches of the Don and Dnieper; even later - Pskov, Novgorod lands in the basin of the Northern Dvina and on the coast of the White Sea.

The fate of the descendants of those tribes that lived in the west of Kievan Rus was much more complicated. From the 13th-14th centuries. western regions pass under power of the Lithuanian princes . The state formation that arose here turned out to be difficult: the political power was Lithuanian, and the cultural life was East Slavic. At the end of the 16th century The Grand Duchy united with Poland . The local population, first of all, the nobility, began to become more or less Polishized, but East Slavic traditions were preserved among the peasants.

In the 16-17 centuries. on these lands, two nationalities were formed - Ukrainians and Belarusians. The population of the southern regions (the territories of modern Kiev, Poltava, Chernigov, Vinnitsa, Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil, Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi regions, Transcarpathia) experienced a strong influence of the Turkic peoples, with whom they fought and traded. Precisely, here they have developed as united people Ukrainians . In the Polotsk-Minsk, Turov-Pinsk and, possibly, in the Smolensk lands formed Belarusians . Their culture was influenced by Poles, Russians and Lithuanians.

Languages, culture, historical destinies of the East Slavic peoples are close. Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians are well aware of this, they remember their common roots. The Russian-Belarusian affinity is especially pronounced.

{2 } Putyata - Novgorod governor.

{3 } Dobrynya -educator and governor of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich; princely governor in Novgorod.

U K R A I N C Y

The word "Ukrainians" first appeared at the end of the 12th century. It denoted the inhabitants of the steppe "outskirts" of Russia, and by the 17th century. so they began to call mainly the population of the Middle Dnieper.

Under the rule of Catholic Poland, Ukrainians, Orthodox by religion, suffered religious harassment and therefore fled to Sloboda Ukraine ( 4 } .

Many of them ended up in the Zaporozhian Sich - a kind of republic of the Ukrainian Cossacks. In 1654, Left-bank Ukraine united with Russia, receiving autonomy into its composition. However, in the second half of the 18th century, after the annexation of the Right-Bank Ukraine, the tsarist government sharply limited the independence of the Ukrainian lands and liquidated the Zaporozhian Sich.

After the Russian-Turkish warriors of the late 18th century. The Northern Black Sea and Azov regions were annexed to Russia. The new territories were named Novorossiya; they were inhabited mainly by Ukrainians. At the same time, the Right-Bank Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire, and in the first third of the 19th century. - Bessarabia and the mouth of the Danube (Ukrainian colonies also arose here).

Now, out of more than 45 million Ukrainians, more than 37 million live in Ukraine and over 4 million in Russia, where they are the second largest Slavic people in the country. In Russia, Ukrainians live mainly in the Russian-Ukrainian borderlands, as well as in the central regions, in the Urals, in Western Siberia; there are many Ukrainians in the Far East. In mixed Russian-Ukrainian regions, they are often called Khokhols - because of the traditional Khokhol on their heads. At first, the nickname was considered offensive, but over time it became familiar and is used as a self-name. One of the ethnologists cites the following statement from a resident of the Belgorod province: "We are Russians, only crests, turn over." Indeed, there is a rapid assimilation of Ukrainians in Russia. In 1989, only 42% of Russian Ukrainians named Ukrainian as their native language, and even less spoke it - 16%. Most of all, urban residents became Russified; often only surnames speak about their Ukrainian roots: Bezborodko, Paley, Seroshapko, Kornienko, etc.

{4 } Sloboda Ukraine - modern Kharkov and part of Sumy, Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

TRADITIONS OF UKRAINIAN CULTURE

At the same time, many Ukrainians in Russia, even those who have become Russified to some extent, retain some traditions of their native culture. Their houses in the villages are easy to recognize by clay plastered walls . In Ukrainian you can often see a traditional shirt - with a straight collar slit and rich embroidery . Of course, today they dress in a modern urban way, but on holidays, the old people, and often the young, put on national clothes.

UKRAINIAN FOOD

Russian Ukrainians have well-preserved traditions of folk cuisine. Flour dishes and products are popular: round or oval yeast bread ("palyanitsa", "khlibina"), cakes ("cakes", "platforms"), pancakes, pancakes, pies, noodles, dumplings, dumplings with cottage cheese, potatoes, cherries .

For Christmas and New Year bake "kalach" , at the meeting of spring - "larks" , at the wedding - "bumps" etc. All sorts of things are on the way porridge and something between porridge and soup - "kulish" from millet and potatoes, seasoned with onions and lard. Of the soups, Ukrainians are the most borscht made from various vegetables and often cereals ; from dairy products - "varenets" (fermented baked milk) and "cheese" (salted cottage cheese).

Ukrainians, unlike Russians, call meat only pork . common cabbage rolls, aspic, homemade sausage stuffed with pork pieces .

Favorite drinks - Herb tea, dried fruit compote ("uzvar"), various types of kvass ; intoxicating - mash, mead, liqueurs and tinctures .

Many Ukrainian dishes (borscht, dumplings, varenets, etc.) were recognized by neighboring peoples, and the Ukrainians themselves borrowed such foods and drinks as cabbage soup and koumiss.

UKRAINIAN CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS OF SPIRITUAL CULTURE

The family and social life of Russian Ukrainians is devoid of originality. It everywhere reveals the features of an urban lifestyle and is distinguished by democratic orders. One indicator of this is a large number of ethnically mixed families: Ukrainian-Russian, Ukrainian-Belarusian, Ukrainian-Bashkir, etc. However, some customs are still alive today. For example, at a Ukrainian wedding in Russia, you can meet custom "viti giltse" - a branch or tree decorated with flowers and colored ribbons is stuck into the wedding loaf.

The traditions of the rich Ukrainian spiritual culture are partly preserved, in particular folk .Many of them are related to calendar and family holidays let's say Christmas caroling( 5 } , wedding magnificence, etc. Ukrainians love songs , in particular lyrical and comic, as well as (especially the Cossacks) military-historical.

The emergence of an independent Ukrainian state in the 90s. 20th century gave impetus to the revival of national identity not only in Ukraine itself, but also among Ukrainians in Russia. Cultural societies and folklore ensembles are being created.

{5 } Carols - ritual songs with the wishes of health, well-being, etc.

B E L O R U S S

The third largest Slavic people in Russia are Belarusians. Belarusian lands became part of the Russian Empire at the end of the 17th century. The names "Belaya Rus" are associated by some scientists with the light hair color and white clothes of the country's population. According to another theory, "White Russia" originally meant "free Russia, independent of the Tatars." In 1840, Nicholas I forbade the official use of the name "Belaya Rus", "Belarus", "Belarusians": the latter became the population of the "North-Western Territory".

Belarusians relatively late realized themselves as a special people. Only in the middle of the 19th century. Belarusian intellectuals put forward the idea of ​​Belarusians as a separate people. However, in broad sections of the population, national self-consciousness was developed slowly and finally formed only after the creation of in 1919 the Byelorussian SSR (since 1991 - the Republic of Belarus).

In Russia, Belarusians have long lived next to Russians in the Smolensk and Pskov regions, as well as in Central Russia, the Volga region and Siberia, where they moved after the Russian-Polish war of the 17th century. and subsequent violent partitions of Poland. Many peasants and artisans left for Russia voluntarily because of the scarcity of Belarusian lands. Large communities of Belarusians formed in Moscow and later in St. Petersburg.

For the 90s. 20th century About 1.2 million Belarusians lived in Russia. Most of them, especially the townspeople, became Russified. By 1989, only a little more than 1/3 recognized the Belarusian language as their mother tongue. According to a sample survey conducted in St. Petersburg in 1992, 1/2 of the polled Belarusians called themselves people of Russian culture, 1/4 - mixed Russian-Belarusian, and only about 10% - Belarusian. Russian Belarusians have a lot of ethnically mixed families - with Russians, Ukrainians, Karelians.

BELARUSIAN CUISINE

In the life of Russian Belarusians, little is left of their traditional culture. The traditions of national cuisine are best preserved.

Belarusians love flour dishes - pancakes, pancakes, pies, cook various cereals and cereals, kulesh, oatmeal and pea jelly.

Although, as the Belarusians say, "usyamu galava is bread," "second bread" is in great use - potato . In traditional cuisine, there are up to 200 dishes from it! Some dishes are supposed to be eaten not with bread, but with cold potatoes. Widespread potato fritters ("pancakes"), potato casserole with lard ("drachonka"), mashed potatoes with lard or milk and eggs ("tavkanitsa", "bulb egg").

Favorite meat of Belarusians - pork .

One of the highlights of the kitchen is "bleached ", i.e. dishes seasoned with milk, most often soups, and vegetable dishes are preferred stew of rutabagas, pumpkins, carrots .

Belarusian folk art

Their Belarusian folklore can be heard in everyday life "drawing" ( 6 } songs they sing at Easter. Such Belarusian dances as "hussars", "myatselitsa", "kryzhachok" and others, accompanied by "refrains", are famous.

In folk art, the traditions of patterned weaving and embroidery on bedspreads, wall rugs, tablecloths, and towels are best preserved. Patterns are mostly geometric or floral.

{6 )Name "dragging" (rite, songs) is associated with the verb "to drag", in the meaning of "to go, drag, wander." On Easter Sunday, groups of men (8-10 people each) went around all the houses in the village and sang special songs in which they wished the owners family well-being and a bountiful harvest.

P O L I K I

About 100 thousand Poles live in Russia. Unlike Ukraine and Belarus, Poland does not have common borders with Russia, and therefore, there is no mixed settlement of Poles and Russians. Polish emigrants, as a rule, did not leave their homeland of their own free will. The tsarist government forcibly resettled them after the anti-Russian uprisings of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Some, in search of free land and a better life, voluntarily moved to Siberia. The majority of Russian Poles live in the Tomsk, Omsk and Irkutsk regions, in Altai and in both capitals.

There are many Poles among the Russian intelligentsia. Suffice it to name K.E. Tsiolkovsky, geographer A.L. Chekanovsky, linguist and ethnographer E.K. Pekarsky, ethnographer V. Seroshevsky, artist K.S. Malevich, Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky. In the tsarist army, the Poles made up more than 10% of the officer corps. Polish cultural and educational organizations existed in Russia, and in 1917 a territorial and cultural autonomy arose, which was liquidated by 1937. This intensified the Russification of the Poles: in 1989, less than 1/3 of Russian Poles called Polish their native language. In the 90s. the restoration of Polish cultural and educational organizations began.

Most Russian Poles live scattered, mostly in cities. Even those who consider themselves Poles by nationality have retained almost nothing from Polish everyday culture. This also applies to food, although certain Polish dishes (for example, "bigos" - fresh or sauerkraut stewed with meat or sausage) are widely used. The Poles are distinguished by religiosity, strictly observe church rites. This feature has become a feature of national identity.

There are many white spots in the history of the Slavs, which makes it possible for numerous modern “researchers” to put forward the most fantastic theories about the origin and formation of the statehood of the Slavic peoples on the basis of conjectures and unproven facts. Often even the concept of "Slav" is misunderstood and is regarded as a synonym for the concept of "Russian". Moreover, there is an opinion that the Slav is a nationality. All these are delusions.

Who are the Slavs?

The Slavs constitute the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe. Within it there are three main groups: (i.e. Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians), Western (Poles, Czechs, Lusatians and Slovaks) and South Slavs (among them we will name Bosnians, Serbs, Macedonians, Croats, Bulgarians, Montenegrins, Slovenes) . A Slav is not a nationality, since a nation is a narrower concept. Separate Slavic nations formed relatively late, while the Slavs (or rather, the Proto-Slavs) stood out from the Indo-European community one and a half thousand years BC. e. Several centuries passed, and ancient travelers learned about them. At the turn of the epochs, the Slavs were mentioned by Roman historians under the name of "Vendi": it is known from written sources that the Slavic tribes waged wars with the Germans.

It is believed that the homeland of the Slavs (more precisely, the place where they formed as a community) was the territory between the Oder and the Vistula (some authors argue that between the Oder and the middle course of the Dnieper).

Ethnonym

Here it makes sense to consider the question of the origin of the very concept of "Slav". In the old days, peoples were often called by the name of the river on the banks of which they lived. The Dnieper in ancient times was just called "Slavutich". The very root "glory" may go back to the common word for all Indo-Europeans kleu, meaning rumor or fame. There is another common version: "Slovak", "Tslovak" and, ultimately, "Slav" is simply "a person" or "a person who speaks our language." Representatives of the ancient tribes of all strangers who spoke an incomprehensible language were not considered people at all. The self-name of any people - for example, "Mansi" or "Nenets" - in most cases means "man" or "man".

Economy. social order

A Slav is a farmer. They learned to cultivate the land back in those days when all Indo-Europeans had a common language. In the northern territories, slash-and-burn agriculture was practiced, in the south - fallow. Millet, wheat, barley, rye, flax and hemp were grown. They knew garden crops: cabbage, beets, turnips. The Slavs lived in the forest and forest-steppe zones, so they were engaged in hunting, beekeeping, and also fishing. They also raised cattle. The Slavs made high-quality weapons, ceramics, and agricultural tools for those times.

In the early stages of development, the Slavs existed which gradually evolved into a neighboring one. As a result of military campaigns, nobility emerged from the community members; nobility received land, and the communal system was replaced by feudalism.

General in ancient times

In the north, the Slavs coexisted with the Baltic and in the west - with the Celts, in the east - with the Scythians and Sarmatians, and in the south - with the ancient Macedonians, Thracians, Illyrians. At the end of the 5th century A.D. e. they reached the Baltic and Black Seas, and by the 8th century they reached Lake Ladoga and mastered the Balkans. By the 10th century, the Slavs occupied lands from the Volga to the Elbe, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. This migration activity was due to the invasions of nomads from Central Asia, the attacks of German neighbors, as well as climate change in Europe: individual tribes were forced to look for new lands.

History of the Slavs of the East European Plain

Eastern Slavs (ancestors of modern Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians) by the 9th century AD e. occupied lands from the Carpathians to the middle reaches of the Oka and the Upper Don, from Ladoga to the Middle Dnieper. They actively interacted with the local Finno-Ugric peoples and Balts. Already from the 6th century, small tribes began to enter into alliances with each other, which marked the birth of statehood. At the head of each such union was a military leader.

The names of tribal unions are known to everyone from the school history course: these are the Drevlyans, and the Vyatichi, and the northerners, and the Krivichi. But the Polans and the Ilmen Slovenes were perhaps most famous. The former lived along the middle reaches of the Dnieper and founded Kyiv, the latter lived on the banks of Lake Ilmen and built Novgorod. The “path from the Varangians to the Greeks” that arose in the 9th century contributed to the rise and, subsequently, to the unification of these cities. Thus, in 882, the state of the Slavs of the East European Plain - Russia - arose.

Supreme mythology

The Slavs cannot be named Unlike the Egyptians or the Indians, they did not have time to develop a developed mythological system. It is known that the Slavs (i.e. myths about the origin of the world) have much in common with the Finno-Ugric ones. They also contain an egg, from which the world is “born”, and two ducks, by order of the supreme god, bringing silt from the bottom of the ocean to create the earth's firmament. At first, the Slavs worshiped Rod and Rozhanitsy, later - the personified forces of nature (Perun, Svarog, Mokosh, Dazhdbog).

There were ideas about paradise - Iria (Vyria), (Oak). The religious ideas of the Slavs developed along the same lines as those of other peoples of Europe (after all, the ancient Slav is a European!): from the deification of natural phenomena to the recognition of the one God. It is known that in the 10th century A.D. e. Prince Vladimir tried to "unify" the pantheon, making Perun, the patron saint of warriors, the supreme deity. But the reform failed, and the prince had to pay attention to Christianity. Forced Christianization, however, could not completely destroy pagan ideas: they began to identify Elijah the Prophet with Perun, and they began to mention Christ and the Mother of God in the texts of magical conspiracies.

Inferior mythology

Alas, the myths of the Slavs about gods and heroes were not written down. On the other hand, these peoples created a developed lower mythology, the characters of which - goblin, mermaids, ghouls, mortgages, banniks, barnyards and half-days - are known to us from songs, epics, proverbs. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, peasants told ethnographers how to protect themselves from a werewolf and negotiate with a water man. Some remnants of paganism are still alive in the popular mind.

Germanic peoples

Germans. The basis of the German ethnos was the ancient Germanic tribal associations of the Franks, Saxons, Bavarians, Alemanni, and others, mixed in the first centuries of our era with the Romanized Celtic population and with the Rhets. After the division of the Frankish Empire (843), the East Frankish kingdom stood out with a German-speaking population. The name (Deutsch) has been known since the middle of the 10th century, which indicates the formation of the German ethnos. The capture of the lands of the Slavs and Prussians3 in the X-XI centuries. led to the partial assimilation of the local population.

English. The ethnic basis of the English nation was made up of the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians, who conquered in the 5th-6th centuries. Celtic Britain. In the 7th-10th centuries an Anglo-Saxon people developed, which also absorbed Celtic elements. Later, the Anglo-Saxons, mixed with the Danes, Norwegians, and after the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by immigrants from France, laid the foundation for the English nation.

Norse. The ancestors of the Norsemen - Germanic tribes of pastoralists and farmers - came to Scandinavia at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. In Old English sources of the ninth century. for the first time the term "nordmann" - "northern man" (Norwegian) is encountered. Education in X-X! centuries the early feudal state and Christianization contributed to the formation of the Norwegian people around this time. In the Viking Age (IX-XI centuries), settlers from Norway created colonies on the islands of the North Atlantic and in Iceland (Faroese, Icelanders).

Slavic peoples

The Slavs are the largest group of related peoples in Europe. It consists of Slavs: eastern (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians), western (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatians) and southern (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Muslims, Macedonians, Bosnians). The origin of the ethnonym "Slavs" is not clear enough. It can be assumed that it goes back to the common Indo-European root, the semantic content of which is the concepts of "man", "people". The ethnogenesis of the Slavs probably developed in stages (Proto-Slavs, Proto-Slavs and the early Slavic ethnolinguistic community). By the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. formed separate Slavic ethnic communities (unions of tribes).

Slavic ethnic communities were originally formed in the area either between the Oder and the Vistula, or between the Oder and the Dnieper. Various ethnic groups took part in ethnogenetic processes - both Slavic and non-Slavic: Dacians, Thracians, Turks, Balts, Finno-Ugric peoples, etc. From here, the Slavs began to gradually move in the southwestern, western and northern directions, which coincided in mainly with the final phase of the Great Migration of Nations (U-UI centuries). As a result, in the K-X centuries. an extensive area of ​​Slavic settlement developed: from the modern Russian North and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and from the Volga to the Elbe.

The emergence of statehood among the Slavs dates back to the UP-GH centuries. (The first Bulgarian kingdom, Kievan Rus, the Great Moravian state, the Old Polish state, etc.). The nature, dynamics and pace of formation of the Slavic peoples were largely influenced by social and political factors. So, in the ninth century. the lands inhabited by the ancestors of the Slovenes were captured by the Germans and became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and at the beginning of the 10th century. the ancestors of the Slovaks after the fall of the Great Moravian state were included in the Hungarian state. The process of ethno-social development among the Bulgarians and Serbs was interrupted in the XIV century. Ottoman (Turkish) invasion, stretching for five hundred years. Croatia in view of the danger from the outside at the beginning of the XII century. recognized the power of the Hungarian kings. Czech lands at the beginning of the 17th century. were included in the Austrian monarchy, and Poland survived at the end of the XVIII century. several sections.

The development of the Slavs in Eastern Europe had specific features. The peculiarity of the process of formation of individual nations (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians) was that they equally survived the stage of the Old Russian nationality and were formed as a result of the differentiation of the Old Russian nationality into three independent closely related ethnic groups (XIV-XVI centuries). In the XVII-XIII centuries. Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians ended up in one state - the Russian Empire. The process of formation of nations proceeded among these ethnic groups at a different pace, which was determined by the peculiar historical, ethno-political and ethno-cultural situations that each of the three peoples experienced. Thus, for Belarusians and Ukrainians, an important role was played by the need to resist Polonization and Magyarization, the incompleteness of their ethno-social structure, formed as a result of the merger of their own upper social strata with the upper social strata of Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, etc.

The process of formation of the Russian nation proceeded simultaneously with the formation of the Ukrainian and Belarusian nations. In the conditions of the liberation war against the Tatar-Mongol yoke (mid-12th - late 15th centuries), the ethnic consolidation of the principalities of North-Eastern Russia took place, which formed in the 11th-15th centuries. Moscow Russia. The Eastern Slavs of Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir, Moscow, Tver and Novgorod lands became the ethnic core of the emerging Russian nation. One of the most important features of the ethnic history of Russians was the constant presence of sparsely populated areas adjacent to the main Russian ethnic territory, and the centuries-old migration activity of the Russian population. As a result, a vast ethnic territory of Russians gradually formed, surrounded by a zone of constant ethnic contacts with peoples of different origins, cultural traditions and languages ​​(Finno-Ugric, Turkic, Baltic, Mongolian, Western and South Slavic, Caucasian, etc.).

The Ukrainian people was formed on the basis of a part of the East Slavic population, which was previously part of a single ancient Russian state (IX-

XII centuries). The Ukrainian nation was formed in the southwestern regions of this state (the territory of Kiev, Pereyaslav, Chernihiv-Seversky, Volyn and Galician principalities) mainly in the 11th-16th centuries. Despite the capture in the XV century. a large part of Ukrainian lands by Polish-Lithuanian feudal lords, in the 17th-17th centuries. in the course of the struggle against the Polish, Lithuanian, Hungarian conquerors and opposition to the Tatar khans, the consolidation of the Ukrainian people continued. In the XVI century. the Ukrainian (so-called Old Ukrainian) book language was formed.

In the 17th century Ukraine reunited with Russia (1654). In the 90s of the XVIII century. Russia included the Right-bank Ukraine and the southern Ukrainian lands, and in the first half of the 19th century. - Danubian. The name "Ukraine" was used to designate various southern and southwestern parts of the Old Russian lands as early as the 12th century.

13th century Subsequently (by the 18th century), this term in the meaning of "krajina", that is, the country, was fixed in official documents, became widespread and became the basis for the ethnonym of the Ukrainian people.

The most ancient ethnic basis of the Belarusians was the East Slavic tribes, which partially assimilated the Lithuanian tribes of the Yotvingians. In the IX-XI centuries. were part of Kievan Rus. After a period of feudal fragmentation from the middle of the XIII - during the XIV century. the lands of Belarus were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then in the 16th century. - part of the Commonwealth. In the XIV-XVI centuries. the Belarusian people were formed, their culture developed. At the end of the XVIII century. Belarus reunited with Russia.

Other peoples of Europe

Celts (Gauls) - ancient Indo-European tribes that lived in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e. on the territory of modern France, Belgium, Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, northern and western parts of Spain, the British Isles, the Czech Republic, partly Hungary and Bulgaria. By the middle of the 1st c. BC e. were conquered by the Romans. The Celtic tribes included the Britons, Gauls, Helvetians, and others.

Greeks. The ethnic composition of the territory of Ancient Greece in the III millennium BC. e. was motley: Pelasgians, Lelegs and other peoples who were pushed back and assimilated by the proto-Greek tribes - Achaeans, Ionians and Dorians. The ancient Greek people began to form in the II millennium BC. e., and in the era of Greek colonization of the Mediterranean and Black Seas (VIII-VI centuries BC), a common Greek cultural unity was formed - Hellenes (from the name of the tribe that inhabited Hellas - a region in Thessaly). The ethnonym "Greeks" originally referred, apparently, to one of the tribes in northern Greece, then was borrowed by the Romans and extended to all Hellenes. The ancient Greeks created a highly developed ancient civilization that played an important role in the development of European culture. In the Middle Ages, the Greeks were the main core Byzantine Empire and were officially called Romans (Romans). Gradually, they assimilated the groups of Thracians, Illyrians, Celts, Slavs, and Albanians that migrated from the north. Ottoman domination in the Balkans (XV - first half of the XIX century) was largely reflected in the material culture and language of the Greeks. As a result of the national liberation movement in the XIX century. the Greek state was formed.

Finns. The Finnish nationality was formed in the process of merging the tribes that lived on the territory of modern Finland. In the XII-XIII centuries. Finnish lands were conquered by the Swedes, who left a noticeable imprint on the culture of the Finns. In the XVI century. Finnish writing appeared. From the beginning of the XIX to the beginning of the XX century. Finland was part of the Russian Empire with the status of an autonomous grand duchy.

The ethnic composition of the population of Europe as a whole is given in Table. 4.3.

Table 4.3. ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION OF EUROPE (data are given as of mid-1985, including the former USSR)

Slavic peoples

The origin of the term "Slavs", which has been of great public interest in recent times, is very complex and confusing. The definition of the Slavs as an ethno-confessional community, due to the very large territory occupied by the Slavs, is often difficult, and the use of the concept of "Slavic community" for political purposes for centuries caused a serious distortion of the picture of real relationships between the Slavic peoples.

The origin of the term "Slavs" is unknown to modern science. Presumably, it goes back to some common Indo-European root, the semantic content of which is the concept of "man", "people". There are also two theories, one of which derives Latin names Sclavi, Stlavi, Sklaveni from the ending of the names "-glory", which, in turn, is associated with the word "glory". Another theory connects the name "Slavs" with the term "word", citing as evidence the presence of the Russian word "Germans", derived from the word "mute". Both of these theories, however, are refuted by almost all modern linguists, who argue that the suffix "-yanin" unambiguously indicates belonging to a particular locality. Since the area called "Slav" is unknown to history, the origin of the name of the Slavs remains unclear.

The basic knowledge that modern science has about the ancient Slavs is based either on the data of archaeological excavations (which in themselves do not provide any theoretical knowledge), or on the basis of chronicles, as a rule, known not in their original form, but in the form of later lists, descriptions and interpretations. Obviously, such factual material is completely insufficient for any serious theoretical constructions. Sources of information about the history of the Slavs are discussed below, as well as in the chapters "History" and "Linguistics", however, it should immediately be noted that any study in the field of life, life and religion of the ancient Slavs cannot claim anything more than a hypothetical model.

It should also be noted that in the science of the XIX-XX centuries. there was a serious divergence in views on the history of the Slavs between Russian and foreign researchers. On the one hand, it was caused by the special political relations of Russia with other Slavic states, the sharply increased influence of Russia on European politics and the need for a historical (or pseudo-historical) justification for this policy, as well as a backlash against it, including from openly fascist ethnographers - theorists (for example, Ratzel). On the other hand, there were (and are) fundamental differences between the scientific and methodological schools of Russia (especially the Soviet one) and Western countries. The observed discrepancy could not but be affected by religious aspects - the claims of Russian Orthodoxy to a special and exclusive role in the world Christian process, rooted in the history of the baptism of Russia, also required a certain revision of some views on the history of the Slavs.

In the concept of "Slavs" certain peoples are often included with a certain degree of conventionality. A number of nationalities have undergone such significant changes in their history that they can be called Slavic only with great reservations. Many peoples, mainly on the borders of traditional Slavic settlement, have signs of both the Slavs and their neighbors, which requires the introduction of the concept "marginal Slavs". These peoples definitely include the Dakoromanians, Albanians and Illyrians, Leto-Slavs.

Most of the Slavic population, having experienced numerous historical vicissitudes, one way or another mixed with other peoples. Many of these processes took place already in modern times; Thus, Russian settlers in Transbaikalia, having mixed with the local Buryat population, gave rise to a new community known as chaldons. By and large, it makes sense to derive the concept "Mesoslavs" in relation to peoples that have a direct genetic connection only with the Wends, Ants and Sklavens.

It is necessary to use the linguistic method in identifying the Slavs, as suggested by a number of researchers, with extreme caution. There are many examples of such a discrepancy or syncretism in the linguistics of some peoples; for example, the Polabian and Kashubian Slavs de facto speak German, and many Balkan peoples have changed their original language beyond recognition several times over the past millennium and a half.

Such a valuable method of research as anthropological, unfortunately, is practically inapplicable to the Slavs, since a single anthropological type, characteristic of the entire habitat of the Slavs, has not been formed. The traditional everyday anthropological characteristics of the Slavs refers mainly to the northern and eastern Slavs, who for centuries assimilated with the Balts and Scandinavians, and cannot be attributed to the eastern, and even more so to the southern Slavs. Moreover, as a result of significant external influences from, in particular, the Muslim conquerors, the anthropological characteristics of not only the Slavs, but also all the inhabitants of Europe changed significantly. For example, the indigenous inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula during the heyday of the Roman Empire had an appearance characteristic of the inhabitants of Central Russia in the 19th century: blond curly hair, blue eyes and rounded faces.

As mentioned above, information about the Proto-Slavs is known to us exclusively from ancient, and later from Byzantine sources of the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. The Greeks and Romans gave completely arbitrary names to the Proto-Slavic peoples, referring them to the area, appearance or the fighting characteristics of the tribes. As a result, there is a certain confusion and redundancy in the names of the Proto-Slavic peoples. At the same time, however, in the Roman Empire, the Slavic tribes were generally called by the terms Stavani, Stlavani, Suoveni, Slavi, Slavini, Sklavini, obviously having a common origin, but leaving a wide scope for reasoning about the original meaning of this word, as already mentioned above.

Modern ethnography rather conditionally divides the Slavs of the new time into three groups:

Eastern, which includes Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians; some researchers distinguish only the Russian nation, which has three branches: Great Russian, Little Russian and Belarusian;

Western, which include Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Lusatians;

Southern, which include Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Bosnians, Montenegrins.

It is easy to see that this division corresponds more to linguistic differences between peoples than to ethnographic and anthropological ones; Thus, the division of the main population of the former Russian Empire into Russians and Ukrainians is highly controversial, and the unification of the Cossacks, Galicians, Eastern Poles, northern Moldavians and Hutsuls into one nationality is more about politics than science.

Unfortunately, based on the foregoing, a researcher of Slavic communities can hardly be based on a different method of research and the classification that follows from it than linguistic. However, with all the richness and effectiveness of linguistic methods, in the historical aspect they are very susceptible to external influences, and, as a result, they may turn out to be unreliable in the historical perspective.

Of course, the main ethnographic group of the Eastern Slavs are the so-called Russians, at least in terms of their size. However, with regard to Russians, we can only speak in a generalized sense, since the Russian nation is a very bizarre synthesis of small ethnographic groups and nationalities.

Three ethnic elements took part in the formation of the Russian nation: Slavic, Finnish and Tatar-Mongolian. Asserting this, however, we cannot definitely say what exactly the original East Slavic type was. A similar uncertainty is observed in relation to the Finns, who are united in one group only due to a certain proximity of the languages ​​of the Baltic Finns proper, Lapps, Livs, Estonians and Magyars. Even less obvious is the genetic origin of the Tatar-Mongols, who, as is known, are quite distantly related to modern Mongols, and even more so to the Tatars.

A number of researchers believe that the social elite of ancient Russia, which gave the name to the whole people, was a certain people of the Rus, who by the middle of the 10th century. subjugated Slovenian, glade and part of the Krivichi. There are, however, significant differences in the hypotheses about the origin and the very fact of the existence of the Rus. The Norman origin of the Rus is assumed to be from the Scandinavian tribes of the Viking expansion period. This hypothesis was described as early as the 18th century, but was received with hostility by the patriotic-minded part of Russian scientists, headed by Lomonosov. At present, the Norman hypothesis is considered in the West as a basic one, in Russia - as a probable one.

The Slavic hypothesis of the origin of the Rus was formulated by Lomonosov and Tatishchev in defiance of the Norman hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the Rus originate from the Middle Dnieper and are identified with glades. Under this hypothesis, which had official status in the USSR, many archaeological finds in the south of Russia were fitted.

The Indo-Iranian hypothesis suggests the origin of the Rus from the Sarmatian tribes of Roxalans or Rosomones, mentioned by ancient authors, and the name of the people - from the term ruksi- "light". This hypothesis does not stand up to criticism, first of all, due to the dolichocephalicity of the skulls inherent in the burials of that time, which is inherent only to the northern peoples.

There is a strong (and not only in everyday life) belief that the formation of the Russian nation was influenced by a certain nation called the Scythians. Meanwhile, in the scientific sense, this term has no right to exist, since the concept of "Scythians" is no less generalized than "Europeans", and includes dozens, if not hundreds of nomadic peoples of Turkic, Aryan and Iranian origin. Naturally, these nomadic peoples, in one way or another, had a certain influence on the formation of the eastern and southern Slavs, but it is completely wrong to consider this influence decisive (or critical).

As the Eastern Slavs spread, they mixed not only with the Finns and Tatars, but also, somewhat later, with the Germans.

The main ethnographic group of modern Ukraine are the so-called little Russians, living on the territory of the Middle Dnieper and Slobozhanshchina, also called Cherkasy. Two ethnographic groups are also distinguished: Carpathian (Boikos, Hutsuls, Lemkos) and Polissya (Litvins, Polishchuks). The formation of the Little Russian (Ukrainian) people took place in the XII-XV centuries. based on the southwestern part of the population of Kievan Rus and genetically differed little from the indigenous Russian nation that had formed by the time of the baptism of Rus. In the future, there was a partial assimilation of a part of the Little Russians with the Hungarians, Lithuanians, Poles, Tatars and Romanians.

Belarusians, calling themselves so by the geographical term "White Russia", are a complex synthesis of Dregovichi, Radimichi and partially Vyatichi with Poles and Lithuanians. Initially, until the 16th century, the term "White Russia" was applied exclusively to the Vitebsk region and northeastern Mogilev region, while the western part of the modern Minsk and Vitebsk regions, together with the territory of the present Grodno region, were called "Black Russia", and the southern part of modern Belarus - Polissya. These areas became part of "Belaya Rus" much later. Subsequently, the Belarusians absorbed the Polotsk Krivichi, and some of them were pushed back to the Pskov and Tver lands. The Russian name for the Belarusian-Ukrainian mixed population is Polishchuks, Litvins, Rusyns, Ruthenians.

Polabian Slavs(Wends) - the indigenous Slavic population of the north, northwest and east of the territory occupied by modern Germany. The composition of the Polabian Slavs includes three tribal unions: Lutichi (velets or Velets), Bodrichi (encouraged, rereki or rarogs) and Lusatians (Lusatian Serbs or Sorbs). At present, the entire Polabian population is completely Germanized.

Lusatians(Lusatian Serbs, Sorbs, Wends, Serbs) - the indigenous Mesoslavic population, lives on the territory of Lusatia - the former Slavic regions, now located in Germany. They originate from the Polabian Slavs, occupied in the 10th century. German feudal lords.

Extremely southern Slavs, conditionally united under the name "Bulgarians" represent seven ethnographic groups: Dobrujantsi, Khartsoi, Balkandji, Thracian, Ruptsi, Macedonian, Shopi. These groups significantly differ not only in language, but also in customs, social structure and culture in general, and the final formation of a single Bulgarian community has not been completed even in our time.

Initially, the Bulgarians lived on the Don, when the Khazars, after moving to the west, founded a large kingdom on the lower Volga. Under the pressure of the Khazars, part of the Bulgarians moved to the lower Danube, forming modern Bulgaria, and the other part to the middle Volga, where they subsequently mixed with the Russians.

The Balkan Bulgarians mixed with the local Thracians; in modern Bulgaria, elements of the Thracian culture can be traced south of the Balkan range. With the expansion of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, new tribes entered the generalized people of the Bulgarians. A significant part of the Bulgarians assimilated with the Turks in the period of the 15th-19th centuries.

Croatians- a group of southern Slavs (self-name - hrvati). The ancestors of the Croats are the tribes of Kachichi, Shubichi, Svachichi, Magorovichi, Kroats, who moved along with other Slavic tribes to the Balkans in the 6th-7th centuries, and then settled in the north of the Dalmatian coast, in southern Istria, between the Sava and Drava rivers, in northern Bosnia .

Actually, the Croats, who form the backbone of the Croatian group, are most of all related to the Slavons.

In 806, the Croats fell under the rule of Thrace, in 864 - Byzantium, in 1075 they formed their own kingdom.

At the end of the XI - beginning of the XII centuries. the main part of the Croatian lands was included in the Kingdom of Hungary, resulting in significant assimilation with the Hungarians. In the middle of the XV century. Venice (back in the 11th century, seized part of Dalmatia) took possession of the Croatian Primorye (with the exception of Dubrovnik). In 1527, Croatia gained independence, falling under the rule of the Habsburgs.

In 1592, part of the Croatian kingdom was conquered by the Turks. A military frontier was created to protect against the Ottomans; its inhabitants, the frontiers, are Croats, Slavonians and Serb refugees.

In 1699, Turkey ceded to Austria the captured part, among other lands, under the Karlovtsy peace. In 1809-1813. Croatia was annexed to the Illyrian provinces ceded to Napoleon I. From 1849 to 1868. it formed, together with Slavonia, the coastal region and Fiume, an independent crown land, in 1868 it was again united with Hungary, and in 1881 the Slovak border region was annexed to the latter.

A small group of South Slavs - Illyrians, the later inhabitants of ancient Illyria, located west of Thessaly and Macedonia, and east of Italy and Rhetia, as far north as the river Istra. The most significant of the Illyrian tribes are: Dalmatians, Liburnians, Istrians, Japodes, Pannonians, Desitiates, Pirusts, Dicyons, Dardani, Ardei, Taulantii, Plerei, Iapigi, Messaps.

At the beginning of the III century. BC e. the Illyrians were subjected to Celtic influence, as a result of which a group of Illyro-Celtic tribes was formed. As a result of the Illyrian Wars with Rome, the Illyrians underwent rapid romanization, as a result of which their language disappeared.

From the Illyrians are descended modern Albanians and dalmatians.

In formation Albanians(self-name shchiptar, known in Italy as arbreshi, in Greece as arvanites) the tribes of the Illyrians and Thracians took part, and the influence of Rome and Byzantium also affected it. The community of Albanians was formed relatively late, in the 15th century, but it was strongly influenced by the Ottoman domination, which destroyed economic ties between the communities. At the end of the XVIII century. Albanians formed two main ethnic groups: the Ghegs and the Tosks.

Romanians(Dakorumyns), who until the 12th century were a pastoral mountain people who did not have a stable place of residence, are not pure Slavs. Genetically, they are a mixture of Dacians, Illyrians, Romans and South Slavs.

Aromanians(Aromans, Tsintsars, Kutsovlachs) are the descendants of the ancient Romanized population of Moesia. With a high degree of probability, the ancestors of the Aromanians until the 9th - 10th centuries lived in the northeast of the Balkan Peninsula and are not an autochthonous population in the territory of their present residence, i.e. in Albania and Greece. Linguistic analysis shows the almost complete identity of the vocabulary of Aromanians and Dakoromanians, which indicates that these two peoples have been in close contact for a long time. Byzantine sources also testify to the resettlement of the Aromanians.

Origin Megleno-Romanian not fully explored. There is no doubt that they belong to the eastern part of the Romanians, which was subjected to a long influence of the Dakoromanians, and are not an autochthonous population in the places of modern residence, i.e. in Greece.

Istro-Romanians represent the western part of the Romanians, currently living in small numbers in the eastern part of the Istrian peninsula.

Origin Gagauz, people living in almost all Slavic and neighboring countries (mainly in Bessarabia), is highly controversial. According to one of the widespread versions, this Orthodox people, who speak the specific Gagauz language of the Turkic group, are Turkified Bulgarians mixed with the Polovtsy of the southern Russian steppes.

Southwestern Slavs, currently united under the code name "Serbs"(self-designation - srbi), as well as singling out of them Montenegrins and Bosnians, are assimilated descendants of the Serbs themselves, Duklyans, Tervunyans, Konavlyans, Zakhlumyans, named, who occupied a significant part of the territory in the basin of the southern tributaries of the Sava and Danube, the Dinaric Mountains, south. part of the Adriatic coast. The modern southwestern Slavs are divided into regional ethnic groups: the Shumadians, the Uzhians, the Moravians, the Machvans, the Kosovians, the Srems, and the Banachans.

Bosnians(Bosanians, self-name - Muslims) live in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact, they are Serbs who mixed with Croats and converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation. The Turks, Arabs, Kurds who moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina mixed with the Bosnians.

Montenegrins(self-name - "tsrnogortsy") live in Montenegro and Albania, genetically differ little from the Serbs. Unlike most Balkan countries, Montenegro actively resisted the Ottoman yoke, as a result of which, in 1796, it gained independence. As a result, the level of Turkish assimilation of Montenegrins is minimal.

The center of settlement of the southwestern Slavs is the historical region of Raska, which unites the basins of the Drina, Lim, Piva, Tara, Ibar, Western Morava rivers, where in the second half of the 8th century. an early state was formed. In the middle of the ninth century the Serbian principality was created; in the X-XI centuries. Centre political life moved to the south-west from Rashka, to Duklja, Travuniya, Zakhumya, then again to Rashka. Then, at the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries, Serbia entered the Ottoman Empire.

Western Slavs, known by their modern name "Slovaks"(self-name - Slovaks), on the territory of modern Slovakia began to prevail from the VI century. AD Moving from the southeast, the Slovaks partially absorbed the former Celtic, Germanic, and then the Avar population. The southern areas of Slovak settlement in the 7th century were probably within the borders of the state of Samo. In the ninth century along the course of the Vah and Nitra, the first tribal principality of the early Slovaks arose - Nitrans, or the Principality of Pribina, which around 833 joined the Moravian Principality - the core of the future Great Moravian state. At the end of the ninth century The Great Moravian principality collapsed under the onslaught of the Hungarians, after which its eastern regions by the XII century. became part of Hungary, and later Austria-Hungary.

The term "Slovaks" appeared from the middle of the 15th century; earlier, the inhabitants of this territory were called "Slovenia", "Slovenka".

The second group of Western Slavs - Poles, formed as a result of the unification of the Western shy; Slavic tribes of the glades, slenzan, vislyans, mazovshans, pomeranians. Until the end of the XIX century. There was no single Polish nation: the Poles were divided into several large ethnic groups that differed in dialects and some ethnographic features: in the west - the Great Poles (which included the Kuyavians), the Lenchitsans and the Seradzians; in the south - the Malopolyans, whose group included the Gorals (the population of mountainous regions), Krakovians and Sandomierz; in Silesia - slenzan (slenzaks, Silesians, among whom there were Poles, Silesian Gorals, etc.); in the north-east - Mazury (they included Kurpi) and Warmiaks; on the coast of the Baltic Sea - the Pomeranians, and in Pomorie the Kashubians were especially prominent, retaining the specifics of their language and culture.

The third group of Western Slavs - Czechs(self-name - Cheshi). The Slavs as part of the tribes (Czechs, Croats, Luchians, Zlichans, Dechans, Pshovans, Litomers, Hebans, Glomachi) became the predominant population in the territory of modern Czech Republic in the 6th-7th centuries, assimilating the remnants of the Celtic and Germanic population.

In the ninth century The Czech Republic was part of the Great Moravian Empire. At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. the Czech (Prague) principality was formed, in the X century. included Moravia in their lands. From the second half of the XII century. The Czech Republic became part of the Holy Roman Empire; further, German colonization took place on the Czech lands, in 1526 the power of the Habsburgs was established.

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. the revival of Czech identity began, which ended, with the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, with the formation of the national state of Czechoslovakia, which in 1993 broke up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

As part of the modern Czech Republic, the population of the Czech Republic proper and the historical region of Moravia stand out, where regional groups of Horaks, Moravian Slovaks, Moravian Vlachs and Hanaks are preserved.

Leto-Slavs are considered the youngest branch of the North European Aryans. They live to the east of the middle Vistula and have significant anthropological differences from the Lithuanians living in the same area. According to a number of researchers, the Leto-Slavs, having mixed with the Finns, reached the middle Main and Inn, and only later were partially forced out, and partially assimilated by the Germanic tribes.

Intermediate people between the southwestern and Western Slavs – slovenes, currently occupying the extreme north-west of the Balkan Peninsula, from the headwaters of the Sava and Drava rivers to the eastern Alps and the Adriatic coast up to the Friuli valley, as well as in the Middle Danube and Lower Pannonia. This territory was occupied by them during the mass migration of Slavic tribes to the Balkans in the 6th-7th centuries, forming two Slovenian regions - the Alpine (Karantans) and the Danube (Pannonian Slavs).

From the middle of the ninth century most of the Slovenian lands came under the rule of southern Germany, as a result of which Catholicism began to spread there.

In 1918, the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created under the common name of Yugoslavia.

3. Slavic Tale of Bygone Years: a) Ipatiev List, PSRL, T. P, Vol. 1 (3rd ed., Petrograd, 1923), 6) Laurentian List, PSRL, Vol. 1, Issue. 1 (2nd ed., Leningrad, 1926). Konstantin the Philosopher, see St. Cyril. George Monk, Slavic version of the ed. V.M. Istrin: Chronicle of George Amartol