Introduction

In our work, we will consider the economy and life of our ancestors - the Eastern Slavs. The discoveries of archaeologists allow us to say that the ancestors of the current Slavic peoples - the Proto-Slavs, have been known since the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The first written evidence about the Slavs dates back to the turn of the 1st millennium AD. e. Greek, Roman, Arabic, Byzantine historians report about the Slavs. Ancient authors mention the Slavs under the names of Wends, Antes, Sclavins. They call them "countless tribes", "great people".

Our work structurally consists of an introduction, four questions, a conclusion and a bibliographic list.
The history of the origin of the Eastern Slavs: habitats and the development of the language of the ancient Slavs

The Slavs are the most numerous branch of the peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Indo-European language family. Language is the most important distributing feature of an ethnic community. Elements modern languages They date back to ancient times, to the time of the primitive communal system, when tools were made of stone, that is, during the Neolithic, and perhaps even the Mesolithic. So, in some Indo-European languages, this term means "stone", "flint", and in others - "hammer", "axe", "knife". The terminology of kinship, which developed during the time of the maternal clan, also speaks of the deep antiquity of the Indo-European languages. Indo-European speech in those distant times sounded in the middle zone of Europe with its temperate climate. This is evidenced by the proximity in the Indo-European languages ​​of the names of spruce, pine and birch, as well as rivers and lakes in the space from the steppes of Eastern Europe to the Carpathians, Vistula and Danube [Ethnography: textbook ed. Bromelya Yu. V., Markova G. E., M., 1982].

The collapse of the Indo-European linguistic community falls at the end of the Neolithic, at the 5th - 4th millennium BC. e. To a later time (I millennium BC) is the formation of the common Slavic language. It preserved the memory of the time when tools were still often made of flint. Slavic terms, denoting various degrees of kinship and concepts of the times of tribal life, indicate that the Slavs went through the tribal system even during the period of their linguistic unity. Over time, agricultural terminology began to develop in the Old Slavonic language, which testified to the emergence and spread of agriculture among the Slavs after their separation from the common Indo-European unity. To determine the ancient area of ​​\u200b\u200bsettlement of the Slavs great importance has the fact that in the common Slavic language there are widespread names for designating lakes, swamps, forests and certain tree species, which indicates the settlement of the Slavs in the forest zone of the temperate zone, abounding in lakes and swamps. Such a strip stretches east of the Elbe and the Oder. Common Slavic names of plants, birds and fish, many geographical names (Vistula, Desna, Vepr, Beaver, Black Grouse, Pripyat, Berezina, Yelnya, Lipa) also speak about this area [History of the USSR. From ancient times to 1861, uch. for universities, ed. Epifanova P.P., M., 1983].

On the territory from Laba (Elbe) to the left bank of the Dnieper, Slavic cultures of the Bronze and Iron Ages dating back to the 5th - 10th centuries are known. e. (Prague, Korchak, later Roman-Borshevsky, etc.), as some archaeologists suggest, are genetically related in a number of ways to previous cultures - Proto-Slavic or of a mixed type (Lusatian, Pomeranian, Zarubinets).

The ancient authors Hesiod (7th century BC), Herodotus (5th century BC) report that in the north, near the coast, there live Aenetes, from whose lands amber comes. Indeed, amber, found in the countries of the ancient world, is of Baltic origin. Pliny the Elder and Tacitus (1st century AD) speak of the Wends, who live north of the Carpathians, along the Vistula, and coexist with the Finns (Finno-Ugric peoples) in the north and the Sarmatians in the south. In the south, in the forest-steppe zone, the Slavs assimilated the remnants of the agricultural Scythian tribes and Sarmatians, as evidenced by Scythian-Sarmatian elements in ancient Russian art and borrowings in Old Russian from the Iranian languages ​​spoken by the Scythians and Sarmatians [A manual on the history of the USSR for preparatory departments Universities, ed. Orlova A. S., M., 1987].

The social system and religion of the Eastern Slavs

Numerous tribes of Slavs in the II - VI centuries. n. e. occupied vast areas of Central and Eastern Europe. 6th century writers (Jordan, Procopius of Caesarea, Mauritius Strategist, etc.) call the eastern branch of the Slavs Ants, noting that “the tribes of Slavs and Ants are similar in their way of life, in their customs, in their love of freedom”, “from ancient times they live in democracy (democracy )”, are distinguished by endurance, courage, solidarity, hospitality, pagan polytheism and rituals. Among the Slavic Antes themselves, there was a process of property stratification, enrichment of the tribal elite, division of power between "leaders" and "princes".

The first mention of the Ants dates back to the time of their struggle with the Goths, who at the beginning of our era made their way through Polissya and Volhynia in the Black Sea region. According to the historian, Jordan is ready, after the death of the Gothic leader Germanarich (Ermanarich), in the late 70s or early 80s. 4th century, the Ostrogothic leader Binitar (Vitimir), subject to the Huns, attacked the Antes, invading their country. In the first clash with the Antes, he was defeated, but then he managed to capture the Antian leader Bozh with his sons and 70 "senior nobles" and crucified them, but a year later he was defeated by the Hun leader Balamber (Valamir) and killed. The power of Germanarich was swept away by the Hunnic wave. The devastating invasion of the Huns into Eastern Europe and their advance further, to the west, to Central Europe, could not but affect the Ants [Petrukhin V. Ya., The beginning of the ethno-cultural history of Russia in the 9th-11th centuries, Smolensk, 1995].

During this period, tribal unions of the Slavs of the southwestern lands of Eastern Europe were formed. At the end of the VI and the beginning of the VII century. in Volhynia, in the Upper Dniester region and the Bug region, under the leadership of a strong tribe of Volynians and their king Madzhak, a stronger political entity arises, which historians call the "power of the Volynians" [Petrukhin V. Ya., Beginning of the ethnocultural history of Russia in the 9th - 11th centuries, Smolensk, 1995] .

The "Power of the Volynians" was defeated by the nomadic tribes of the Avars. The memory of this event was preserved in the chronicler's story, about the "images" (Avars), who for a while subdued the Dulebs (Volhynians). Apparently, this kind of political formation took place in the Middle Dnieper. Our chronicle cites an ancient folk tale about Kiy, the founder of Kyiv, who reigned "in his own way", about his trips to Byzantium and the desire to settle on the Danube. Such undertakings can only be done by stronger associations than ordinary tribal alliances.

The Byzantines write about the large number and strength of the Ants, they name the names of their leaders: Idar and his son Mezhamir, Khvalibud, Dobrogast. They were considered, they were invited to military service to Byzantium, concluded agreements.
After the fall of Rome, the Eastern Roman, Byzantine Empire became his successor and heir. The Byzantine ruling nobility sought to maintain slaveholding relations, using for this and military power empires, and the Christian church.

Byzantium considered the Slavs as a reservoir for replenishing the contingent of slaves and hired soldiers, as an object for predatory trade. The Slavs, moving south to rich cities and fertile lands, naturally sought to take possession of them and resisted the desire of Byzantium to subordinate them to their influence.

In the 20s. 6th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian, the eastern and western Slavs entered into a fierce struggle with byzantine empire and, crushing its defenses on the Danube, invaded the territory of the Balkan Peninsula. After some time, they appeared in other parts of the empire: in the Peloponnese, the islands of the Aegean archipelago and in Asia Minor. Having settled widely throughout the lands of the Eastern Roman Empire, especially on the Balkan Peninsula, along the coast of the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, the Slavs soon became the bulk of the population here, especially the rural population.
The communal relations that prevailed among the Slavs contributed to the transition of Byzantium from a slave-owning to a more advanced, feudal social system.

In the VI - VIII centuries. the Slavs settled the lands beyond the Elbe, in some places reaching the Rhine, and in the east they went to the upper reaches of the Don and Oka, in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka, to the shores of Lake Ladoga, the Neva and the Narova. Faced with the Celts, Germans, Baltics, Finno-Ugric peoples, they mixed and partly assimilated them. Numerous Slavic tribes began to take shape in nationalities and embarked on the path of the formation of feudal relations, the path of the formation of states. In the second half of the first millennium A.D. e., they occupied vast expanses of Eastern Europe. The Old Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" reports on the resettlement of the East Slavic tribes.
In the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina, the Krivichi settled to the north and northeast. Part of the Krivichi, who settled in the course of the Polota River, was called Polochan. Slovenes lived in the region of Volkhov and Ilmen, in Polissya, between Pripyat and Berezina - Dregovichi, between Sozh and Iput - Radimichi. Along the Desna, Seim and Sula stretched the lands of the north, or northerners; in the upper reaches of the Oka, settling down its course, the Vyatichi lived; on both banks of the Middle Dnieper, near Kyiv, meadows lived. Along the rivers Teterev and Uzha lay the land of the Drevlyans; Dulebs (Buzhans, or Volhynians) lived in Volhynia, Croats lived on the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, and the lands of streets and Tivertsy stretched from the Bug and the lower reaches of the Dnieper to the mouth of the Danube.

Some of these tribes were tribal unions (Krivichi, Vyatichi, etc.), others were territorial associations (Polochans, Buzhans, or Volynians). By the 9th century the actual tribal system among the Eastern Slavs was already obsolete, and more or less complex ethnic associations appear under the name of the tribes in the Tale of Bygone Years.

It is known that the ancient Slavs in their beliefs deified the forces of nature. Many pagan cults are known, among them were: the cult of Perun, Dazhdbog, Horos, Simargl, Stribog, Mokosh. At the statues of the gods, sacrifice ceremonies were performed, including human sacrifices, in order to appease the gods and beg for their mercy.

IN Slavic tradition cremation was practiced and the ashes were treated in different ways - from simple scattering (in the tradition of the Baltic Slavs) to burial in a hole and the most "concentrated" collection of calcified bones in an urn. Typologically (and genetically) similar burial customs of the Germans, Balts and Slavs contributed to the processes of ethno-cultural synthesis already in the pagan era [Petrukhin V. Ya., Beginning of the ethno-cultural history of Russia in the 9th-11th centuries, Smolensk, 1995].

In 988 - 989 years. Vladimir I adopted Christianity as the new state religion. The chronicle contains a detailed story about the choice of faith, which is of a legendary nature. As a result of visits by Russian embassies to different states, conversations with preachers of Islam from Volga Bulgaria, Judaism from Khazaria, Catholicism “from the Germans” and Orthodoxy from Byzantium, Vladimir allegedly chose Orthodoxy.
Around 988, Vladimir, having baptized himself, ordered to baptize his boyars, and then the whole people.

The adoption of Christianity was of great importance for the further development of the Russian lands. It strengthened the power of the feudal lords over the peasants, consecrating feudal property and subordination to the authorities with its teaching. The adoption of Christianity strengthened state power and territorial unity Kievan Rus. It was of great international importance, which consisted in the fact that Russia, having rejected "primitive" paganism, now became equal to other Christian countries, ties with which expanded significantly. Finally, the adoption of Christianity played an important role in the development of Russian culture.

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the church arose as a special feudal-religious organization. A metropolitan appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople was placed at the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The development of economic relations, agriculture, trade and crafts among the ancient Slavs.

Archaeological materials testify to the high level of development among the ancient Slavs of agriculture using iron coulters, sickles and axes, the production of metal products (spears, arrows, bits, bronze jewelry, etc.), pottery using a potter's wheel. Monuments of material culture and written sources speak of the gradual transition of the Slavs from collective forms of economy to individual family ones, from consanguineous communities to territorial neighbors.

The spread of the craft testified to its separation from agriculture, the abundance of Roman coins and things - to the development of trade; Treasures of precious weapons, jewelry, dishes confirm the reports of Byzantine sources about the wealth of the Slavic nobility, about property inequality among the Slavs. Slavery in a patriarchal form, the transformation of the power of tribal leaders into hereditary ones also point to the disintegration of primitive communal relations.

While plow, arable agriculture was developing in the south-west of Eastern Europe, the slash system was widespread throughout its vast territory. Under her, the forest was first cut down, then burned, fertilizing the soil with ash. The land was cultivated for two or three years, and when it ceased to produce a good harvest, it was abandoned and a new piece of forest was burned. The main tools of slash-and-burn agriculture were various types of wooden ral, primitive wooden plows - knots, narrow-bladed sickle. Slash-and-burn agriculture required a lot of labor. Cutting and burning forests, uprooting stumps - all this is labor-intensive work. Therefore, slash-and-burn agriculture is always associated with collective labor and collective, communal property. Such collectives were large families, patriarchal family communities, numbering many dozens of people in their composition.

Naturally, the level of development of the productive forces, determining the forms social order, could not but be reflected in various manifestations of the material and spiritual culture of the Eastern Slavs.

This era is characterized by a relatively weak development of a craft of a domestic type, not yet completely separated from agriculture, small, well-fortified settlements, which were settlements of one or several family communities, the preservation in some places of large houses of family communities, although they are being replaced by semi-dugouts and ground houses. - dwellings of individual couples.

8th - 9th centuries were a time of serious changes in the tools of agricultural labor and agriculture in general. In different places (in Staraya Ladoga - on the Volkhov River and in the village of Volintsevo - on the Seima River) in layers of the 7th - 8th centuries. an iron coulter and a notch from a ralla without a snake were found. In the same place, in Staraya Ladoga, they found the so-called glitches, which were short, thick, heavy sticks that served to break up clods of earth (“glyz”) on arable land. Such clods of earth cover a field plowed with a plow with a sucker, turning over the layers of earth, and not just scratching the ground. This suggests that plowed field agriculture began to displace slash-and-slash even in the north of Russia.

The evolution of agricultural implements continued. A ralo appeared with a skid and an improved tip, a plow with an asymmetric iron coulter and a plow. Still later, in the 11th-12th centuries, plows with an iron share, a loaf and a mouldboard, cut the soil and dumped the earth from the furrow towards plowing. Wide-blade axes, sickles of a more curved shape, and scythes appeared.

New, more advanced farming systems are emerging: fallow, or shifting, and the two-field and three-field crop rotation systems that grow out of it. In Russia, several varieties of wheat and barley, rye, millet, buckwheat, oats, spelt, peas, lentils, flax, hemp were sown, and from garden crops - turnips, radishes, beets, onions, garlic, poppy seeds, cabbage.

The emergence of new tools and methods of farming contributed to the fact that farming becomes available not only to large collectives - family communities, but also to each small family individually. The primitive type of collective production was "the result of the weakness of the individual" and, with the introduction of new tools of labor, became unnecessary and fettered economic initiative. The relations of production ceased to correspond to the level of development of the productive forces. They had to give way to new, more perfect social relations.
The old, patriarchal communities were disintegrating. The tribal community is being replaced by a new, territorial, neighborhood community, within which private property arises and becomes stronger. A monogamous family, consisting of a husband, wife, children, becomes an integral part of the social cell of society - the neighboring community.

The development of handicrafts as a result of a gradual improvement in production techniques and the emergence of new handicraft tools, the separation of handicrafts from other types of economic activity, all this was the greatest stimulus for the collapse of primitive communal relations.

First of all, two branches of craft are modified and separated from agriculture: metal processing (primarily blacksmithing) and, with the invention of the potter's wheel, the production of ceramic products.
Iron was mined from swamp ores. In raw-blast furnaces, brown iron ore was turned into a spongy, porous lump (crit). There were several ways to obtain steel (ocel) and Damascus (kharaluga). At the disposal of the blacksmiths of Ancient Russia were anvils, hammers, tongs, chisels, crimps, files, stamps, etc. All these tools in the 9th century. already in perfect shape.

With the advent of the potter's wheel and the development of the pottery craft, the dressing of products was no longer made for one's own consumption, but for sale. On pottery made on the potter's wheel, artisans put their stamps.

Other types of crafts also developed: jewelry, stone-cutting, cooperage, carpentry, etc. Crafts were concentrated in the cities, but were also widespread in the countryside.

The products of artisans were intended for sale in local markets. Some handicrafts were sold throughout Russia and exported to neighboring countries (pink slate spindle whorls, jewelry, blacksmith and locksmith products, bone products) [A manual on the history of the USSR for preparatory departments of universities, ed. Orlova A. S. M., 1987].
Settlements, becoming centers of handicraft production and exchange, turned into cities. Many of them arose on the sites of old settlements from the time of the primitive system. Often princely fortresses were overgrown with urban-type settlements, and some cities were founded as military-defensive points.

This is how cities appeared in Russia: Kyiv, Pereyaslavl, Ladoga, Rostov, Suzdal, Beloozero, Pskov, Novgorod, Polotsk, Chernigov, Lyubech, Smolensk, Turov, Cherven, etc. huddled numerous craft people. Here, the surrounding residents gathered for bargaining, rich Russian and "overseas" merchants - guests traded. At the auction they sold and bought, made deals, announced the decisions and orders of the authorities. True, these auctions were weakly connected with each other, but nevertheless, inter-regional exchange also grew. Cattle were driven from the south to the north. The Carpathians supplied salt. Bread went to the north and northwest from the Dnieper and Suzdal lands. They traded furs and linen, cattle and honey, wax and slaves (servants).

Merchant caravans stretched along rivers and land roads. Along the Volga, they communicated with the countries of the Muslim East, and Russian merchants sailed along the Caspian Sea, reaching Baghdad. The great waterway"from the Varangians to the Greeks", connecting the Varangian (Baltic) Sea with the Russian (Black) Sea. Trade routes led through the Carpathians to Prague, to the German cities of Raffelstedt and Regensburg, to Khersones (Korsun) in the Crimea, to the Kama in the Great Bulgars, to distant Tmutarakan on Taman, to the northern countries, to the Urals, to Yugra and Samoyed. They sailed to the Slavic Pomeranian cities that stood on the shores of the Baltic Sea, to Denmark, to the island of Gotland. Trade and craft cities covered the Dniester region, the territory of the modern Moldavian Republic.

The growth of trade caused the development of money circulation. In Russia, they used mainly eastern silver coins, but there were Byzantine and Western European coins. In ancient times, among the Slavs, cattle and furs of martens, squirrels and other fur-bearing animals served as a means of exchange. With the advent of metallic money, some of them took their name from such furs (kuns, vekshas). In Russkaya Pravda, “cowgirl” is the treasury, “kunas” are monetary units and “money” in general. From the end of the X century. in Russia they began to mint their own gold and silver coins. Then the minted coin gives way to silver ingots - hryvnia.

Military organization and tactics of warfare among the Eastern Slavs
The princes had a military organization at their disposal. Vigilantes surround the princes, often live with them under the same roof, eat from the same table, sharing all their interests. The prince consults with combatants on issues of war and peace, organization of campaigns, collection of tribute, trial, administration. Together with them, he adopts decrees, laws, judges according to the “Russian Law”. They help the prince to manage his house, yard, household, travel on his behalf, create court and reprisal, collect "virs and sales" (judicial fees), build fortress cities, convene warriors. They go to other countries as ambassadors of princes, conclude treaties on their behalf, trade in princely goods, and conduct diplomatic negotiations.

The squad was divided into three categories. In the first place is the "senior" squad. It includes rich and influential boyars who have lands, courtyards, mansions, servants, and their warriors. They carry out the most important assignments of the prince.
"Junior" warriors (children, youths) live at the court of the prince, serve his house, yard, household, in peacetime acting as petty stewards and servants, and in wartime - warriors.

The third group consisted of "howls", recruited from the rural and urban people. In ancient times, there was a "self-acting military organization of the population", when every man was a warrior.

It was the so-called "thousandth" organization, when the warriors of ancient Russian tribes and lands united in tens, hundreds and thousands, led by tenth, sotsk and thousand. The thousandth military organization of the Eastern Slavs was more and more subordinate to the princely, retinue.

As the power of Kyiv spread throughout the Slavic lands, the local elite was part of the princely squad.
The core of the princely squad was the cavalry, consisting mainly of well-trained horsemen. It was the personal squad of the prince and wealthy boyars. There were also foot soldiers. They were subdivided into well-trained and armed warriors (personal vigilantes of the prince), and a militia was also recruited from the poor.

The tactics of conducting military operations were different and varied depending on which enemy had to be fought. With the Khazar Khaganate, mainly moving on horseback, the tactics of luring enemy troops into places difficult for cavalry were chosen. They fought with Constantinople with the help of warships, and this tactic was borrowed from the Varangians, who served in the prince's squad.

The chronicle tells about the successful sea campaign of the Russians against Constantinople in 907. The result of it was the conclusion of a written (on parchment) agreement between Byzantium and Russia, which was very beneficial for the latter. In 941, during the reign of Igor (912 - 945), the Russians made a campaign against Byzantium, this time less successful. The campaign was repeated in 944. The agreement with Byzantium was renewed again, less beneficial for Russia, but recognizing it as a sovereign state.

East Slavs in the first half of the 10th century. made trips to the Transcaucasus, using the Don and Volga to enter the Caspian Sea. Permanent and ever developing ties, as was usual in the era of early feudalism, were interspersed with military clashes.

During the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich (964 - 972), a crushing blow was dealt to the hostile Khazar Khaganate. The Vyatichi were exempted from paying tribute to the Khazars. The possessions of Kyiv extended to the lower reaches of the Don, the North Caucasus, Taman and the Eastern Crimea, where the Russian Tmutarakan principality arose. The composition of Russia included the lands of Yases, Kasogs, Obezes - the ancestors of modern Ossetians, Balkars, Circassians [History of the USSR from ancient times to 1861, uch. for universities, ed. Epifanova P.P., M., 1983].

A brief comparison of the Eastern Slavs with the ancient Germanic tribes.
Ancient Germanic tribes. East Slavs.

Religion Funeral cremation, pagan worship of natural elements, a large number of gods. Subsequently, the adoption of Christianity. Funeral cremation, pagan worship of natural elements, a large number of gods. Subsequently, the adoption of Christianity.

Habitat. The peoples of the Germanic group, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. inhabit the lands of modern Germany, as well as Scandinavia. In II - III centuries. AD Germanic tribes began to break into the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and in the 5th - 6th centuries. populated the entire Western Roman Empire up to North Africa. By the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Slavic-speaking tribes were settled in vast areas in the basins of the rivers Laba (Elbe), Vistula in the Middle Dnieper. At the same time, separate groups of Slavic tribes began to move south, through the Carpathians, and northeast into the Upper Dnieper and Upper Volga regions.

Economy. The traditional occupations of the Germanic peoples are animal husbandry, mainly cattle breeding, and agriculture (barley, oats, and wheat were grown). Agriculture was divided into slash-and-burn (when a certain part of the forest was burned) and different types of fallow land (lots of virgin lands or deposits were plowed up). Widespread, in the early stage were hunting and forestry. Animal husbandry was of a transhumance - stall character (cattle driving to summer pastures in the mountains with its stall keeping in the winter in the village), sheep breeding developed. Fishing and salting of fish developed. The traditional type of settlement of the Germans, about which Tacitus wrote (I century AD) - large cumulus villages with randomly arranged courtyards and crooked streets. Only in the east of present-day Germany are found circular settlements with a central square, inherited from the assimilated Slavic population. Agriculture appeared in Eastern Europe no later than the 4th millennium BC. e. By the 1st millennium BC. it has spread over almost all areas, from the steppe zone to the taiga forests of the North. Its distribution came from two centers - the Dnieper and the Middle Volga. Gradually, the population of Eastern Europe developed economic complexes that combined agriculture and cattle breeding with other sectors of the economy - hunting, gathering, and fishing. Depending on the soil climatic conditions There are two main types of land use. In the steppe and forest-steppe zones, agriculture was based on different types fallows, when plots of virgin lands or deposits were constantly plowed up. For several years, such plots gave a good harvest, then they were abandoned for many years, turning them into a fallow to restore fertility. In the forest areas, a different economic complex has developed, based on the use of either forest fallow or slash-and-burn agriculture in its pure form.
Cloth. The first information about the clothing of the Germans dates back to the beginning of our era. Men wore a shirt with sewn-in sleeves or without sleeves, which consisted of two panels of fabric sewn on the shoulders, long trousers, leather soles with webbing from belts served as shoes (the same for men and women). The underwear women's shirt also consisted of two panels, which were fastened with brooches over the shoulders. Later, sleeves were sewn to this attire. At the same time, outerwear was known - a raincoat with a hood. In Norway, up to 150 types of women's regional clothing have been preserved, in which women dressed up on holidays. The basis of both women's and men's clothing was a shirt, for men to the knees, for women - longer. Men's shirts of the same type of tunic cut. Only the Russians in a number of regions had a shirt with an oblique cut of the collar. There was much more variety in the cut of women's shirts, shirts with slanting poliks in the southern Russian regions, shirts with straight poliks in the Dnieper region. Outerwear was more versatile, there were no strong differences between men and women. These are caftan-like retinues, sukmans, Armenians, sheepskin coats. Shoes were of different cuts: postols or opanki - a piece of leather that covered the foot and was pulled together around the ankle. They wore bast shoes woven from birch bark, linden bast, elm bark, willow [Ethnography: textbook, ed. Bromelya Yu. V., Markova G. E., M., 1982].

Conclusion

Thus, we examined issues related to the development of the economy and life of the Eastern Slavs, examined the habitats of the tribes and clans of the ancient Slavs, the origin, economic and religious features of the Eastern Slavs. We examined the social system, determined that at that time there was a change in the primitive communal system to the feudal one and the beginning of the emergence of early feudal ancient Russian states. Considered military organization Eastern Slavs and the conduct of hostilities. They also made a brief comparison of the Eastern Slavs with the ancient Germanic tribes. They determined that the development of agriculture, crafts, religious beliefs and life of these two tribes contain a lot in common. Thus, the issues of our work are disclosed.

Bibliographic list

1. History of the USSR from ancient times to 1861, account. for universities, ed. Epifanova P. P., M., 1983.
2. Handbook on the history of the USSR for the preparatory departments of universities, ed. Orlova A. S., M., 1987
3. Petrukhin V. Ya., The beginning of the ethno-cultural history of Russia in the 9th - 11th centuries, Smolensk, 1995.
4. G. Skirbeck, N. Gilier, History of Philosophy: textbook. settlement for universities, M., 2000.
5. Ethnography: textbook, ed. Bromelya Yu. V., Markova G. E., M., 1982.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal Agency for Education GOU VPO

All-Russian Correspondence Institute of Finance and Economics

Test

on the history of the fatherland on the topic:

« Ancient Russia»

Lecturer: Usova Nina Vladimirovna

Student: Natalia

Specialty: BUA and A

Course: TNF

Group: No. 1

personal file number:

Questions:

Ancient Russia.

1 . Genesis of the Eastern Slavs.

2. Kievan Rus.

Question 1: Genesis of the Eastern Slavs.

The history of the Slavs has its roots in deep antiquity, in that very long period in the development of human society, which is called the primitive communal system.

The problem of the entogeny of the Slavs ("entogeny" - translated from ancient Greek: "ethnos" - the people; "genesis" - the origin and development) is one of the most difficult in science. Various hypotheses of scientists have developed and continue to be refined on the basis of a variety of archaeological and linguistic sources. There are several versions of the ancestral home of the Slavs and their entogeny, which are offered by different scientists, but they all take as a basis the oldest Russian written monument - the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the authorship of which is attributed to the monk Nestor(beginning of the twelfth century).

Nestor puts forward mythological version origin of the Slavs: as if their family goes back to younger son Noah - Japheth, who, after the division of the lands with his brothers, received the Northern and Western countries as inheritance. Gradually appear in the story historical facts. Nestor settles the Slavs in the Roman province of Norik, located between the upper reaches of the Danube and the Drava. From there, the Slavs moved to new places - to the Vistula and the Dnieper.

Historian S.M. Solovyov also adhered to "Danubian" version of the origin of the Slavs, and his student, the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, made his own clarifications to this version: before the Eastern Slavs from the Danube got to the Dnieper, they stayed in the foothills of the Carpathians for about 500 years. According to Klyuchevsky, only from the 7th century, the Eastern Slavs gradually settled on the modern Russian Plain.

Some scholars are inclined towards "Danubian" the origin of the Slavs, but the majority adhered to the version that the ancestral home of the Slavs was much further north. At the same time, they disagreed about the entogeny of the Slavs, and about where the Slavs formed into a single ethnic community - in the Middle Dnieper and along the Pripyat or in the interfluve of the Vistula and Oder. The archaeologist and historian B.A. Rybakov, on the basis of the latest archaeological data, tried to combine both of these versions of the possible ancestral home of the Slavs and their entogeny. In his opinion, the Slavs occupied a wide strip of Central and Eastern Europe: from north to south, about 400 km wide, and from west to east, about 1.5 thousand km long. Its western half from the south was limited by European mountains - the Sudetes, Tatras, Carpathians, and in the north the lands of the Proto-Slavs reached almost to the Baltic Sea. The eastern half of the Proto-Slavic land was limited from the north by the Pripyat River, and from the south by the upper reaches of the Dniester and Southern Bug rivers and the basin of the Rossi River, which flows into the Dnieper.

To all these observations, linguists add an analysis of vocabulary denoting geographical objects, animals, and plants. In general, linguistics localizes the original habitat of the Slavs somewhere

in the Vistula river basin. Among linguists there are also supporters of another concept. They consider the region of the middle Danube to be the center of Slavic migration, being sure that it was from there that the Slavs moved to other places, including to the north, to the Vistula region.

Hordes of nomads came running from the expanses of Central Asia, which, as they advanced, drew with them the peoples who inhabited Eastern Europe. The Huns were replaced by the Avars, the Avars were replaced by the Khazars and Bulgarians. At this time, written sources acquire special significance for the restoration of the entogeny of the Slavs. Very important information is contained in the work gothic historianVIcentury AD - Jordan. He divides the Slavs into three major groups - Wends, Antes And sklavens. Archaeologists have established that this information can be trusted. They singled out three main areas of distribution of Slavic archaeological cultures.

----- First- Central and Southern Poland (on the territory of our country - Pripyat Polissya) - apparently, this territory sklaven.

----- Second- the interfluve of the Dniester and the Dnieper - according to written sources, lived here antes.

----- Third- in the west, on the territory of the Polish Pomerania and the lower reaches of the Vistula - they have long lived here Wends.

All the named areas of settlement of the Slavs are Proto-Slavic groups. According to researchers, the modern branches of Slavism arise as a result of the collapse of these groups in the 7th - 8th centuries. It is also believed that it was from this time that the Slavs were clearly distinguishable in history. Those Slavs who settled on the territory of the Russian Plain, historians call "Russian Slavs" in modern history name fixed "East Slavs".

In the process of settling the Eastern Slavs along the East European Plain, they experienced a decomposition of the primitive communal system. The most ancient Russian chronicle can tell a lot about the settlement of eastern tribes. "The Tale of Bygone Years". It speaks of tribal principalities, which historians call tribal unions.

On the territory that became part of Kievan Rus, twelve Slavic unions of tribal principalities are known:

1. Glade (middle Dnieper, from the lower reaches of the Pripyat and Desna rivers).

2. Drevlyans (south of Pripyat).

3. Volynians (to the west to the Western Bug).

4. Croats (in the upper reaches of the Dniester).

5. Tivertsy (down the Dniester).

6. Ulichi (in the Dnieper region south of the meadows).

7. North (Dnieper Left Bank in the basins of the Desna and Seim rivers).

8. Radimichi (in the Sozh river basin).

9. Vityachi (on the upper Oka).

10. Dregovichi (between Pripyat and Dvina, north of the Drevlyans).

11. Krivichi (in the upper reaches of the Dvina, Dnieper and Volga).

12. Slovenia (in the area of ​​Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, up to the Gulf of Finland).

Such unions included 100 - 200 tribes united around the most powerful tribe, by whose name the whole union was named. Each tribe consisted of many clans and was ruled by its leader - elder. There was also council of elders and the general meeting of the tribe - veche.

For a long time, historians did not trust this annalistic geographical scheme, but archeology at the beginning of the 20th century confirmed it. Women's jewelry helped here, it turned out that one of the most common types of women's jewelry among the Eastern Slavs - temporal rings - differs throughout the Russian Plain. It turned out that certain varieties of these decorations coincide with the settlement of one or another East Slavic tribe. Later, these observations were confirmed by the study of other elements of the material culture of the Eastern Slavs.

Answer left the guest

Eastern Slavs in antiquity

The ancestors of the Slavs, the so-called Proto-Slavs, belonged to the ancient Indo-European unity that inhabited the vast territory of the Eurasian continent. Gradually, among the Indo-Europeans, kindred tribes stand out, close in language, economic activity, and culture. The Slavs became one of such tribal associations. The area of ​​their settlement in the Central and
Eastern Europe - from the Oder in the west to the Dnieper in the east, from the Baltic in the north to the European mountains (Sudet, Tatras, Carpathians) in the south.

In the VI-VII centuries. The Slavs were at the last stage of the development of the communal-tribal system. The basis of social organization is the patriarchal family community. There is no state yet, society is governed on the principles of military democracy: it meant the power of elected military leaders
(princes) while maintaining the power of the elders and the remnants of primitive collectivism and democracy. All issues are resolved popular assembly free community members, priests and military leaders belonging to the emerging tribal nobility, which is increasingly distinguished from the bulk of community members by their property status.
Cities arose either as defensive centers, or as places of trade and craft centers.
The oldest large, well-fortified Russian cities were:
Ladoga on the Volkhov, Novgorod, Pskov, Kyiv, Polotsk, etc.

Economic activity Eastern Slavs was based on agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing. Later, the craft began to develop.
Agriculture was the main branch of the economy. The main agricultural crops were wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, peas, beans, buckwheat, flax, hemp and others. The active use of iron made it possible to produce surplus agricultural products for exchange with other peoples. Cultivated: rye, barley, oats, flax, etc.

The craft separated from agriculture in the 6th - 8th centuries. n. e. Iron and non-ferrous metallurgy and pottery developed especially actively. Only from steel and iron, Slavic craftsmen produced over 150 types of various products.

Crafts (hunting, fishing, beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees, etc.), domestic cattle breeding also occupied a prominent place in the economy of the Eastern Slavs.

Trade between the Slavic tribes and with neighboring countries, primarily with the east, was highly active. Numerous finds of treasures of Arab, Roman, Byzantine coins and jewelry testify to this.

The main trade routes passed along the rivers Volkhov-Lovat-Dnepr
(the path "From the Varangians to the Greeks"), the Volga, the Don, the Oka. The goods of the Slavic tribes were furs, weapons, wax, bread, slaves, etc. Expensive fabrics, jewelry, and spices were imported.

The life of the Slavs was determined by the nature of their activities. They lived sedentary, choosing hard-to-reach places for settlements or erecting defensive structures around them. The dwelling was a semi-dugout with a two- or three-pitched roof.

The beliefs of the Slavs testify to their enormous dependence on conditions environment. The Slavs identified themselves with nature and worshiped the forces that personified it: fire, thunder, lakes, rivers, etc. and did not know historical time. Deification of the mighty forces of nature
- sun, rain, thunderstorms - reflected in the cults of the god of sky and fire Svarog, the god of thunderstorms Perun, rituals of sacrifice.

Little is known about the culture of the Slavic tribes. The samples of applied art that have survived to our time testify to the development of jewelry. In the VI-VII centuries. writing emerges. An essential feature of ancient Russian culture is the religious and mystical coloring of almost all of its manifestations. The custom of burning the dead, the erection of barrows over the funeral pyres, where things, weapons, food were put, is widespread. Birth, marriage, death were accompanied by special rites.

1. Show on the map (p. 27) the places of settlement of the Slavs and their neighbors - the Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. What states are located in these territories in our time?

The Slavs lived on the territory of modern Poland, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Greece, parts of Germany and Russia. The Baltic tribes lived on the territory of modern Lithuania, Latvia, part of Russia (for example, the Kaliningrad region), as well as Germany (in Prussia). Finno-Ugric tribes occupied the territories of modern Estonia, Finland and parts of Russia (to the north and east of the Slavs).

2. Tell us about the main agricultural work of the ancient Slavs. What difficulties did farmers have to overcome?

The main difficulties were that the Slavs, like the inhabitants of Western Europe, almost did not know fertilizers, and the short warm period of the year when it was possible to engage in agriculture was also difficult. In the forest zone, the forest itself was also a problem, which had to be cut down before farming could begin. Therefore, slash-and-burn agriculture was widespread in the forest zone. Under him, a section of the forest was cut down, branches and most of the trees were burned. The ashes made the land fertile for several years. When these few years passed, the site was abandoned and a new one was cut down. In the steppe zone, shifting (mortgage) agriculture was widespread. Under him, ashes were also the main fertilizer, only grass was burned for this. In addition, the soil in the steppe was, in principle, more fertile than in the forest. Therefore, with shifting agriculture, the site could be used for several decades, and then move on to a new one.

3. What beliefs are called pagan? Make a diagram "Pagan gods of the Eastern Slavs." What natural phenomena and occupations of people were reflected in the beliefs of the Slavs?

Paganism is the belief in many gods. In pagan religions, various relationships were usually established between the gods, often their own hierarchy.

4. What was the veneration of the gods among the ancient Slavs?

The gods were served by priests (magicians), who made sacrifices to their idols (wooden or stone images) on temples (special places of worship, usually consisting of a hill with an idol surrounded by a moat) and sometimes spoke on behalf of the gods of prophecy. Ordinary believers also made sacrifices to the gods, and also arranged big holidays in honor of the gods with their own rituals.

five*. Prepare a collective message on the topic "How the land and labor fed people." Assign roles and present statements on behalf of those who cultivated the land, raised and fed livestock and poultry, fished and hunted, etc. Draw the tools of their labor.

In fact, the same people cultivated the land, raised and fed livestock and poultry, caught animals and fish.

Farmers plowed the land, sowed it, cared for the crop, and then harvested it. Their main tools were a plow (in those ancient times it was not yet a plow), a sickle, a flail, a pitchfork, a rake, etc.

When people raised cattle and poultry, they mainly used their hands, ropes, yokes, as well as various buildings. They also used scythes to collect food.

When hunting, snares and traps were used much more often than bows, spears, and horns. Because the snares can be placed and checked in a day, without spending more time on it - the beast will come into the trap itself. For active hunting, it takes time to track down the beast and strength to kill it. For the same reason, the main tool of the fisherman was not a fishing rod, but a net.

We should also not forget about beekeeping, which gradually became beekeeping. For beekeeping, smoke and some protection from bee stings were needed (usually people were tied with bundles of straw). In beekeeping, man himself gave the bees a place to live, so they did not have to be hunted down in the forest. At first, such places were not specially made beehives, but decks - pieces of trees in which hollows were hollowed out.

6*. Compare the beliefs and the circle of the main gods of the ancient Slavs and the ancient Germans. What was common?

The god of thunder was common. Among the Slavs it was Perun, among the Germans it was Thor. For both peoples, these same gods were the patrons of warriors. But among the Slavs, apparently, Perun headed the pantheon, and the Germans revered Odin as the main god. Also in the mythology of both peoples there is a motif of the world tree and other common features.