East Slavic tribes and their neighbors: history, features and interesting facts. East Slavic tribes

Origin and settlement of the Slavs. In modern science, there are several points of view on the origin of the Eastern Slavs. According to the first, the Slavs are the indigenous population of Eastern Europe. They come from the creators of the Zarubinets and Chernyakhov archaeological cultures who lived here in the early Iron Age. According to the second point of view (now more widespread), the Slavs moved to the East European Plain from Central Europe, and more specifically from the upper reaches of the Vistula, Oder, Elbe and Danube. From this territory, which was the ancient ancestral home of the Slavs, they settled throughout Europe. The Eastern Slavs moved from the Danube to the Carpathians, and from there to the Dnieper.

The first written evidence about the Slavs dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries. AD They were reported by Roman, Arab, and Byzantine sources. Ancient authors (Roman writer and statesman Pliny the Elder, historian Tacitus, geographer Ptolemy) mention the Slavs under the name of the Wends.

The first information about the political history of the Slavs dates back to the 4th century. AD From the Baltic coast, the Germanic tribes of the Goths made their way to the Northern Black Sea region. The Gothic leader Germanarich was defeated by the Slavs. His successor Vinithar deceived 70 Slavic elders led by Bus and crucified them (8 centuries later, unknown author "Tales about Igor's Campaign" mentioned "Busovo time").

Relations with the nomadic peoples of the steppe occupied a special place in the life of the Slavs. At the end of the 4th century. The Gothic tribal union was broken by the Turkic-speaking tribes of the Huns who came from Central Asia. In their advance to the west, the Huns also carried away some of the Slavs.

In sources of the 6th century. Slavs for the first time perform under their own name. According to the Gothic historian Jordan and the Byzantine historical writer Procopius of Caesarea, the Wends at that time were divided into two main groups: (eastern) and Slavins (western). It was in the VI century. The Slavs declared themselves as a strong and warlike people. They fought with Byzantium and played a major role in breaking the Danube border of the Byzantine Empire, settling in the VI-VIII centuries. the entire Balkan Peninsula. During the settlement, the Slavs mixed with the local population (Baltic, Finno-Ugric, later Sarmatian and other tribes); as a result of assimilation, they developed linguistic and cultural characteristics.

- the ancestors of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians - occupied the territory from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Middle Oka and the upper reaches of the Don in the east, from the Neva and Lake Ladoga in the north to the Middle Dnieper region in the south. In the VI-IX centuries. The Slavs united into communities that had not only a tribal, but also a territorial and political character. Tribal unions are a stage on the path to formation. The chronicle story names one and a half dozen associations of Eastern Slavs (Polyans, Northerners, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, etc.). These unions included 120-150 separate tribes, whose names have already been lost. Each tribe, in turn, consisted of many clans. The Slavs were forced to unite into alliances by the need to protect themselves from attacks by nomadic tribes and to establish trade relations.

Economic activities of the Eastern Slavs. The main occupation of the Slavs was agriculture. However, it was not arable, but slash-and-burn and fallow.

Slash-and-burn farming was common in the forest belt. Trees were cut down, they withered on the roots, and they were burned. After this, the stumps were uprooted, the ground was fertilized with ash, loosened (without plowing) and used until exhaustion. The area was fallow for 25-30 years.

Shifting farming was practiced in the forest-steppe zone. The grass was burned, the resulting ash was fertilized, then loosened and used until exhaustion. Since burning grass cover produced less ash than burning forest, the sites had to be changed after 6-8 years.

The Slavs were also engaged in animal husbandry, beekeeping (collecting honey from wild bees), and fishing, which had auxiliary significance. Hunting for squirrel, marten, and sable played an important role; its purpose was the extraction of furs. Furs, honey, and wax were exchanged for fabrics and jewelry mainly in Byzantium. The main trade route of Ancient Rus' was the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”: Neva - Lake Ladoga - Volkhov - Ilmen Lake - Lovat - Dnieper - Black Sea.

State of the Eastern Slavs in the 6th-8th century

Social structure of the Eastern Slavs. In the VII-IX centuries. among the Eastern Slavs there was a process of decomposition of the tribal system: a transition from a tribal community to a neighboring one. The community members lived in half-dugouts designed for one family. Private property already existed, but land, forests and livestock remained in common ownership.

At this time, tribal nobility emerged - leaders and elders. They surrounded themselves with squads, i.e. armed force, independent of the will of the people's assembly (veche) and capable of forcing ordinary community members to obey. Each tribe had its own prince. Word "prince" comes from common Slavic "knez", meaning "leader". (V century), reigning among the Polyan tribe. The Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” called him the founder of Kyiv. Thus, the first signs of statehood were already appearing in Slavic society.

Artist Vasnetsov. "Prince's Court".

Religion, life and customs of the Eastern Slavs. The ancient Slavs were pagans. They believed in evil and good spirits. A pantheon of Slavic gods emerged, each of which personified various forces of nature or reflected the social relations of that time. The most important gods of the Slavs were Perun - the god of thunder, lightning, war, Svarog - the god of fire, Veles - the patron of cattle breeding, Mokosh - the goddess who protected the female part of the tribe. The sun god was especially revered, who was called differently by different tribes: Dazhd-bog, Yarilo, Khoros, which indicates the absence of stable Slavic inter-tribal unity.

Unknown artist. "The Slavs tell fortunes before the battle."

The Slavs lived in small villages along the banks of rivers. In some places, to protect themselves from the enemy, villages were surrounded by a wall around which a ditch was dug. This place was called a city.

Eastern Slavs in ancient times

The Slavs were hospitable and good-natured. Each wanderer was considered a dear guest. According to Slavic customs, it was possible to have several wives, but only the rich had more than one, because... For each wife, a ransom had to be paid to the bride's parents. Often, when a husband died, the wife, proving her fidelity, killed herself. The custom of burning the dead and erecting large earthen mounds - mounds - over funeral pyres was widespread. The more noble the deceased, the higher the hill was built. After the burial, a “funeral funeral” was celebrated, i.e. they organized feasts, war games and horse races in honor of the deceased.

Birth, wedding, death - all these events in a person’s life were accompanied by spell rituals. The Slavs had an annual cycle of agricultural holidays in honor of the sun and various seasons. The purpose of all rituals was to ensure the harvest and health of people, as well as livestock. In the villages there were idols depicting deities to whom “the whole world” (that is, the whole community) made sacrifices. Groves, rivers, and lakes were considered sacred. Each tribe had a common sanctuary, where members of the tribe gathered for especially solemn holidays and to resolve important matters.

Artist Ivanov S.V. - “Housing of the Eastern Slavs.”

Religion, life and social and economic system of the Eastern Slavs (diagram-table):

There are several versions of the origin of the Slavs. During this time, a huge number of tribes from central and eastern Europe headed west. Various hypotheses suggest that the Slavs descended from the Antes, Wends and Sklavens in the 5th-6th centuries. Over time, this large mass divided into three groups: western, southern and eastern. Representatives of the latter settled in the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The Eastern Slavs were not a single people. This was impossible due to differences in climate and living conditions. There were 15 tribal unions. Despite their relative kinship and close proximity, their relations were not always friendly.

For ease of classification, researchers often group the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. The table will help you understand the numerous names of these prototype states. In the IX-X centuries. they all united into Rus' under the leadership

Northern tribal unions

In the very north of this ecumene lived the Slovenians. The definition of “Ilmen” has also been established in historiography, based on the name of the lake around which they settled. Later, the large city of Novgorod will appear here, becoming, along with Kiev, one of the two political centers of Rus'. This tribal union of the Eastern Slavs was one of the most developed thanks to trade with neighboring peoples and countries on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Their frequent conflicts with the Varangians (Vikings) are known, which is why Prince Rurik was invited to reign.

To the south, another tribal union of Eastern Slavs settled - the Krivichi. They settled in the upper reaches of several large rivers: the Dnieper and the Volga. Their main cities were Smolensk and Izborsk. Polotsk residents lived in Polotsk and Vitebsk.

Central tribal unions

The Vyatichi lived on the largest tributary of the Volga - the Oka. It was the easternmost tribal union of the Eastern Slavs. Archaeological monuments of the Romeno-Borshchev culture remained from the Vyatichi. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and trade with the Volga Bulgars.

To the west of the Vyatichi and south of the Krivichi lived the Radimichi. They owned land between the Desna and Dnieper rivers in modern Belarus. There are almost no written sources left from this tribe - only mentions of more developed neighbors.

The Dregovichi lived even further west than the Radimichi. To the north of them began the possessions of the wild people of Lithuania, with whom the Slavs had constant conflicts. But even this relationship had a great influence on the Dregovichi, who adopted many Baltic habits. Even their language changed and borrowed new words from their northern neighbors.

Western tribal alliances

In the far west lived Volhynians and White Croats. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus even mentioned them (in his book “On the Administration of the Empire”). He believed that it was this tribal union of the Eastern Slavs that was the ancestor of the Balkan Croats who lived on the borders of his state.

The Volynians are also known as the Buzhans, who got their name from the river. They were mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years.

Southern tribal alliances

The Black Sea steppes became home to the Streets and Tiverts. These tribal unions ended up on the southern borders. They lived in the steppe and constantly fought with local nomads of Turkic origin - the Pechenegs and Cumans. The Slavs failed to win in this confrontation, and in the second half of the 10th century they finally left the Black Sea region, settling in the lands of the Volynians and mixing with them.

Northerners lived in the southeast of the Slavic ecumene. They differed from the rest of their fellow tribesmen by their narrow face shape. They were greatly influenced by their steppe nomadic neighbors, with whom the northerners mutually assimilated. Until 882, these tribes were tributaries of the Khazars, until Oleg annexed them to his power.

Drevlyans

The Drevlyans settled in the forests between the Dnieper and Pripyat. Their capital was Iskorosten (now a settlement remains from it). The Drevlyans had a developed system of relationships within the tribe. In essence, this was an early form of a state with its own prince.

For some time, the Drevlyans argued with their Polyan neighbors for supremacy in the region, and the latter even paid them tribute. However, after Oleg united Novgorod and Kyiv, he subjugated Iskorosten. His successor, Prince Igor, died at the hands of the Drevlyans after demanding excess tribute from them. His wife Olga brutally took revenge on the rebels, setting fire to Iskorosten, which was never restored.

The names of tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs often have analogues in different sources. For example, the Drevlyans are also described as a Duleb tribal union, or Dulebs. What remained of them was the Zimnov settlement, which was destroyed by aggressive Avars in the 7th century.

Glade

The middle reaches of the Dnieper were chosen by glades. It was the strongest and most influential tribal union. Excellent natural conditions and fertile soil allowed them not only to feed themselves, but also to successfully trade with their neighbors - to equip flotillas, etc. It was through their territory that the path “From the Varangians to the Greeks” passed, which gave them great profits.

The center of the clearings became Kyiv, located on the high bank of the Dnieper. Its walls served as reliable protection from enemies. Who were the neighbors of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs in these parts? Khazars, Pechenegs and other nomads who wanted to impose tribute on the settled people. In 882, Novgorod captured Kyiv and created a unified East Slavic state, moving its capital here.

Tribal unions. By the time the name “Rus” began to be applied to the Eastern Slavs, that is, by the 8th century, their life had undergone significant changes.

The Tale of Bygone Years notes that on the eve of the unification of most East Slavic tribes under the rule of Kyiv, at least 15 large tribal unions existed here. In the Middle Dnieper region there lived a powerful union of tribes, united by the name glade. The center of the Polyansky lands has long been the city of Kyiv. To the north of the glades lived the Novgorod Slovenes, grouped around the cities of Novgorod and Ladoga. To the northwest were the Drevlyans, that is, forest dwellers, whose main city was Iskorosten. Further, in the forest zone, on the territory of modern Belarus, a tribal union of Dryagovichi was formed, i.e., swamp inhabitants (from the word “dryagva” - swamp, quagmire). In the northeast, in the forest thickets between the Oka, Klyazma and Volga rivers, lived the Vyatichi, in whose lands Rostov and Suzdal were the main cities. Between the Vyatichi and the glades, in the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Western Dvina, lived the Krivichi, who later penetrated into the lands of the Slovenians and Vyatichi. Smolensk became their main city. In the basin of the Western Dvina lived the Polotsk people, who received their name from the Polota River, which flows into the Western Dvina; Polotsk later became the main city of the Polotsk people. The tribes that settled along the Desna, Seim, Sula rivers and lived east of the glades were called northerners or inhabitants of the northern lands; Chernigov eventually became their main city. The Radimichi lived along the Sozh and Seim rivers. To the west of the glades, in the Bug River basin, Volynians and Buzhanians settled; Between the Dniester and the Danube lived the Ulichs and Tivertsi, whose lands bordered on Bulgaria.

The chronicle also mentions the tribes of Croats and Dulebs who lived in the Danube region and the Carpathian region.

All ancient descriptions of the settlement of the East Slavic tribes say that they did not live in isolation from their foreign-language neighbors.

Strong East Slavic tribal unions subordinated the surrounding small peoples to their influence and imposed tribute on them. There were clashes between them, but relations were mostly peaceful and good neighborly. The Slavs and their neighbors often presented a united front against an external enemy.

By the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century. the Polyanian core of the Eastern Slavs is liberated from the power of the Khazars.

Economy, social relations of the Eastern Slavs. What was it like in the 8th–9th centuries? life of East Slavic tribal unions? It is definitely impossible to talk about them. The chronicler Nestor knew about this in the 12th century. He wrote that the most developed and civilized among all were the Polyans, whose customs and family traditions were at a very high level. “And the Drevlyans,” he noted, “live like animals,” they are forest dwellers; The Radimichi, Vyatichi and Northerners who lived in the forests also left not far from them.

Of course, the Kyiv chronicler especially singled out the glades. But there is also some truth in his observations. The Middle Dnieper region was the most developed region among other East Slavic lands. It was here, on the free black soil lands, in conditions of a relatively favorable climate, on the trade “Dnieper” road, that the majority of the population was primarily concentrated. It was here that the ancient traditions of arable farming, combined with cattle breeding, horse breeding and gardening, were preserved and developed, iron and pottery production was improved, and other crafts were born.

In the lands of the Novgorod Slovenes, with an abundance of rivers, lakes, a well-branched water transport system, oriented, on the one hand, to the Baltic, and on the other, to the Dnieper and Volga “roads,” navigation, trade, and various crafts producing products for exchange. The Novgorod-Ilmen region was rich in forests, and the fur trade flourished there; Since ancient times, fishing has been an important branch of the economy here. In the forest thickets, along the banks of rivers, on the forest edges, where the Drevlyans, Vyatichi, Dryagovichi lived, the rhythm of economic life was slow; here people were especially hard at mastering nature, conquering every inch of land from it for arable land and meadows.

The lands of the Eastern Slavs were very different in their level of development, although people slowly but surely mastered the entire complex of basic economic activities and production skills. But the speed of their implementation depended on natural conditions, the size of the population, and the availability of resources, say, iron ore.

Therefore, when we talk about the main features of the economy of the East Slavic tribal unions, we mean first of all the level of development of the Middle Dnieper region, which in those days became the economic leader among the East Slavic lands.

Agriculture, the main type of economy of the early medieval world, continued to improve especially intensively. Tools of labor improved. A widespread type of agricultural machinery was the “rawl with a runner,” with an iron share or plow. Millstones were replaced by ancient grain grinders, and iron sickles were used for harvesting. Stone and bronze tools are a thing of the past. Agronomic observations have reached a high level. The Eastern Slavs knew very well the most convenient time for certain field work and made this knowledge the achievement of all local farmers.

And most importantly, in the lands of the Eastern Slavs in these relatively “quiet centuries”, when the devastating invasions of nomads did not greatly disturb the inhabitants of the Dnieper region, arable land expanded every year. Steppe and forest-steppe lands convenient for agriculture, lying close to dwellings, were widely developed. The Slavs used iron axes to cut down centuries-old trees, burn out small growth, and uproot stumps in places where the forest dominated.

Two-field and three-field crop rotations became common in the Slavic lands of the 7th–8th centuries, replacing shifting agriculture, in which the land was cleared from under the forest, used until exhaustion, and then abandoned. Soil manure became widely practiced. This made harvests higher and people's livelihoods more secure. The Dnieper Slavs were engaged not only in agriculture. Near their villages lay beautiful water meadows where cattle and sheep grazed. The local residents raised pigs and chickens. Oxen and horses became the draft force on the farm. Horse breeding has become one of the most important economic activities. And nearby there were rivers and lakes rich in fish. Fishing was an important auxiliary industry for the Slavs.

Arable areas were interspersed with forests, which became denser and harsher to the north, rarer and more cheerful on the border with the steppe. Every Slav was not only a diligent and persistent farmer, but also an experienced hunter.

From spring until late autumn, the Eastern Slavs, like their neighbors the Balts and Finno-Ugric peoples, were engaged in beekeeping (from the word “bort” - forest hive). It gave enterprising fishermen a lot of honey and wax, which was also highly valued in exchange.

The constantly improving economy of the Eastern Slavs eventually led to the fact that an individual family, an individual house no longer needed the help of their clan or relatives. The single family household began to gradually disintegrate; huge houses accommodating up to a hundred people began to give way to small family dwellings. Common family property, common arable land, farmland began to break up into separate plots belonging to families. The clan community is welded together by kinship, and by common labor and hunting. Joint work to clear the forest and hunt large animals using primitive stone tools and weapons required great collective efforts. A plow with an iron plowshare, an iron axe, a shovel, a hoe, a bow and arrows, darts with iron tips, and double-edged steel swords significantly expanded and strengthened the power of the individual, the individual family over nature and contributed to the withering away of the tribal community. Now it became a neighborhood one, where each family had the right to its share of communal property. This is how the right of private ownership, private property arose, the opportunity arose for individual strong families to develop large tracts of land, obtain more products in the course of fishing activities, and create certain surpluses and accumulations.

Under these conditions, the power and economic capabilities of tribal leaders, elders, tribal nobility, and warriors surrounding the leaders increased sharply. This is how property inequality arose in the Slavic environment, and especially clearly in the regions of the Middle Dnieper region.

Crafts. Trade. The path “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” In many ways, these processes were helped by the development not only of agriculture and cattle breeding, but also of crafts, the growth of cities, and trade relations, because conditions were also created here for the additional accumulation of social wealth, which most often fell into the hands of the propertied, deepening the property difference between the rich and the poor.

The Middle Dnieper region became a place where crafts in the 8th - early 9th centuries. have achieved great perfection. Thus, near one of the villages, during archaeological excavations, 25 forges were found, in which iron was melted and up to 20 types of tools were made from it.

Every year the products of artisans became more diverse. Gradually their work became more and more separated from rural labor. Craftsmen could now support themselves and their families with this labor. They began to settle where it was more convenient and easier for them to sell their products or exchange them for food. Such places, of course, were settlements located on trade routes, places where tribal leaders and elders lived, where religious shrines were located, where many people came to worship. This is how East Slavic cities were born, which became the center of tribal authorities, the center of crafts and trade, the place of religious worship, and the place of defense from the enemy.

Cities originated as settlements that simultaneously performed all these tasks - political, economic, religious and military. Only in this case did they have prospects for further development and could turn into truly large populated centers.

It was in the VIII–IX centuries. the famous route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” was born, which not only facilitated trade contacts between the Slavs and the outside world, but also connected the East Slavic lands themselves together. On this path, large Slavic urban centers arose - Kyiv, Smolensk, Lyubech, Novgorod, which later played such an important role in the history of Rus'.

But besides this, the main trade route for the Eastern Slavs, there were others. First of all, this is an eastern trade route, the axis of which was the Volga and Don rivers.

To the north of the Volga-Don route, roads ran from the Bulgarian state, located on the Middle Volga, through the Voronezh forests, to Kyiv and up the Volga, through Northern Rus', to the Baltic regions. From the Oka-Volga interfluve to the south, to the Don and the Sea of ​​Azov, the Muravskaya road, named so later, led. Finally, there were both western and southwestern trade routes, which provided the Eastern Slavs with direct access to the heart of Europe.

All these routes covered the lands of the Eastern Slavs with a kind of network, crossed each other and, in essence, firmly tied the Eastern Slavic lands to the states of Western Europe, the Balkans, the Northern Black Sea region, the Volga region, the Caucasus, the Caspian region, Western and Central Asia.

The Eastern Slavs found themselves at an average level in terms of the pace of economic, social, political, and cultural development. They lagged behind Western countries - France, England. The Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate with their developed statehood, the highest culture, and writing stood at an unattainable height for them, but the Eastern Slavs were on a par with the Czechs, Poles, Scandinavians, and were significantly ahead of the Hungarians who were still at the nomadic level, not to mention the nomadic Turks, Finno-Ugric forest dwellers or Lithuanians living an isolated and closed life.

Religion of the Eastern Slavs. The religion of the Eastern Slavs was also complex, varied, with detailed customs. Like other ancient peoples, in particular the ancient Greeks, the Slavs populated the world with a variety of gods and goddesses. There were among them the main and the secondary, the powerful, the omnipotent and the weak, the playful, the evil and the good.

At the head of the Slavic deities was the great Svarog - the god of the Universe, reminiscent of the ancient Greek Zeus.

His sons - Svarozhichi - the sun and fire - were carriers of light and warmth. The sun god Dazhbog was highly revered by the Slavs. This cult was associated with agriculture and was therefore especially popular. God Veles was revered by the Slavs as the patron of domestic animals; he was a kind of “cattle god”. Stribog, according to their concepts, commanded the winds, like the ancient Greek Aeolus.

As the Slavs merged with some Iranian and Finno-Ugric tribes, their gods migrated to the Slavic pantheon.

So, in the VIII–IX centuries. The Slavs revered the sun god Hore, who clearly came from Iranian tribes. From there the god Simargl also appeared, who was depicted as a dog and was considered the god of the soil and plant roots. In the Iranian world, it was the master of the underworld, the deity of fertility.

The only major female deity among the Slavs was Mokosh, who personified the birth of all living things and was the patroness of the female part of the household.

Over time, as princes, governors, squads began to emerge in the public life of the Slavs, and the beginning of great military campaigns, in which the young prowess of the nascent state played, the god of lightning and thunder Perun, who then became the main heavenly deity, increasingly came to the fore among the Slavs , merges with Svarog, Rod as more ancient gods. This does not happen by chance: Perun was a god whose cult was born in a princely, druzhina environment.

Perun - lightning, the highest deity - was invincible. By the 9th century. he became the main god of the Eastern Slavs.

But pagan ideas were not limited to the main gods. The world was also inhabited by other supernatural beings. Many of them were associated with the idea of ​​​​the existence of an afterlife. It was from there that evil spirits - ghouls - came to people. And the good spirits who protect people were the beregins. The Slavs sought to protect themselves from evil spirits with spells, amulets, and so-called “amulets.” A goblin lived in the forest, and mermaids lived near the water. The Slavs believed that these were the souls of the dead, coming out in the spring to enjoy nature.

The Slavs believed that every house was under the protection of a brownie, who was identified with the spirit of their ancestor, ancestor, or schur, chur. When a person believed that he was threatened by evil spirits, he called on his patron - the brownie, the chur - to protect him and said: “Keep me away, mind me!”

Already on the eve of the New Year (the year of the ancient Slavs began, as now, on January 1), and then the turning of the sun into spring, the holiday of Kolyada began. First, the lights in the houses went out, and then people made a new fire by friction, lit candles and hearths, glorified the beginning of a new life for the sun, wondered about their fate, and made sacrifices.

Another holiday, coinciding with natural phenomena, was celebrated in March. It was the day of the spring equinox. The Slavs glorified the sun, celebrated the revival of nature, the onset of spring. They burned effigies of winter, cold, death; Maslenitsa began with its pancakes resembling a solar circle, festivities, sleigh rides, and various fun events took place.

On May 1–2, the Slavs collected young birch trees with ribbons, decorated their houses with branches with newly blossoming leaves, again praised the sun god, and celebrated the appearance of the first spring shoots.

Another national holiday fell on June 23 and was called the Kupala holiday. This day was the summer solstice. The harvest was ripe, and people prayed for the gods to send them rain. On the eve of this day, according to the Slavs, mermaids came ashore from the water - the “mermaid week” began. On these days, girls danced in circles and threw wreaths into the rivers. The most beautiful ones were wrapped in green branches and sprinkled with water, as if calling the long-awaited rain to the ground.

At night, fires broke out, over which young men and women jumped, which meant a ritual of purification, which was, as it were, helped by the sacred fire.

On Kupala nights, the so-called kidnappings of girls took place, when young people conspired and the groom took the bride away from the hearth.

Births, weddings, and funerals were accompanied by complex religious rites. Thus, the custom of the Eastern Slavs is known to bury along with the ashes of a person (the Slavs burned their dead at the stake, placing them in wooden boats; this meant that the person sailed into the underworld) one of his wives, over whom a ritual murder was committed; The remains of a war horse, weapons, and jewelry were placed in the warrior’s grave. Life continued, according to the Slavs, beyond the grave. Then a high mound was poured over the grave, and a pagan funeral feast was performed: relatives and associates commemorated the deceased.

The Slavs were part of an ancient Indo-European unity, which included the ancestors of the Germans, Balts, Slavs and Indo-Iranians. Over time, communities with related language, economy and culture began to emerge from the mass of Indo-European tribes. The Slavs became one of these associations.

From about the 4th century, along with other tribes of Eastern Europe, the Slavs found themselves at the center of large-scale migration processes, known in history as the Great Migration of Peoples. During the 4th-8th centuries. they occupied vast new territories.

Within the Slavic community, tribal unions began to take shape - prototypes of future states.

Subsequently, three branches were distinguished from the pan-Slavic unity: southern, western and eastern Slavs. By this time, the Slavs were mentioned in Byzantine sources as Antes.

The South Slavic peoples (Serbs, Montenegrins, etc.) were formed from the Slavs who settled within the Byzantine Empire.

The Western Slavs include tribes that settled in the territory of modern Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Eastern Slavs occupied a huge space between the Black, White and Baltic seas. Their descendants are modern Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.

The geography of settlement of East Slavic tribes in the second half of the 1st millennium is described in.

In the 4th-8th centuries. To protect against external attacks, the Eastern Slavs united into 12 territorial tribal unions: Polyans (middle and upper Dnieper), (south of Pripyat), Croats (upper Dniester), Tivertsy (lower Dniester), Ulichs (southern Dniester), Northerners (Desna and Seim), Radimichi (Sozh River), Vyatichi (Upper Oka), Dregovichi (between Pripyat and Dvina), Krivichi (upper reaches of the Dvina, Dnieper and Volga), Dulebs (Volyn), Slovenes (Lake Ilmen).

The Slavic tribes were formed according to the principle of ethnic and social homogeneity. The unification was based on blood, language, territorial and religious-cult kinship. The main religion of belief of the Eastern Slavs until the end of the 10th century. there was paganism.

The Eastern Slavs lived in small villages. Their houses were half-dugouts equipped with stoves. The Slavs settled whenever possible in hard-to-reach places, surrounding the settlements with earthen ramparts.

The basis of their economic activity is arable farming: in the eastern part - slash-and-burn, in the forest-steppe - fallow farming. The main arable tools were the plow (in the north) and the ralo (in the south), which had iron working parts.

Main agricultural crops: rye, wheat, barley, millet, oats, buckwheat, beans. The most important branches of economic activity were cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, beekeeping (honey collection).

The development of agriculture and cattle breeding led to the emergence of surplus products and, as a result, made it possible for individual families to exist independently. In the 6th-8th centuries. this accelerated the process of disintegration of clan associations.

Economic ties began to play a leading role in the relationships between tribesmen. The neighboring (or territorial) community was called vervi. Within this formation, families owned land, and forests, water lands and hayfields were common.

The professional occupations of the Eastern Slavs were trade and crafts. These occupations began to be cultivated in cities, fortified settlements that arose in tribal centers or along water trade routes (for example, “from the Varangians to the Greeks”).

Gradually, self-government began to emerge in the tribes from a tribal council, military and civil leaders. The resulting alliances led to the emergence of larger communities.

In the second half of the 1st millennium, the Russian nationality was formed, the basis of which was the Eastern Slavs.

Where does the history of our homeland, our people begin? Where did the Russian land come from? These questions were of interest to ancient Russian chroniclers, but still remain poorly studied areas of historical science due to the small number of sources.

Our distant ancestors are Slavs. They lived in central Europe. The Greeks called them Antes and Wends. The Slavs were not a single people, but a collection of numerous small tribes, sometimes united, sometimes at war with each other. In the VI-VII centuries. there was a separation of the eastern branch of the Slavs, their separation from the western and southern ones.

Where did the Eastern Slavs live? They occupied a vast territory of Eastern Europe: from Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in the north to the mouth of the Bug, Prut, and Dnieper rivers in the south and from the upper reaches of the Volga in the east to the Carpathians in the west. Up to 15 tribal unions settled in this territory: Polyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Krivichi, Vyatichi, Polochans, Tivertsy, Northerners, Ilmen Slovenes, Volynians, White Croats, etc.

Who lived next door to the Eastern Slavs? In Eastern Europe, the Slavs met with the Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes: Merya, Ves, Chud, Muroma and others. The Slavs did not conquer these tribes, but mixed with them and assimilated. The neighbors of the Slavs in the east were the Khazars and Magyars (Hungarians) from Volga Bulgaria, and in the south there were nomadic pastoralists: Scythians, Sarmatians, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, who often carried out predatory raids on the Slavs.

What did the Eastern Slavs do? What did they live on? They were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, hunting, crafts and beekeeping, i.e. collecting honey from wild bees. The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. In the southern forest-steppe regions it was fallow. The virgin land plot was developed and used for several years. Then it was abandoned until fertility was restored, and after a few years it was cultivated again. In the northern forest areas, the slash-and-burn farming system prevailed. The trees were first cut down, dried, and then burned. The soil fertilized with ash produced a good harvest for several years. Then they processed a new area.

The Eastern Slavs grew wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, and buckwheat. They called rye “zhito”, which translated from the Old Russian language means life. The Slavs have long had a high culture of cultivating the land. From ancient times they knew the sickle and the plow. The Slavs were also involved in cattle breeding. They raised cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. Horse breeding developed especially rapidly. The horse was both a breadwinner - a plowman, and a prophetic friend of warriors, which was reflected in folk epics (in particular about Ilya Muromets and Mikul Selyaninovich) and in fairy tales (for example, about Sivka-Burka).

Numerous rivers and lakes contained a huge number of different types of fish. Fishing was an important economic activity. Collecting honey from wild bees, the Slavs used it as a sweet and as a raw material for preparing intoxicating drinks. Archaeological excavations indicate that the Slavs had various types of crafts since ancient times: weaving, pottery, blacksmithing, embroidery, glass, metal, etc. In the VII-VIII centuries. among the Eastern Slavs, artisans were identified as a social group.

The consequence of this was the emergence of cities as centers of crafts, trade and administration. By the 9th century. The Slavs had more than 20 cities. Usually they were built on trade routes (Kyiv, Novgorod, Ladoga, etc.), the most important of which was the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and from Europe to Asia through the Caspian Sea. These paths were also ways of spreading culture. The Eastern Slavs imported wine, silk, spices, and luxury goods (gold and silver jewelry). The Slavs exported honey, wax, grain, furs, hemp, and weapons.

What were the morals and customs of the Eastern Slavs? Byzantine and Arab historians and travelers told us about this. He portrayed the Eastern Slavs as strong, brave, courageous people who easily endured hunger, cold, northern weather, and all kinds of need. They ate coarse raw food, were hardy and patient. The Slavs amazed the Byzantines with their agility and speed when they climbed steep slopes, descended into crevices, and threw themselves into swamps and deep rivers. They could stay under water for a long time, breathing through a reed straw. The main advantage of a man was considered strength, strength, and endurance. The Slavs cared little about their appearance: they could appear in dust and dirt at a crowded meeting.

The Eastern Slavs were freedom-loving. In the event of a threat of attack on them by invaders, as well as during military campaigns, several tribes united into an alliance under the authority of one prince, i.e. military leader. The Slavs used bows, arrows, and spears as weapons. Arrows poisoned with potent poisons were widely used by the Scythians. The Slavs borrowed this from them.
The Eastern Slavs were brave warriors. In addition to ordinary courage, they had a special art of fighting in gorges, hiding in the grass, and surprising the enemy with a sudden attack. For this, the Greeks brutally dealt with the Slavs, but they endured all the torture and torture courageously, without groans and cries.

The Slavs knew neither guile nor anger, and treated their captives humanely. They took people into slavery for a certain time, after which the person was freed. The liberated person could either return to his homeland or live among the Slavs as a free farmer.

The Slavs were distinguished by exceptional hospitality. They greeted travelers with joy, treated them sumptuously and gave them food for the journey. It was even allowed to steal food from a neighbor for a guest. They helped the traveler get safely to the nearest settlement.

Like other peoples, the Slavs in the early stages of development also had cruel customs. For a long time they had a blood feud, expressed in the proverb “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” In numerous families, the mother had the right to kill her newborn daughter, but not her son, the future warrior. Children had the right to kill old and sick parents who were burdensome to the family.

What were the religious beliefs of the Eastern Slavs? They were pagans and worshiped many spirits, which were divided into evil and good. Evil vampire spirits allegedly attacked people, sucked their blood and could harm all living things. Sacrifice, sometimes human, was made to evil spirits to appease them. They conjured good spirits and prayed for help. To protect themselves from evil spirits, the Slavs wore a set of bronze amulets on their chests - miniature images of animals, birds, and fish. War rooks were decorated with dragon heads. Sacred groves were decorated with embroidered towels.
For the Eastern Slavs, all nature was a temple. He swore by the earth as if by God, placing a lump of earth on his head. When leaving for a foreign land, he took with him a handful of his native land. Returning, he bowed low to the ground, falling to her as to her mother. Every forest, stream, well, every tree seemed to our distant ancestors as animate, i.e. having a soul. Each house was under the protection of a spirit - a brownie who looked after the livestock, kept the fire in the hearth, and at night came out from under the stove to feast on food.

Every living creature that came into contact with a person was endowed with special features. The rooster, who marked the hours with amazing precision and greeted the dawn with his singing, was considered a holy bird of all things. The bull, loosening the earth, was the personification of fertility. Forest animals were seen as enemies of man. Sorcerers were depicted as wolves. A hare crossing the road predicted failure. In every river there lived a merman, in every forest there lived a goblin. With dozens of conspiracies and magical rituals, the Slavic plowman tried to protect himself from the hostile forces of nature.

Rituals surrounded a person’s entire life from birth to death. When a child was born, amulets were hung on him. A sword was placed in the boy's cradle so that he would be a brave warrior. A house was built for the deceased, reproducing housing. Food, tools, and weapons were placed in the grave. The wives of rich people were killed and buried in a magnificent wedding dress. The corpse was burned at the stake, and then a mound was poured and the remains of the deceased’s weapons were erected. The relatives of the deceased gathered annually at the grave to remember him. Magical holidays among the Eastern Slavs were associated with agriculture and the change of seasons. In December they met the harsh god of winter Kolyada. The New Year was a celebration of spells of prosperity for the entire year. In the spring, the joyful cycle of Sun festivals began. On Maslenitsa - in the days of spring balance - they baked pancakes - a symbol of the Sun, saw off a straw effigy of the god of winter and burned him outside the village. To celebrate the arrival of the birds, larks were baked - buns depicting birds.

The meeting of summer took place on Mermaid Week. On this week, marriages were celebrated and songs were sung in honor of Lada and Lelya, the patrons of love. The summer holidays included Kupala Day - June 24 (July 7, new style).

On the eve of the holiday, the Slavs doused themselves with water and jumped over fires. The girls were thrown into the river, begging the mermaids and Kupala for rain for the harvest. The summer holidays also included the day of Perun, the god of thunder and thunder. A bull was sacrificed to Perun. The holiday consisted of eating meat by the whole brethren. The autumn harvest festivals were especially joyful.

What was the social system like among the Eastern Slavs in the 6th-7th centuries? Until the 6th century. they lived in a tribal community, where public ownership of the means of production dominated, and the harvest was divided equally among everyone. By the 9th century. the tribal community broke up into families. It was replaced by a neighboring community - Rope. It retained public ownership of land, forests, fields, meadows, and reservoirs, but arable land was divided into plots, which each family cultivated separately. The clan community collapsed as a result of wars, the development of new lands, and the inclusion of captive slaves. The stratification of the community was facilitated by the development of crafts and trade.
The highest organ of organization among the Eastern Slavs was the veche - the people's assembly. It ensured full equality of all members of the tribe with the exception of women. The veche elected a prince - a military leader. When wars were rare, the entire male population took part in them. And when they became frequent, squads and combatants appeared - professional warriors who were not engaged in agriculture, but were engaged only in military affairs. The squads were formed from the tribal nobility. Gradually, all power began to be concentrated in the hands of the prince. The prince and his squad began to exploit the free agricultural population, collecting tribute from them, i.e. tax. Equality gradually disappeared. Among the warriors there was a division into youths or young people who had recently come to serve, and into boyars - old-time soldiers. The boyars had estates - land plots passed on by inheritance.
So, the general arming of the people, the national assembly, patriarchal slavery and hospitality, the accumulation of wealth as a result of wars - all this indicates that the Eastern Slavs in the 7th-8th centuries. experienced a period of military democracy or a period of decomposition of the primitive system. By the 9th century. Inequality and exploitation appeared in their society, i.e. the preconditions for the formation of a state were ripe.

The formation of the ancient Russian state, its socio-political system

The cities of Kyiv and Novgorod became the centers of formation of the ancient Russian state. By the 9th century. In the north of Eastern Europe, a kind of federation emerged - a union of tribal unions with a center in Novgorod. It included not only the Slavs, but Merya, Ves, Chud, Muroma. This federation paid tribute to the Varangians – the Scandinavians. Another union of Eastern Slavs was formed with its center in Kyiv. It included the Polyans, Northerners, Radimichi and Vyatichi. This union paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate. Both the Scandinavians and the Khazars sought to completely subjugate the Slavs in order to take control of the trade routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and through the Caspian Sea to Asia.

The first Russian chronicle, the Tale of Bygone Years, tells us that in 859 members of the northern federation centered in Novgorod expelled the Varangians and refused to pay them tribute. But then a violent power struggle broke out within the federation. Then a group of Slavs went to the Varangians and invited Rurik, one of the Varangian princes, to the princely throne in Novgorod. Of course, not all Novgorodians were happy with the Varangian’s invitation. Some of them, as the Nikon Chronicle reports, rebelled under the leadership of Vadim the Brave. Nevertheless, Rurik established himself on the Novgorod throne.

After the death of Rurik, his relative Oleg became prince. In 882 he made a campaign against Kyiv. Oleg cunningly lured the warriors out of the city, killed them and captured Kyiv. He managed to unite all the East Slavic lands of Novgorod to Kyiv. The year 882 is considered to be the year of the formation of the ancient Russian state. Kyiv became its capital, and the state received the name Kievan Rus.

Information from the Tale of Bygone Years served as the basis for the creation of the so-called Norman theory of the emergence of the ancient Russian state (the Slavs called the Scandinavians the Varangians, and the Europeans called the Normans). The founders of this theory were those invited in the 18th century. from Germany to work at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, scientists G.Z. Bayer, G.F. Miller, A.L. Schletzer. Relying solely on the chronicle, they argued that the Eastern Slavs were so wild and backward that they were incapable of independently creating a state: their state was created by the Varangians. Supporters of this theory were Russian scientists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A.A. Shakhmatov, A.E. Presnyakov, and in our time the American historian R. Pipes. M.V. acted as a sharp opponent of it. Lomonosov. He denied any participation of the Varangians in the process of formation of the ancient Russian state. This is how the anti-Normanist theory appeared.

Today the inconsistency of the Norman theory is obvious. It is based on the thesis about the possibility of “teaching the state”, “imposing the state”. In reality, the state arises only in the presence of economic, political and social prerequisites; it cannot be imposed or brought from the outside. One should not deny any participation of the Varangians in the formation of Kievan Rus. Slavic princes often invited the Varangians as experienced warriors to defend borders and guard trade routes. The Novgorodians invited Rurik to the princedom so that he would rule them without violating Slavic customs and protecting the interests of the Slavs.

The first Kyiv princes - Rurik, Oleg, Igor, Olga - bore names of Varangian origin. The Scandinavians gave the ruling dynasty to Kievan Rus, but they themselves quickly disappeared among the Slavic population. The son of Igor and Olga already bore the Slavic name - Svyatoslav.

How did the name Rus' come about? In the Tale of Bygone Years it is said in this regard that the Rurikovichs invited to Novgorod were Varangians from the Rus tribe, and therefore their possession began to be called Rus. But already in the Novgorod Chronicle there is a contrast between Rus' and the Varangians. The Laurentian and Ipatiev Chronicles say that the Varangians were not Russia. Today, most scientists believe that the word “Rus” is not of Scandinavian origin. Rus was the name given to the region in the middle Dnieper region, near the Ros River. The word “Rus” was widespread in Europe, including Eastern Europe. According to L.N. Gumilyov, Rus was the name of one of the South German tribes. Other historians believe that Rus is the name of one of the Baltic tribes that lived next to the Eastern Slavs. This dispute is unlikely to be resolved due to the extremely narrow range of sources.

Oleg's first task in Kyiv was to expand his possessions, to unite the Eastern Slavs under his rule. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, Oleg annexed one tribe every year: in 883. captured the Drevlyans in 884. - northerners, in 885 - Radimichi. The dates may not be exact, but the essence of the event was conveyed by the chronicler correctly: Kievan Rus was a forced unification of multilingual tribes. Conquered tribes paid tribute (tax). Every year in November, the Kiev prince and his warriors went to Polyudye, i.e. to collect tribute in the lands of the Drevlyans, Dregovichi, Krivichi, etc. Feeding there throughout the winter, they returned along the Dnieper to Kyiv in April. The collected tribute (honey, fur, wax) was sold to Byzantium and other countries.
Oleg repeatedly and successfully fought with Byzantium, and concluded an agreement with it that was beneficial for Rus'. Rus' was recognized as an equal ally of Byzantium. Oleg's successor on the Kiev throne was Igor, the son of Rurik (912-945). Under him, two large campaigns were made against Byzantium, as well as in Transcaucasia. Igor sought to strengthen his power over the conquered peoples, suppressing the uprisings of the Drevlyans, Ulichs and other tribes.

Igor died under peculiar circumstances. The Tale of Bygone Years reports about them in detail. Igor's warriors complained that they were poor and suggested that he re-collect tribute from the Drevlyans. Igor agreed and thereby violated the agreement (series) on the collection of tribute. The Drevlyans did not want to tolerate this violation. They attacked the prince and killed his squad. Igor himself was tied to two bent trees and torn into pieces.

Igor's widow, Princess Olga, took cruel revenge on the murderers. Having first exterminated the Drevlyan ambassadors (some were buried alive in the ground, others were burned in a bathhouse), she launched a campaign against the capital of the Drevlyans, Iskorosten, and burned it to the ground. Olga abolished polyudye and replaced it with the systematic payment of tribute in a strictly defined amount. From now on, taxes were collected by special officials in administrative centers within strictly designated periods.

The son of Igor and Olga Svyatoslav (964-972) spent a lot of time on campaigns. This was a Spartan warrior who did not want to be any different from his warriors. During the campaigns, he slept on the grass, placing a saddle under his head, and ate horse meat. Svyatoslav continued the aggressive policy of his ancestors. His aspirations were directed to the steppe to the east, where the Khazars dominated, collecting tribute from the Vyatichi Slavs. Within two years, Svyatoslav not only freed the Vyatichi from Khazar tribute, but also defeated the Khazar Kaganate. Svyatoslav conquered the Yases (ancestors of the Ossetians) and Kasogs (ancestors of the Adyghe people). The Tmutarakan principality was formed on their territory. Byzantium used Svyatoslav to fight the Danube Bulgars. Having defeated the Bulgars, Svyatoslav wanted to settle on the Danube himself. The Greeks did not like this, and they set the Pechenegs against him. In 972 The Pechenegs waylaid Svyatoslav at the Dnieper rapids and killed him. The leader made himself a cup from Svyatoslav’s skull and drank from it at feasts.

What was the social system of Kievan Rus? There was a process of formation of feudal relations in it. The main feudal system is the feudal lord's full ownership of the land and incomplete ownership of the peasant producer. How did feudal property appear? The princes either developed free lands or seized them from previously free farmers-smerds, and turned the smerds themselves into dependent workers. Following the princely, boyar and local land ownership appeared. The boyars - warriors who served for a long time and well - received land from the prince as a gift with the right to transfer it by inheritance. Such land ownership was called votchina. Youths and young people - short-serving warriors - also received land for their service, but without the right of inheritance. Such land ownership was called an estate. So, the class of feudal lords was formed primarily from princes, boyars, youths, and later from clergy.

Gradually, various groups of dependent people formed. Purchases appeared - these are people who received a purchase from the landowner, i.e. a loan, assistance in the form of seeds, livestock, a plot of land, tools, etc. The cup had to be returned or worked off with interest. Another group of dependent people consisted of ordinary people who entered into an agreement (row) with the landowner and were obliged to perform various works in accordance with this agreement. The third group of unfree people were outcasts - these were people expelled from the community. They were expelled either for a crime or for some other reason. A free person could also become an outcast if he left the community after a flood or fire. The bulk of the rural population of Kievan Rus were free community members, the Smerda, who paid taxes to the prince.

In Kievan Rus, along with emerging feudal relations, there was patriarchal slavery, which did not play a noticeable role in the economy. Slaves were called serfs or servants. Prisoners were the first to become slaves. They also fell into slavery for non-payment of debts. A free person could become a slave if he entered the service of a master without a special contract or married a slave without stipulating his freedom. Usually slaves were used as domestic servants. Slavery in Kievan Rus was widespread; it existed as a way of life.

What was the political system of Kievan Rus? The Old Russian state was an early feudal monarchy. It was headed by the Grand Duke of Kyiv. The Grand Duke of Kiev enjoyed great power: he led the army, organized the protection of borders, the defense of the country, and led all military campaigns. He led the entire system of government of the country and legal proceedings.

Individual regions of the country or individual tribes were led and governed by relatives of the Grand Duke of Kyiv - appanage princes or posadniks. In governing the country, the Grand Duke of Kyiv was assisted by the Boyar Duma, the body of power of the feudal lords. It included boyars, appanage princes, and clergy. Appanage princes had their own squads and boyar dumas. There was also a veche in Kievan Rus, but its role was noticeably declining.

The power of the Kyiv prince was transferred to relatives according to seniority (brother, son). The generic principle of inheritance was often violated, which greatly confused the situation. Gradually, the principle of ownership began to be applied more and more widely, i.e. transfer of the throne from father to son. But this did not contribute to the strengthening of the grand ducal power. Created through the conquest of multilingual tribes, Kievan Rus could not become a strong unified state. In the 11th century it split into several independent principalities.

So, in the 9th century. The Eastern Slavs and the Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes living with them formed a state - Kievan Rus. It was an early feudal monarchy with a multi-structured economy.

The adoption of Christianity and its meaning.

The formation and strengthening of the ancient Russian state, the struggle of the grand ducal power against tribal disunity, the formation of feudal relations - all this gave rise to the need to adopt a new ideology that would sanctify the processes of feudalization taking place in Rus' and would contribute to strengthening the power of the great prince of Kyiv. Paganism did not contribute to this, so it had to be replaced by a new religion.

In 988 Kievan Rus, on the initiative of Prince Vladimir, adopted Christianity in the form of Orthodoxy from Byzantium. This was an event of great historical importance. Prince Vladimir tried to carry out religious reform back in 980 in order to strengthen his power. Its essence was that the god Perun was proclaimed the single supreme national god of Rus'. But this reform did not give the desired results, so a few years later Vladimir was faced with the question: which religion to accept as the state religion - Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism or Judaism.

The Tale of Bygone Years contains an interesting legend about the introduction of Christianity in Rus'. Allegedly, Prince Vladimir sent his ambassadors to different countries so that they could familiarize themselves with various religious ideas, rites, and rituals and choose the best religion. The ambassadors completed this task. When they returned, they spoke with delight about their visit to the Byzantine Orthodox Church. In Constantinople (now Istanbul) they were taken to the majestic St. Sophia Cathedral, painted with icons, frescoes, and mosaics. A festive church service was held there with appropriate music. The ambassadors expressed their admiration for her in the following words: “We did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth: for there is no such spectacle and such beauty on earth” (Old Russian literature. M., 1993. P.48).

But this is a legend, but what is certain is that one of the reasons for the adoption of Christianity was the development and strengthening of relations between Kievan Rus and Byzantium. Prince Vladimir wanted to marry the sister of the Byzantine emperor Anna, and he was given a condition - to accept Christianity.

Accepting Christianity is not a one-time act. It started long before 988. Princess Olga and many warriors who visited Byzantium adopted Christianity. But in general, it took more than one century for Christianity to firmly establish itself in Rus'. People had difficulty accepting the new faith, retained old rituals and customs, continued to celebrate pagan holidays, which later merged and mixed with Christian ones: Kolyada Merry Christmas, Maslenitsa with Candlemas, Kupala Day and John the Baptist Day, etc. Paganism persisted especially long in the northeastern part of Rus'.

What was the significance of accepting Christianity?

1. It contributed to the unification of all multilingual East Slavic tribes into a single ancient Russian nation based on a single faith.

2. It contributed to the strengthening of the grand ducal power, asserting its divine origin. Christianity became the state religion and social worldview for many centuries.

3. It contributed to the development of feudal relations. The Orthodox Church sanctified feudal relations (let the servant fear his master), defended feudal laws and orders. She soon turned into a large landowner and exploiter of the peasants.

4. The adoption of Christianity led to a significant softening of the morals that reigned in ancient Rus'. The Orthodox Church categorically prohibited human sacrifices, ritual killings of wives and slaves during the funerals of rich people, and also fought against the slave trade. Christianity brought great potential for universal human values ​​into the morals and customs of ancient Russian society (thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, love thy neighbor as thyself). The Orthodox Church helped strengthen family ties, prohibited polygamy, and cared for orphans, beggars, and the disabled. By order of Vladimir, food for the elderly and sick people was delivered to their homes.

5. The adoption of Christianity gave a powerful impetus to the development of culture.

The translation of the Holy Scriptures (Bible) and other theological literature into Old Russian began. The construction of stone buildings - temples, monasteries - began. In the Middle Ages, monasteries were not only religious, but also cultural centers. Kievan Rus gradually became a state of high culture.

6. With the baptism of Rus', its international position changed qualitatively. Yesterday's pagan power has now joined the ranks of European Christian states on an equal footing and is on par with the entire civilized world. Rus''s international ties have strengthened and expanded.

So, our distant ancestors - the Eastern Slavs - until the 9th century. They lived in a tribal system, were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts and trade. In the 9th century. They formed a state - Kievan Rus - which was an early feudal monarchy. Christianity became the state religion of Kievan Rus in 988. In the X-XII centuries. Rus' was approximately on the same level as European countries.