1. Resettlement of the Slavs. Since ancient times, Slavs have lived in the Baltics, in Central and Eastern Europe, to the east of the Germans. During the Great Migration, they moved far to the west and south. In the 6th century, the Slavs occupied vast areas from the Laba (Elbe) in the west to the middle reaches of the Dnieper in the east, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Danube and the Black Sea in the south. From the 7th century they began to move eastward. Later, numerous Slavic tribes were divided into three branches: western, southern and eastern.
Western Slavs are Czechs, Poles, Slovaks. These included also the Polabian tribes who lived east of the Laba, and the Pomor tribes who settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.
Some Slavic tribes settled part of the Balkan Peninsula, and the southern Slavic peoples were formed here: Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats and others.
Eastern Slavs are the ancestors of three kindred peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.
2. Activities and lifestyle of the Slavs. The Slavs have long been engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts.
In the middle of the first millennium of our era, the way of life of the Slavs was similar to that which we know from the history of the ancient Germans. The Slavs were divided into many tribes. All important issues in the tribe were decided by the people's assembly - veche (from the word "broadcast" - to speak with knowledge of the matter).
The tribes were headed by military leaders - princes. They had horse squads under their command. Making raids and attacks on neighbors, the princes and their vigilantes captured prisoner slaves, cattle, and various values. The VI century historian reports on the situation of slaves among the Slavs: “They do not keep those in captivity in their captivity for an unlimited time, but offer them a choice: they want
whether they return home for a certain ransom or remain in the position of free and friends. The threat of enemy attacks forced the Slavs to unite in tribal alliances. Usually these alliances were fragile and quickly disintegrated. But some of them served as the basis for the Slavic states.
3. The Bulgarian state. In the second half of the 7th century, the Slavs who settled on the lands along the lower course of the Danube, to the north of the Balkan Range, were conquered by the nomadic Bulgarians, Turkic in origin. The ancestors of the Bulgarians (or Bulgars) first lived in Western Siberia, but in the first centuries of our era they migrated to the middle Volga; from here some of them came to the Balkan Peninsula.
Here the Bulgarian state arose. Gradually, the Bulgarians dissolved among the Slavs they conquered, adopted their language, but gave them their own name. In the north, Bulgaria's neighbors were the ancestors of the modern Romanians, and in the south, Bulgaria bordered on the Byzantine Empire. In the middle of the 9th century, Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium. This contributed to the development of her ties with the rest of the Christian world. At the same time Bulgaria waged long wars with Byzantium, at times Byzantium was forced to pay tribute to the Bulgarians.
An outstanding ruler of Bulgaria was Prince Simeon (893-927). Educated, energetic and ambitious, Simeon dreamed of subjugating the entire Balkan Peninsula and seizing the imperial throne of Byzantium. For about 30 years he waged war with Byzantium, and besieged its capital more than once. He managed to conquer part of the lands inhabited by the Slavs, subjugate the Serbs. Simeon called himself "the king of the Bulgarians and Greeks."
But long wars have drained the country and devastated the population. After the death of Simeon, Bulgaria weakened, Serbia separated from it. Hungarian cavalry raided Bulgaria and Byzantium from the north, and then for a century and a half - nomadic Pechenegs, driven back to the Northern Black Sea region from the depths of Asia.
At the beginning of the 11th century, the Byzantine emperor Vasily II, nicknamed the Bolgar fighter, almost every year at the head of the army made campaigns in Bulgaria. He destroyed towns and villages, evicted Bulgarians from their homes. Having defeated the Bulgarian army, Vasily II ordered to blind 14 thousand prisoners, leaving one one-eyed guide for every hundred of the blind, and let them go home to intimidate. The Bulgarian king, seeing such a mass of his blinded soldiers, died of a heart attack. Using the strife of the Bulgarian nobility in the struggle for power, Byzantium in 1018 completely subjugated Bulgaria. Bulgaria lost its independence for more than a century and a half.
4. Great Moravian state and creators of Slavic writing. In the first half of the 9th century, in the valley of the Morava River, a state of the Western Slavs arose - the Great Moravian Empire. At first, it was subject to the Franks, and after the collapse of the empire of Charlemagne - to Germany. The princes paid tribute to her and accepted Christianity from the German bishops. But then the Great Moravian state achieved independence and entered into a struggle with Germany. Several times the Germanic kings made invasions and overthrew objectionable Moravian princes from the throne, replacing them with their supporters.
To fight Germany, one of the Moravian princes made an alliance with Byzantium against her. To free the church from the influence of the German clergy, he asked to send missionaries to Moravia to preach Christianity in the native language of the Slavs.
The first Slavic enlighteners were the learned monks - the Bulgarians from Byzantium, brothers Cyril and Methodius. Cyril taught philosophy, knew the languages \u200b\u200bof different peoples. Methodius, a good organizer, ruled the Byzantine region for about 10 years. Then he accepted monasticism and soon became the head of a monastery.
In 863, the brothers were sent to the Velikomorov state. Before leaving, Cyril created a Slavic script based on the Greek alphabet. With the help of Methodius, he translated several liturgical books into the Slavic language.
In Moravia, the brothers built churches and opened a school for training priests from local residents. They created a church independent of the German bishops.
After the death of the brothers, the German clergy began to persecute their disciples. Some students found shelter in Bulgaria. Here they continued to translate Greek religious books and contributed to the rise of Bulgarian literature. From Bulgaria, Slavic writing passed to Russia.
The long struggle with the kings of Germany weakened the Great Moravian state. Taking advantage of this, the Hungarians defeated her in 906 and seized part of her lands. The Great Moravian state collapsed.
5. Education of the Czech Republic and Poland. In the 9th century, the state of the Eastern Slavs was formed - Kievan Rus, which, gradually expanding and strengthening, turned into a strong Old Russian state.
The Czech state emerged from the disintegrated Great Moravian state. In the first half of the 10th century, with the support of the nobility, the princes of the Czech tribe, which lived near the city of Prague, united other tribes under their rule. In 1085, the Czech prince assumed the title of king - the influence of the Czech Republic in Europe increased.
In the second half of the 10th century, the Polish prince Mieszko I (960-992) subjugated the tribes that settled along the Vistula River. Together with a 3-thousand-strong squad, he adopted the Christian faith and this greatly strengthened his power. He laid the foundation for the Polish state. Fighting for the unification of the Polish lands, Mesh-ko entered into an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against the Polabian Slavs, but at times supported the German feudal lords against the emperor.
The unification of Poland was completed during the reign of Boleslav I the Brave (992-1025). He managed to annex the southern Polish lands. The capital of Poland was moved to the city of Krakow, a large shopping center on the way from Kiev to Prague. Boleslav I temporarily managed to capture the Czech Republic with Prague, but soon the Czech Republic was freed from his power. Boleslav went on a campaign to Kiev, trying to put his son-in-law on the throne, but to no avail. In the west, he fought long wars with the Holy Roman Empire. Shortly before his death, Boleslav was proclaimed king of Poland.
In the middle of the 11th century, Poland entered a zone of feudal fragmentation.
1. Resettlement of the Slavs. Since ancient times, Slavs have lived in the Baltics, in Central and Eastern Europe, to the east of the Germans. During the Great Nations Migration, they moved far west and south. In the 6th century, the Slavs occupied vast areas from the Laba (Elbe) in the west to the middle reaches of the Dnieper in the east, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Danube and the Black Sea in the south. From the 7th century they began to move eastward. Later, numerous Slavic tribes were divided into three branches: western, southern and eastern.
Western Slavs are Czechs, Poles, Slovaks. These included also the Polabian tribes who lived east of the Laba, and the Pomor tribes who settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.
Some Slavic tribes settled part of the Balkan Peninsula, and the southern Slavic peoples were formed here: Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats and others.
Eastern Slavs are the ancestors of three kindred peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.
2. Activities and lifestyle of the Slavs. The Slavs have long been engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts.
In the middle of the first millennium of our era, the way of life of the Slavs was similar to that which we know from the history of the ancient Germans. The Slavs were divided into many tribes. All important issues in the tribe were decided by the national assembly - veche (from the word "to teach" - to speak competently).
The tribes were headed by military leaders - princes. They had horse squads under their command. Making raids and attacks on neighbors, princes and their vigilantes captured slaves, cattle, various values. About the situation of slaves among the Slavs, a historian of the 6th century reports: ʼʼThey do not keep those who are in captivity in slavery for an unlimited time, but offer them a choice: they want
whether they return home for a certain ransom or remain in the position of free and friends. The threat of enemy attacks forced the Slavs to unite in tribal alliances. Usually these alliances were fragile and quickly disintegrated. But some of them served as the basis for the Slavic states.
3. The Bulgarian state. In the second half of the 7th century, the Slavs who settled on the lands along the lower course of the Danube, to the north of the Balkan ridge were conquered by the nomadic Bulgarians, of Turkic origin. The ancestors of the Bulgarians (or Bulgars) first lived in Western Siberia, but in the first centuries of our era they migrated to the middle Volga; from here some of them came to the Balkan Peninsula.
Here the Bulgarian state arose. Gradually, the Bulgarians dissolved among the Slavs they conquered, adopted their language, but gave them their own name. In the north, Bulgaria's neighbors were the ancestors of the modern Romanians, and in the south, Bulgaria bordered on the Byzantine Empire. In the middle of the 9th century, Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium. This contributed to the development of her ties with the rest of the Christian world. At the same time Bulgaria waged long wars with Byzantium, at times Byzantium was forced to pay tribute to the Bulgarians.
An outstanding ruler of Bulgaria was Prince Simeon (893-927). Educated, energetic and ambitious, Simeon dreamed of subjugating the entire Balkan Peninsula and seizing the imperial throne of Byzantium. For about 30 years he waged war with Byzantium, and besieged its capital more than once. He managed to conquer part of the lands inhabited by the Slavs, to subjugate the Serbs. Simeon called himself “the king of the Bulgarians and Greeks”.
But long wars have drained the country and devastated the population. After the death of Simeon, Bulgaria weakened, Serbia separated from it. Hungarian cavalry raided Bulgaria and Byzantium from the north, and then for a century and a half - nomadic Pechenegs, driven back to the Northern Black Sea region from the depths of Asia.
At the beginning of the 11th century, the Byzantine emperor Vasily II, nicknamed the Bolgar fighter, almost every year at the head of the army made campaigns in Bulgaria. He destroyed towns and villages, evicted Bulgarians from their homes. Having defeated the Bulgarian army, Vasily II ordered to blind 14 thousand prisoners, leaving one one-eyed guide for every hundred of the blind, and let them go home to intimidate. The Bulgarian king, seeing such a mass of his blinded soldiers, died of a heart attack. Using the strife of the Bulgarian nobility in the struggle for power, Byzantium in 1018 completely subjugated Bulgaria. Bulgaria lost its independence for more than a century and a half.
4. Great Moravian state and creators of Slavic writing. In the first half of the 9th century, the state of the Western Slavs - the Great Moravian Empire - emerged in the valley of the Morava River. At first, it was subject to the Franks, and after the collapse of the empire of Charlemagne - to Germany. The princes paid tribute to her and accepted Christianity from the German bishops. But then the Great Moravian state achieved independence and entered into a struggle with Germany. Several times Germanic kings made incursions and overthrew objectionable Moravian princes from the throne, replacing them with their supporters.
To fight Germany, one of the Moravian princes made an alliance with Byzantium against her. To free the church from the influence of the German clergy, he asked to send missionaries to Moravia to preach Christianity in the native language of the Slavs.
The first Slavic enlighteners were the learned monks - the Bulgarians from Byzantium, brothers Cyril and Methodius. Cyril taught philosophy, knew the languages \u200b\u200bof different peoples. Methodius, a good organizer, ruled the Byzantine region for about 10 years. Then he accepted monasticism and soon became the head of the monastery.
In 863, the brothers were sent to the Velikomorov state. Before leaving, Cyril created a Slavic script based on the Greek alphabet. With the help of Methodius, he translated several liturgical books into the Slavic language.
In Moravia, the brothers built churches and opened a school to train local priests. Οʜᴎ created a church independent of the German bishops.
After the death of the brothers, the German clergy began to persecute their disciples. Some students found shelter in Bulgaria. Here they continued to translate Greek religious books and contributed to the rise of Bulgarian literature. From Bulgaria, Slavic writing passed to Russia.
The long struggle with the kings of Germany weakened the Great Moravian state. Taking advantage of this, the Hungarians defeated her in 906 and seized part of her lands. The Great Moravian state collapsed.
5. Education of the Czech Republic and Poland. In the 9th century, the state of the Eastern Slavs was formed - Kievan Rus, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ, gradually expanding and strengthening, turned into a strong Old Russian state.
The Czech state emerged from the disintegrated Great Moravian state. In the first half of the 10th century, with the support of the nobility, the princes of the Czech tribe, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ lived near the city of Prague, united other tribes under their rule. In 1085, the Czech prince assumed the title of king - the influence of the Czech Republic in Europe increased.
In the second half of the 10th century, the Polish prince Myoshko I (960-992) subdued the tribes that settled along the Vistula River. Together with a 3-thousand-strong squad, he adopted the Christian faith and this greatly strengthened his power. He laid the foundation for the Polish state. Fighting for the unification of the Polish lands, Mesh-ko entered into an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against the Polabian Slavs, but at times supported the German feudal lords against the emperor.
The unification of Poland was completed during the reign of Boleslav I the Brave (992-1025). He managed to annex the southern Polish lands. The capital of Poland was moved to the city of Krakow, a large shopping center on the way from Kiev to Prague. Boleslav I temporarily managed to capture the Czech Republic with Prague, but soon the Czech Republic was freed from his power. Boleslav went on a campaign to Kiev, trying to put his son-in-law on the throne, but to no avail. In the west, he fought long wars with the Holy Roman Empire. Shortly before his death, Boleslav was proclaimed king of Poland.
In the mid-11th century, Poland entered a period of feudal fragmentation.
Formation of Slavic states - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Formation of Slavic States" 2017, 2018.
15 January 2015Slavic peoples came to the Black Sea region in the third millennium BC. Very quickly they settled on vast lands. Where did they come from, who were our ancestors? When did the first Slavic states appear? Let's figure out these issues.
Background
After the Slavic peoples settled in their own territories in the first millennium BC and began to form states, little was known about them. Historians and scholars, based on a lot of evidence, believe that our ancestors mastered quite large lands, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
Official information about the tribes transformed into the first Slavic states is considered to be records from the seventh century after the birth of Christ. These large-scale formations were remembered due to the fact that other peoples appeared in the nearby territories, trying to oust them.
The formation of Slavic states: a table of theories of origin
Although many scientists have worked on this issue, their opinions are largely similar. There are only three theories that describe how the first East Slavic states arose. Let's consider them in more detail, as well as find out who most actively supported and developed these doctrines:
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Itself
Let's get acquainted with the most typical doctrine. As many as 80% of modern historians agree that the formation of Slavic states began with the state of Samo. It was a large alliance of several tribes. Created so that it was possible to jointly defend against all kinds of enemies who claimed fertile lands. The union had another, less innocuous function. The tribes, which were called the Power of Samo, planned general raids on scattered settlements.
It included tribes that lived on the territory of modern:
slovaks,
croats.
The center of this association was a city called Vysehrad. He stood on the Morava River. This proto-state received its name from the name of the leader. He himself managed to unite the once disparate tribes under his command.
The leader ruled for thirty years, from 623 to 658. He managed to achieve tremendous results. Combine completely different tribes into one state. But it turned out that the whole state of Samo was bound only by the charisma of the leader himself. The moment the leader died and it ceased to exist.
Bulgarian kingdom
The formation of Slavic states is a rather long process. There were stops, gaps, returns to the original state. After the Power of Samo disintegrated in 658, there was a prolonged lull. It was interrupted in 681 when the Bulgarian kingdom was first mentioned.
Like the previous formation, it was a kind of union in which the warring tribes united. Such an alliance was beneficial for them to seize new territories. In the Bulgarian kingdom were the tribes of the Slavs and the Turks. From such a symbiosis already in the tenth century, the Bulgarians appeared.
The highest development of the Kingdom falls on the 8-9 centuries. Then the Slavs become the dominant ethnic group in these territories. Culture, literature, architecture are developing. The Bulgarian kingdom is conducting active military operations against Byzantium.
The emergence of Slavic states was very disadvantageous for her. The Byzantine Empire flourished and pushed its possessions inland, but suddenly encountered stiff resistance.
During the heyday of the Kingdom, Simeon was its ruler. He managed to conquer territories up to the Black Sea and create a capital in Preslav.
After the king was gone, the subjects began to wage battles within the state. Everyone wanted to capture a better and larger territory for their tribe.
In 1014 the end of the Bulgarian kingdom came. Weakened from internal battles, it was easily conquered by the army of the Byzantine emperor. Vasily the Second, having won a victory, blinded 15,000 soldiers. In 1021, the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom, Srem, was captured. Then the state was gone.
Moravia
The next in the time frame in which the formation of the Slavic states took place was Great Moravia. The power arose as an attempt to defend against enemy attacks by Germanic tribes in the ninth century. At the same time, violent feudalization began to take place in Europe. Many small farmers tried to escape to Moravia and, together with the local population, organize a worthy resistance to the knightly nobility. The once scattered tribes entered into an alliance.
During Svyatopolk's time, the state included: Pannonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lesser Poland. Like the previous Slavic powers, Moravia did not have a central government. Most of the territories that entered the union remained under their leader or king. The capital was the city of Velehrad.
In 863 the first Christians arrived in Moravia together with Cyril and Methodius. They had a strong influence on the formation of writing in this state and on all Slavic associations.
Moravia flourished during the life and reign of Svyatopolk. When Vladyka died, the end of the state came with him. This feature is inherent in all ancient formations of the Slavs. The former Moravian territories were attacked by the Magyars, and after them by the nomads. Slovakia split off to Hungary, and the Czech Republic began an independent existence.
Kievan Rus
The formation of the Slavic states took place in several periods. Kievan Rus was the most powerful of the pre-Christian countries. It consisted of Eastern Slavs. They united into a separate state in the 8-9 century. The center of Kievan Rus was in the city of Kiev. A detailed history of the creation of the state was described by the chronicler Nestor in The Tale of Bygone Years.
The country experienced the arrival of Christianity, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the raids of nomadic peoples, including the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan. In 1054, it included all the tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Kievan Rus disintegrated in 1132.
Formation of Slavic states: table of settlement of the Slavs
According to the territories they occupied, the Slavs were divided into western, eastern and southern. Later separate ethnic groups were formed from them, with their own language, culture, traditions. Slavic states arose as an association of small tribes, which eventually split into:
As you can see, the Slavic peoples for more than a thousand years went to form their own, independent states. This path was thorny, it could be interrupted many times, nevertheless it did not happen. Now our ancestors could be proud of us, because modern powers have finally achieved independence and recognition from their neighbors.
Question 1. What branches are the Slavic peoples divided into? Which descendants of them predominantly live in our country?
Answer. Branches:
1) South Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Macedonians, Bulgarians and other Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula);
2) Western Slavs (Poles and Czechs);
3) Eastern Slavs (Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians) - basically they, namely Russians, live in Russia.
Question 2. What was the merit of Cyril and Methodius in the development of Slavic culture?
Answer. Cyril and Methodius baptized Great Moravia. But most importantly, they created the Slavic alphabet, translated the first books into the Slavic language, and also taught the first Slavs to read and write and theology, their students carried their knowledge beyond Great Moravia (they were simply expelled from there).
Question 3. What Slavic state arose before the rest? In what century did the largest number of Slavic states arise?
Answer. The first truly Slavic state was Great Moravia (the Avar and Bulgarian states appeared earlier, but these were the states of nomads to whom the Slavs obeyed). And most of the Slavic states arose in the 9th century (Primorskaya Croatia, Ancient Rus, Great Moravia).
Question 4. Briefly tell about the famous Slavic rulers, first highlighting the Questions that need to be stated.
Answer. In the story, you need to highlight: the place and time of the life of the figure and why his descendants remembered him.
1) Simeon lived in Bulgaria at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centuries. He was the greatest ruler of the first Bulgarian state, successfully fought against Byzantium, and besieged its capital more than once. He subdued many Slavic tribes to himself.
2) Mieszko I - ruler of the Polish state of the 10th century. He converted to Christianity and baptized his people.
3) Boleslaw I the Brave ruled Poland after his father Mieszko I at the end of the 10th and 11th centuries, he united more Polish lands than his father.
Question 5. How is the history of the Slavic states connected with other medieval states known to you?
Answer. Links:
1) the Bulgarians attacked Byzantium and as a result were subdued by it for some time;
2) other southern Slavs were under the rule of Byzantium for a long time;
3) the Croats were under the rule of the Franks for a long time;
4) Great Moravia and other Western Slavs were in conflict with the Germans;
5) the Old Russian state had close contacts with Scandinavia, it may even have been created by the Scandinavians;
6) the squads of the Old Russian state went on campaigns against Byzantium;
7) The ancient Russian state actively traded with the Arabs.
Question 6. Make a detailed outline of the paragraph: divide each paragraph into separate, complete in the sense of the part; then summarize the main point of each part and write it down.
Answer. The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe paragraph is that the paths of different Slavic groups diverged early, their history is diverse. His plan:
1) resettlement of the Slavs
a) the division of the Slavs into branches
b) Western Slavs
c) South Slavs
d) Eastern Slavs
2) occupations and way of life of the Slavs
a) the main occupations of the Slavs in peacetime
b) the control system of the Slavic tribes
c) raids on neighbors
d) the role of prey in the life of the Slavs
3) Bulgarian state
a) the conquest of the Slavs by the Bulgarians
b) the creation of the Bulgarian state
c) Prince Simeon
d) relationship with Byzantium
e) destruction of the Bulgarian state
4) Great Moravian state and creators of Slavic writing
a) the creation of the Great Moravian state
b) the baptism of Great Moravia
c) the activities of Cyril and Methodius
d) features of the Slavic alphabet
e) the fate of the legacy of Cyril and Methodius
5) Formation of Slavic states
a) the formation of the Old Russian state
b) the formation of the Czech state
c) the formation of the Polish state
d) the final unification of Poland
History claims that the first Slavic states arose in the period dated to the 5th century AD. Around this time, the Slavs migrated to the banks of the Dnieper River. It was here that they split into two historical branches: Eastern and Balkan. Eastern tribes settled along the Dnieper, and the Balkan tribes occupied the Slavic states in the modern world, occupying a huge territory in Europe and Asia. The peoples who live in them are becoming less and less similar to each other, but the same roots are visible in everything - from traditions and language to such a fashionable term as mentality.
The question of the emergence of statehood among the Slavs has been worrying scientists for many years. Quite a few theories have been put forward, each of which may not be devoid of logic. But in order to form your own opinion about this, you need to familiarize yourself with at least the main ones.
How states arose among the Slavs: assumptions about the Varangians
If we talk about the history of the emergence of statehood among the ancient Slavs in these territories, then scientists usually rely on several theories that I would like to consider. The most common version of when the first Slavic states arose today is the Norman or Varangian theory. It originated at the end of the 18th century in Germany. The founders and ideological inspirers were two German scientists: Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694-1738) and Gerhard Friedrich Miller (1705-1783).
In their opinion, the history of the Slavic states has Nordic or Varangian roots. Such a conclusion was made by pundits after thoroughly studying the "Tale of Bygone Years" - the oldest opus created by the monk Nestor. There really is a link, dated 862, to the fact that the ancients (Krivichi, Slovens and Chud) called the Varangian princes to their lands to rule. Allegedly, tired of endless internecine strife and enemy raids from outside, several Slavic tribes decided to unite under the leadership of the Normans, who were considered the most experienced and successful in Europe at that time.
In the old days, in the formation of any state, the experience of its leadership was in higher priority than the economic one. And no one doubted the power and experience of the northern barbarians. Their combat units raided virtually the entire inhabited part of Europe. Probably, proceeding primarily from military successes, according to the Norman theory, the ancient Slavs decided to invite the Varangian princes to the kingdom.
By the way, the name itself - Russia, was allegedly brought by the Norman princes. In Nestor the chronicler, this moment is quite clearly expressed in the line "... and three brothers got out with their families, and took the whole of Russia with them." However, the last word in this context, according to many historians, rather denotes a combat squad, in other words, professional military. It is also worth noting here that the Norman leaders, as a rule, had a clear division between the civilian clan and the military clan, which was sometimes called the “kirch”. In other words, it can be assumed that the three princes moved to the lands of the Slavs not only with fighting squads, but also with full-fledged families. Since a family will not be taken on a regular military campaign under any circumstances, the status of this event becomes clear. The Varangian princes took the tribes' request with all seriousness and founded the early Slavic states.
"Where did the Russian land come from?"
Another curious theory says that the very concept of "Varangians" in Ancient Russia meant professional military men. This once again testifies in favor of the fact that the ancient Slavs relied on the militarized leaders. According to the theory of German scientists, which is based on the chronicle of Nestor, one Varangian prince settled near Lake Ladoga, the second settled on the shore of Lake White, the third in the city of Izobsk. It was after these actions, according to the chronicler, that the early Slavic states were formed, and the lands in the aggregate began to be called the Russian land.
Further in his chronicle, Nestor retells the legend of the emergence of the subsequent royal family of Rurikovich. It was Ruriks, the rulers of the Slavic states, who were the descendants of those same legendary three princes. They can also be attributed to the first "political leading elite" of the ancient Slavic states. After the death of the conditional "founding father", power passed to his closest relative Oleg, who, through intrigues and bribery, captured Kiev, and then united Northern and Southern Russia into one state. According to Nestor, this happened in 882. As can be seen from the chronicle, the formation of the state took place thanks to the successful "external control" of the Varangians.
Who is the Russians?
However, scientists are still arguing about the real nationality of the people who were so called. Adherents of the Norman theory believe that the word "rus" itself came from the Finnish word "ruotsi", which the Finns called the Swedes in the 9th century. It is also interesting that most of the Russian ambassadors who were in Byzantium had Scandinavian names: Karl, Iengeld, Farlof, Veremund. These names were recorded in treaties with Byzantium, dated 911-944. And the first rulers of Russia bore exclusively Scandinavian names - Igor, Olga, Rurik.
One of the most serious arguments in favor of the Norman theory of which states are Slavic is the mention of Russians in the West European "Bertinsky Annals". There, in particular, it is noted that in 839 the Byzantine emperor sent an embassy to his Frankish colleague Louis I. The delegation included representatives of the "people who grew up". The bottom line is that Louis the Pious decided that the "Ross" were Swedes.
In 950, the Byzantine emperor in his book "On the Administration of the Empire" noted that some of the names of the famous Dnieper rapids have exclusively Scandinavian roots. And finally, many Islamic travelers and geographers, in their opuses dating back to the 9th-10th centuries, clearly distinguish the “Rus” from the “Sakaliba” Slavs. All these facts, put together, helped German scientists to build the so-called Norman theory of how the Slavic states arose.
Patriotic theory of the emergence of the state
The main ideologist of the second theory is the Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. Slavic theory is also called "autochthonous theory". Studying the Norman theory, Lomonosov saw flaw in the reasoning of German scientists about the inability of the Slavs to self-organization, which led to external control from Europe. A true patriot of his fatherland, M.V. Lomonosov questioned the entire theory, deciding to study this historical mystery himself. Over time, the so-called Slavic theory of the origin of the state was formed, based on a complete denial of the "Norman" facts.
So, what are the main counter-arguments brought by the defenders of the Slavs? The main argument is the assertion that the very name "Rus" is etymologically connected neither with Ancient Novgorod, nor with Ladoga. Rather, it refers to Ukraine (in particular, the Middle Dnieper). As proof, the ancient names of reservoirs located in this area are given - Ros, Rusa, Rostavitsa. Studying the Syrian "Church History", translated by Zachary Ritor, adherents of the Slavic theory found references to a people called Hros or "Rus". These tribes settled a little south of Kiev. The manuscript was created in 555. In other words, the events described in it were long before the arrival of the Scandinavians.
The second serious counterargument is considered the absence of mention of Russia in the ancient Scandinavian sagas. There were quite a lot of them, and on them, in fact, the entire folklore ethnos of modern Scandinavian countries is based. It is difficult to disagree with the statements of those historians who say that at least in the early temporal part of the historical sagas there should be minimal coverage of those events. The Scandinavian names of the ambassadors, on which the supporters of the Norman theory rely, also do not determine one hundred percent the nationalities of their carriers. According to historians, the Swedish delegates could well represent the Russian princes in distant foreign countries.
Criticism of Norman theory
The Scandinavians' ideas about statehood are also doubtful. The fact is that during the described period, the Scandinavian states as such did not exist. It is this fact that causes a fair amount of skepticism that the Varangians are the first rulers of the Slavic states. It is unlikely that the visiting Scandinavian leaders, without understanding the construction of their own state, would arrange something like this in foreign lands.
Academician B. Rybakov, discussing the origin of the Norman theory, expressed an opinion about the general weak competence of the then historians, who believed, for example, that the transition of several tribes to other lands creates the preconditions for the development of statehood, moreover, in just a few decades. In fact, the process of formation and establishment of statehood can last for centuries. The main historical basis, on which German historians rely, suffers from rather strange inaccuracies.
The Slavic states, according to Nestor the chronicler, were formed over several decades. Often he equates founders and power, replacing these concepts. Experts suggest that such inaccuracies are explained by the mythological thinking of Nestor himself. Therefore, the categorical interpretation of his chronicle is highly doubtful.
Variety of theories
Another noteworthy theory of the emergence of statehood in ancient Russia is called the Iranian-Slavic. According to her, at the time of the formation of the first state, there were two branches of the Slavs. One, which was called Rus-encouraged, or Rugi, lived in the lands of the present Baltic. Another settled in the Black Sea region and originated from the Iranian and Slavic tribes. The convergence of these two "varieties" of one people, according to the theory, made it possible to create a single Slavic state of Russia.
An interesting hypothesis, which was later put forward into theory, was proposed by Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine V.G. Sklyarenko. In his opinion, the Novgorodians turned to the Baltic Varangians, who were called Ruthenes or Rus, for help. The term "Ruthenes" comes from the people of one of the Celtic tribes who took part in the formation of the ethnic group of the Slavs on the island of Rügen. In addition, according to the academician, it was in that time period that the Black Sea Slavic tribes already existed, the descendants of which were the Zaporozhye Cossacks. This theory was called Celtic-Slavic.
Finding a compromise
It should be noted that compromise theories of the formation of Slavic statehood appear from time to time. This is the version suggested by the Russian historian V. Klyuchevsky. In his opinion, the Slavic states were the most fortified cities at that time. It was in them that the foundations of trade, industrial and political formations were laid. Moreover, according to the historian, there were entire "urban areas" that were small states.
The second political and state form of that time was the very militant Varangian principalities, which are spoken of in the Norman theory. According to Klyuchevsky, it was the merger of powerful urban conglomerates and military formations of the Varangians that led to the formation of Slavic states (the 6th grade of the school calls such a state Kievan Rus). This theory, on which the Ukrainian historians A. Efimenko and I. Kripyakevich insisted, was called the Slavic-Varangian. She somewhat reconciled the orthodox representatives of both directions.
In turn, Academician Vernadsky also doubted the Norman origin of the Slavs. In his opinion, the formation of the Slavic states of the eastern tribes should be considered on the territory of the “Rus” - the modern Kuban. The academician believed that the Slavs received such a name from the ancient name “roxolans” or light Alans. In the 60s of the XX century, the Ukrainian archaeologist DT Berezovets suggested that the Alanian population of the Don region should be considered Rus. Today, this hypothesis is also being considered by the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.
There is no such ethnos - Slavs
The American professor O. Pritsak proposed a completely different version of which states are Slavic and which are not. It is not based on any of the above hypotheses and has its own logical basis. According to Pritsak, the Slavs as such did not exist at all on ethnic and state grounds. The territory on which Kievan Rus was formed was a crossroads of trade and commercial routes between East and West. The people who inhabited these places were a kind of warrior-merchants who ensured the safety of trade caravans of other merchants, and also equipped their carts for the journey.
In other words, the history of the Slavic states is based on a certain commercial and military community of interests of representatives of different peoples. It was the synthesis of nomads and sea robbers that subsequently formed the ethnic basis of the future state. Quite a controversial theory, especially when you consider that the scientist who put forward it lived in a state whose history is barely 200 years old.
Many Russian and Ukrainian historians, who were jarred even by the very name - "Volga-Russian Kaganate", came out with sharp criticism against it. According to the American, this was the first formation of the Slavic states (the 6th grade is unlikely to get acquainted with such a contradictory theory). Nevertheless, it has a right to exist and was named Khazar.
Briefly about Kievan Rus
After considering all the theories, it becomes clear that the first serious Slavic state was Kievan Rus, formed around the 9th century. The formation of this power took place in stages. Until 882, there was a merger and unification under the single rule of the Polyans, Drevlyans, Slovenes, Dregovechs and Polotsk. The union of Slavic states is marked by the merger of Kiev and Novgorod.
After the seizure of power in Kiev, Oleg began the second, early feudal stage in the development of Kievan Rus. Previously unknown areas are actively joining. So, in 981, the state expanded across the East Slavic lands up to the San River. In 992, Croatian lands were also conquered, which lay on both slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. By 1054, the power of Kiev extended to almost everything and the city itself began to be called in the documents "Mother of Russian cities".
Interestingly, by the second half of the 11th century, the state began to disintegrate into separate principalities. However, this period did not last long, and these tendencies stopped in the face of the general danger represented by the Polovtsians. But later, in view of the strengthening of the feudal centers and the growing power of the fighting nobility, Kievan Rus nevertheless disintegrated into appanage principalities. In 1132, a period of feudal fragmentation began. This state of affairs, as we know, existed up to the Baptism of All Russia. The idea of \u200b\u200ba unified state became popular at that time.
Symbols of the Slavic states
Modern Slavic states are very diverse. They are distinguished not only by nationality or language, but also by state policy, and the level of patriotism, and the degree of economic development. Nevertheless, it is easier for the Slavs to understand each other - after all, the roots going back into the depths of the centuries form the very mentality that all well-known "rational" scientists deny, but which sociologists and psychologists confidently talk about.
After all, even if we look at the flags of the Slavic states, you can see some regularity and similarity in the color palette. There is such a concept - Pan-Slavic colors. They were first spoken about at the end of the 19th century at the First Slavic Congress in Prague. Supporters of the idea of \u200b\u200buniting all Slavs proposed to adopt a tricolor with equal horizontal stripes of blue, white and red as their flag. Rumor has it that the banner of the Russian merchant fleet served as a model. Whether this is really so is very difficult to prove, but the flags of the Slavic states are often distinguished by the smallest details, and not by the color scheme.