Ancient Slavs and their way of life. How they lived in Russia before the arrival of Christians, or why the history of Russia before baptism was a big headache for Soviet historians

The ancestors of the modern Slavs, the so-called ancient Slavs, stood out from the vast Indo-European group that inhabited the entire territory of Eurasia. Over time, the tribes, close in economic management, social order and language, united in the Slavic group. We find the first mention of them in Byzantine documents of the 6th century.

In the 4th-6th centuries BC. the ancient Slavs participated in the great migration of peoples - a major one, as a result of which they settled the vast territories of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Gradually they were divided into three branches: eastern, western and southern Slavs.

Thanks to the chronicler Nestor, we know the main and places of their settlements: in the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper, and higher to the north, the Krivichi lived; from Volkhov to Ilmen there were Slovenes; the Dregovichi settled the lands of Polissya, from Pripyat to the Berezina; radimichi lived between Iput and Sozh; near the Desna one could meet northerners; from the upper reaches of the Oka and downstream stretched the lands of the Vyatichi; in the region of the Middle Dnieper and Kiev there were clearings; the Drevlyans lived along the Teterev and Uzh rivers; Dulebs (or Volynians, Buzhans) settled in Volhynia; the Croats occupied the slopes of the Carpathians; the tribes of the streets and Tivertsy settled down from the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the Bug to the mouth of the Danube.

The life of the ancient Slavs, their customs and beliefs became clear in the course of numerous archaeological excavations. So, it became known that for a long time they did not depart from the patriarchal way of life: each tribe was divided into several clans, and the clan consisted of several families that lived together and owned common property. Elders ruled clans and tribes. To resolve important issues, a veche was convened - a meeting of elders.

Gradually economic activity families were isolated, and the tribal device was replaced (with ropes).

The ancient Slavs were sedentary farmers who grew useful plants, raised livestock, hunted and fished, and knew some crafts. When trade began to develop, cities began to emerge. Polyany built Kiev, northerners - Chernigov, Radimichi - Lyubech, Krivichi - Smolensk, Ilmen Slavs - Novgorod. Slavic warriors created squads to protect their cities, and princes, mostly Varangians, became the leaders of the squads. Gradually, the princes seize power for themselves and actually become the owners of the lands.

The same tells that similar principalities were founded by the Varangians in Kiev, Rurik - in Novgorod, Rogvold - in Polotsk.

The ancient Slavs settled mainly in settlements - settlements near rivers and lakes. The river not only helped to get to the neighboring settlements, but also fed the local residents. However, the main occupation of the Slavs was agriculture. They plowed with oxen or horses.

Cattle breeding was also significant in the economy, but due to climatic conditions it was not too developed. The ancient Slavs were much more active in hunting and beekeeping - the extraction of wild honey and wax.

According to their beliefs, these tribes were pagan - they deified nature and dead ancestors. They called the sky the god Svarog, and all celestial phenomena were considered the children of this god - svarozhichs. So, for example, Svarozhich Perun was especially revered by the Slavs, because he sent thunder and lightning, and also gave his patronage to the tribes during the war.

Fire and the Sun showed their destructive or beneficial power, and depending on this they were personified by the good Dazhdbog, who gives life-giving light and warmth, or the evil Horse, burning nature with heat and fires. Stribog was considered the god of storm and wind.

The ancient Slavs attributed to the will of their gods any natural phenomena and changes in nature. They tried in every possible way to propitiate them with various festivals and sacrifices. Interestingly, anyone who wanted to make a sacrifice could make a sacrifice. But on the other hand, each tribe had its own sorcerer or magician who knew how to know the changing will of the gods.

The ancient Slavs did not build temples and long time did not create images of the gods. Only later did they begin to make idols - roughly made wooden figures. With the adoption of Christianity, paganism and idolatry were gradually eradicated. Nevertheless, the religion of our ancestors has been preserved to this day in the form of folk signs and agricultural natural holidays.

A long time ago, on the lands of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus lived tribes who called themselves Slavs.

The Slavs considered themselves: Glade, Drevlyane, northerners, Krivichi, Vyatichi, etc. And one of the tribes that lived along the shores of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River called itself simply Slavs.They are our ancestors.

The Slavs lived in families, i.e. were related to each other. The chief among the relatives was called the prince. All controversial issues and disagreements between the clans were resolved at a general meeting, which was called "veche".

To protect their own kind of raids by militant tribes, the Slavs, as a rule, settled in places surrounded by steep slopes or ravines, along rivers. The ancient Slavs surrounded their settlements with a palisade. The logs that were used to build the palisade were carefully hewn and burned on fire. When they were dug deep into the ground, the logs fit snugly against each other in such a way that there was not the slightest gap between them. Such a fence stood for a long time and was extremely strong. Therefore, such settlements were called "cities", from the word "to fence" i.e. fence off the settlements. The main occupation of the ancient Slavs was agriculture, beekeeping, fishing, fur trade and hunting.

The ancient beliefs of the Slavs are also interesting.

The Slavs believed that God is one, but manifests himself in many faces. The three main essences of God, the three forces on which the universe rests, were called Yav, Nav and Rule. Rule is a stellar law, the same for the entire universe. This is the highest law of the Existence of the World and development. Yav is subordinated to the Law of Rule, i.e. the world revealed by the Almighty, born of Rod. And the world of Navi is a spiritual, posthumous, world of ancestors and gods. The Slavs themselves called themselves "Orthodox", i.e. glorifying the Right. On their temples (places of religious worship), they sang glory to the gods, i.e. sang hymns in praise of the gods. Even a round dance was a religious sacrament at that time. He personified the Great Colo - the Wheel of Genesis, which must necessarily revolve relentlessly. Until now, in the Russian language there is an expression "to live in truth", i.e. to live according to the laws of the Rule.

Cuisine of the ancient Slavs

The cuisine of the ancient Slavs did not differ in variety. Basically, they prepared jelly, kvass, cabbage soup, porridge. Even the saying “shchi, yes porridge is our food” has come down to our times. At that time, our ancestors did not know potatoes, so the main ingredients of cabbage soup were cabbage and turnips. Pies were baked mainly on holidays, as were pancakes. The word "damn", came from more ancient word"mlyn", i.e. from milled grain. At that time, pancakes were mainly baked from buckwheat flour, and instead of yeast, hops were added to the dough. Pancakes made in this way were loose, porous. They absorbed butter and sour cream well. Therefore, they were served on the table together. As a rule, the first pancake was given to the birds, because. the ancient Slavs believed that the souls of ancestors sometimes flew to their descendants in the form of birds. The first baked pancake was a memorial one. Baking pancakes for a wake is still considered a Russian tradition.

After the adoption of Christianity in Russia, many thousand-year-old traditions were forgotten, but many are still alive. They remained in the form of proverbs and sayings, ancient holidays and fairy tales. Maybe that's why the Russian people still bake pancakes and tell fortunes at Christmas time. We still celebrate Maslenitsa and bake pancakes rather than fasting and celebrating Christmas. We still have Father Frost living in Veliky Ustyug, and Snegurochka, his granddaughter, amuses children at the New Year's holiday. In remote villages, some grandmothers, washing their great-grandchildren in the morning, still say: “Water, water, wash your granddaughter's face. So that the cheeks turn red, so that the eyes burn, so that the mouth laughs, so that the teeth bite.

How we want our children to know about the cultural traditions of our ancestors.

15.02.2014

The ancient Slavs, whose customs and customs formed the cultural basis most of the Eastern European peoples, once stood out from a large Indo-European group of tribes. In ancient times, this vast community of people settled throughout Eurasia, giving rise to many famous peoples. So, the ancient Slavs, once united from among the Indo-Europeans, leading a single economic structure, similar in language and social structure. During the 4th-6th centuries BC. the Slavs took part in the great migration of peoples, as a result of which they colonized the lands of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, subsequently dividing into three branches of the Slavs - western, eastern and southern.

The resettlement of the tribes of the ancient Slavs

For the first time, the Byzantine chronicles of the 6th century AD began to mention the Slavic people, speaking mainly about the tribes living in the Balkans, and thanks to Nestor the chronicler, today we know the tribes and lands Eastern Slavs. The settlement of the tribes was as follows:

• The Krivichi lived in the upper reaches of the Volga, the Dnieper and the Western Dvina and to the north;
• The glades lived in the region of the Middle Dnieper, on the territory of modern Kiev;
• Tivertsy and streets in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the Bug and the mouth of the Danube;
• Vyatichi in the upper reaches of the Oka and downstream;
• Slovene in the lands from Volkhov to Ilmen;
• The Dregovichi inhabited Polissya, from Pripyat to the Berezina;
• Drevlyane, along the banks of Teterov and near the river Uzh;
• Radimichi between Iput and Sozh;
• Northerners near the Desna;
• Dulebs, they are Volynians, Buzhans lived in Volhynia;
• Croats on the slopes of the Carpathian mountains.

The life of the ancient Slavs

Numerous excavations and scientific work. It became known, for example, that for a long time the ancient Slavs did not depart from the traditions of the patriarchal way of life and the communal-tribal system. Families united into clans, and those into tribes. ruled social life respectable elders, who gathered veche (council) to resolve all important issues. Time brought the isolation of family activities, and the tribal structure gradually turned into a communal way (verv).

The Slavs were a sedentary people and were engaged in agriculture, plowed the fields with a plow, harnessed by oxen and horses, harvested useful plants and were excellent at various crafts - hunting, fishing, and also bred a little cattle and owned crafts. The Slavs showed great activity in the extraction of wax and honey - beekeeping.

It is believed that the development of trade gave impetus to the emergence of cities among the ancient Slavs. Many tribes began to have their centers. Novgorod was built by the Ilmen, Kiev, the mother of Russian cities, was built by the northerners, Chernigov, Radimichi - Lyubech were built by the northerners, and Smolensk was founded by the Krivichi. Slavic settlers settled in settlements - villages along the banks of rivers, which fed the Slavs and served to move through the water. Military squads invariably appeared in the cities, in which Slavic warriors united, and the Princes became at the head of the troops. The nascent power gradually gained more and more influence, becoming sovereign rulers in their lands. For example, the Varangians Askold and Dir founded a principality in Kiev, Rurik reigned in Novgorod, and Rogvolod reigned in Polotsk.

Religion of the ancient Slavs

The ancient Slavs, whose customs and customs, as well as ideas about the world, were pagan, deified nature, deceased ancestors and believed in the existence of all kinds of gods. The Slavs called the sky Svarog, the celestial phenomena of which were considered to be his children, svarozhichi. For example, Perun, the Svarozhich, was a thunderer and was highly respected by the Slavs. In addition to owning lightning and thunder, he was the god of war, patronizing the Slavic warriors. The Sun and Fire were revered for their power, life-giving or destructive. For example, the kind Dazhbog gave light and warmth, and the angry Khors could burn crops and nature with heat and fire. Stribog ruled over the winds.

Our ancestors attributed dominion over all to the divine will natural phenomena and processes, trying to win the favor of the gods by various sacrifices and holidays. Magi, sorcerers - Slavic priests, were able to recognize the will of the gods, and had religious power in their tribes. At the same time, anyone who wished could make a sacrifice to the gods himself. IN late time the Slavs began to create numerous idols from processed wood, which served as displays of their gods. Christianity, adopted in the 10th century by Prince Vladimir, for many years was engaged in the eradication of paganism in Russia, and, nevertheless, the faith and traditions of the Slavs have survived to this day, in the form of folklore, folk signs and all kinds of holidays.
Video: Slavic holidays

The life of the ancient Slavs was not at all boring, as it might seem at first glance. Our ancestors had enough to do. Let's try to briefly describe them.

Approximate outline of the article. The article consists of the following sections:

• wars;
• clean living conditions;
• city ​​building;
• hunting;
• gathering;
• agriculture;
• cattle breeding;
• beekeeping.

Wars

All peoples at that time were at war, and the Slavs were no exception. The Slavs were not bloodthirsty and particularly cruel, unlike the ancient Romans, for example. Those wars waged by the Slavs began only for the sake of preserving statehood.

At first, the Slavs had nothing more than ordinary settlements, but then they grew into cities. Slavic cities were built along the banks of the rivers, which protected them from the enemy.

Gathering, cattle breeding, beekeeping and agriculture

The ancient Slavs were also engaged in hunting. They hunted both animals that were found in the forests and birds. The Slavs at that time already had a bow with arrows and spears. The forests were along the banks of the rivers, which gave Slavic life convenience.

The Slavs were engaged in fishing. Fish, of course, was included in the Slavic diet.

The Slavs were engaged in gathering. Berries, plants - everything was included in the diet. The Slavs also harvested medicinal herbs.

Agriculture is the main Slavic occupation. For a long time they have grown wheat, rye and other crops. It was hard work, because the land was cultivated with their own hands using a plow.

The Slavs were engaged in beekeeping. Honey played one of the main roles in their lives. Honey was a sweetener.

The Slavs were also engaged in cattle breeding - animal breeding, however, in connection with climatic conditions it was not highly developed.

Feature of life - purity

Clean living conditions distinguishing feature ancient Slavs. While the Europeans were drowning in mud, dying from the plague, the Slavs used the baths. They even had a bath day. Women, giving birth to children, arranged special rituals in the bathhouse. At many religious holidays, they were cleansed with water.

The ancient Slavs were engaged in hunting wild animals, fishing, farming, finding and collecting wild honey, extracting wax. They sowed cereal plants - millet and buckwheat, and for the manufacture of various clothes they grew flax and hemp. In addition, various livestock were bred - sheep, cows, pigs. The men hunted, extracted honey and wax, and fished. Women were engaged in weaving, cooking, gathering various berries and herbs. Together, men and women were engaged in agriculture.

Would you be able to live like the ancient Slavs? Plowing gardens, picking berries and fruits, raising livestock, hunting, fishing, living in rickety huts without a floor, washing with your hands in the river, raising more than six children and enduring the raids of neighboring tribes? Life in antiquity for us would have been real hard labor, but for our ancestors it was the norm and even better than it could be. How the ancient Slavs lived, what they ate, drank, how they dressed and how they built their life, read on.

Someone from our modern society the way of life of the ancient Slavs can terrify to the depths of the soul, but at that time everything suited people and everyone was practically happy. The Slavs did not strengthen their settlement, since they were practically not afraid of anyone. Their houses were significantly different from the dwellings of foreign contemporaries (Greeks, Germans, Turks, etc.).

Houses were built like dugouts or semi-dugouts, and an earthen stove was obligatory for everyone (otherwise how to cook food), and it was always built in the most remote corner of the room. As for the material for building a house, our ancestors believed that not every tree could suit them. As old signs say, some wood could bring trouble to the house, and some protection. Therefore, dwellings were built from pine, oak and larch. An interesting fact is that the aspen was considered an unclean tree.

In choosing a tree, our ancestors were very superstitious. A huge role was played by the place where the tree grew, the shape and even the side on which it fell after it was cut down. In no case was it possible to cut trees that grew in a cemetery or in a sacred place. Also, young or too old trees were often refused to be cut, and those who had a hollow, an unusual growth, or just a strange shape were considered the abode of evil spirits.

As for the site for the construction of the settlement, over time, the Slavs began to choose difficult places (swamps, high banks of a river or lake). Since the settlement itself was never fortified, nature served as a talisman against the raids of warring tribes. It is also worth noting that the ancient Slavic tribes were very resourceful, so in their dwellings (for some reason few people mention this) they often built several emergency exits in case of danger.

The life of the ancient Slavs in the settlements - the concept of "clan"

All Slavs built settlements where everyone lived with his family. Now the concept of "kind" has changed a bit. Now we say "relative", "relatives", "kinship". In those days, the family was considered not only close people by blood. No. Both the closest and the most distant lived there, since the word "genus" was used by the Slavs as a "tribesman", or in the sense of "people". At the head of the clan was the ancestor, the father of the whole family.

Many chroniclers described the habitation of the Slavs as an inaccessible building, elevated in an impassable place, with many escape routes, with valuables buried in the ground. Thus, they lived like bandits, hiding and fleeing at the first threat. One cannot but agree here, since the ancient Slavs really often fought with each other, because of which the tribe could be completely slaughtered in just a day.

The economy of the ancient Slavs

The main occupation of the ancient Slavs was agriculture. In this they succeeded as nowhere else. For LLP, in order to survive the cold winter and not die of hunger, people were very kind to the land, and tried to grow everything they could on it (recall that there were no potatoes then, and therefore the tribes ate porridge and bread). In order for the land to be fertile, it began to be cultivated even in winter. First, they cut down a section of the forest (the trees were not cut to the end so that they would dry out and could be easily felled), the stumps were uprooted and all the wood was burned. Such a month was called “cut”, from the word “cut”, “cut”. After that, in the spring, people sprinkled the area with ashes, loosened the ground with a special wooden plow and sowed the seeds. The main grain crops were millet, rye, wheat and barley. From vegetables turnip and peas. This type of processing was common only in forest areas, and in swamps and fields, fallow was used more.

Fallow is the second way to cultivate the soil for sowing. The land was first plowed and fertilized, and then sown. The following year, another site was taken, since this one was already depleted.

The second most important type of economy that the ancient Slavs were engaged in was cattle breeding. They raised sheep, cows, chickens and pigs. They often hunted wild animals in the forests and caught fish. In addition, beekeeping was still popular - collecting honey in wild hives.

The craft of the ancient Slavs

Forges were very common, where blacksmiths made plows for plowing the land, made weapons for the troops (squads), created the finest jewelry (bracelets, pendants and rings) from gold, bronze and silver, which were decorated with embossing, filigree and fading enamel. Kuznetsk business was not just popular, but necessary both for simple Slavic tribes and for the princes of the state. Sickles, coulters and scythes were made for farmers, and swords, spears and arrows for warriors. For women, needles, hooks, locks, keys, knives, awls, staples, etc. were often forged. If in our time blacksmiths create mostly works of art, then in ancient Russia their craft was essential for survival.

Thanks to the yarn, the Slavs made fabric from flax, hemp and sheep wool, after which they could sew clothes and bedding. The fabric was made not only simple, but also patterned for the outfits of princes or secular people. The loom was considered the most difficult craft, but at the same time as necessary as the forges.

Weaving was very popular in Russia. Especially popular were bast shoes - natural shoes of the common people. In addition to bast shoes, they wanted shoes made of leather. It was not sewn, but simply laid in folds and tied with ropes on the leg. Leather was very popular, so horse harness, quivers and other household items of the ancient Slavs were often made from it.

They also could not live without pottery. Pottery appeared a little later than the blacksmith's craft, and it improved especially when the potter's wheel was invented. Dishes, children's toys, bricks, washstands, etc. were made from clay.

Faith of the ancient Slavs

Like all ancient peoples, the Slavs were pagans, with well-thought-out customs and norms. Their world was inhabited by various gods and goddesses, most of which were associated with natural phenomena. Among them were evil and kind, fair and vile, playful and weak. The most important of them are Perun - the god of lightning and thunder, Svarog - the god of fire, Mokosh - the goddess who protects women, Veles - the patron of cattle breeding, Simargl - the god of the underworld. The god of the sun, who was called by different names, was especially held in high esteem: Dazhdbog, Horos, Yarylo.

The life and way of life of the ancient Slavs has always been on the verge of peace and war. Constant quarrels with neighboring tribes, frequent migrations, barren lands, robber raids, difficult living conditions and harsh laws of the gods. It is not for nothing that foreign chroniclers wrote about the Russians as a strong, strong-willed and courageous people who could withstand everything and break any wall in their path. Such were the ancient Slavs, our ancestors.