Geneticists have discovered the secret of the origin of the Russian people. Where did the names "Russia", "Rus" and "Russians" come from? (6 photos)

Map 1. Landscape zones of the European part of the USSR

Legend:

The historical roots of the Russian people go deep into the past. While the ancient annals contain considerable information about the Russian tribes in the ninth and tenth centuries of our era, it is obvious that the corresponding groups of their ancestors rallied much earlier, at least in the Sarmato-Gothic period, and the process of their consolidation must have begun even much earlier. , in the Scythian period. In general, the problem of the ethnogenesis of any people is extremely complex. We must not approach it in the light of such simplistic traditional schemes as the theory of the genealogical tree of languages, which for a long time was regarded as a universal panacea not only by philologists, but also by historians.

With regard to the prehistoric background of the formation of the Russian people, we must especially avoid such generalizations as the "original Pan-Slavic language" (Ursprache, proto-language), which is supposed to have existed before the branching of the new Slavic languages, or the "original Pan-Slavic homeland" (Urheimat, ancestral home) , in which, according to the assumption, the ancestors of all Slavic peoples began their historical life. Such generalizations, without providing any assistance to the historian, rather obscure the issue. Jordanes, who wrote in the sixth century AD, already knew three groups of Slavic tribes: the Veneti, the Sclaveni, and the Antes. Other names were mentioned by classical authors who lived earlier to designate the tribes of South Rus', which can be considered as groups of progenitors of the Sclavens and Antes. The information given by Herodotus (fifth century BC) regarding the Scythians and their neighbors should also be taken into account. Any ethnological identification of classical tribes and national names is difficult, especially in relation to such peoples as the Scythians and Sarmatians, who united vast territories under their control. Their names could refer not only to the ruling tribes, but also to the local tribes they conquered. One should not think that each such invasion ended with a general extermination of local tribes that settled in the country long before the arrival of the conquerors. Some of them, in any case, usually received permission to remain in the country after recognizing the power of the invaders. Thus, after the arrival of the Scythians, some of the Proto-Slavic tribes could remain on the border of the steppe territory, while other groups belonging to them may have been forced into the forest zone. As for the Sarmatian dominion, we have more convincing evidence that some of the groups of progenitors of the Russian tribes were already in the Black Sea steppes under Sarmatian control.

Taking into account the above considerations, we must assume that the groups of progenitors of the Slavs appeared partly in the forest zone and partly in the steppes, and that the process of their formation was protracted and very complex. As we have already noted, from the point of view of the historian there is not enough evidence, and also no need, to postulate the existence of an original pan-Slavic ancestral home. On the contrary, the evidence given by early authors, although rare, rather speaks in favor of the existence in ancient times of several - at least three - groups of proto-Slavic tribes, differing from each other. Each of them, even in remote antiquity, must have spoken their own dialect and had their own particular customs. Moreover, each controlled its own territory. We will designate these three groups as Western Slavs, Middle Slavs and Eastern Slavs. It can be assumed that at the time of the birth of Christ, the habitats of the Western Slavs were in the region of the middle and upper Vistula: the settlements of the Middle Slavs extended from the Carpathians to the middle Dnieper, while the clans of the Eastern Slavs spread along the northern border of the steppes, over the territory known since the seventeenth century and further as Left-bank Ukraine or Slobidshina (Kharkov, Kursk, Poltava, Voronezh provinces). Some Eastern Slavic groups may have penetrated further south, towards the lower Don region.

There is no archaeological evidence to suggest that the aforementioned Slavic groups were simply new arrivals in the territory they occupied in the first century AD. On the contrary, the evidence rather points to a certain continuity of culture in this area during the millennium from 500 BC. before 500 AD We can thus conclude that groups of progenitors of the Slavic tribes settled in this place at least not later than 500 BC.

Linguistic relationships and cultural affinities do not necessarily imply racial affinities. Tribes belonging to the same "linguistic area" or the same "cultural area" may be racially different or belong to different anthropological types. History offers abundant examples of the adoption by one people of the language and culture of another. Thus, during the expansion of the Roman Empire, the Celts and Iberians in Gaul and Spain, respectively, adopted the language of their conquerors - Latin, on the basis of which modern French and Spanish evolved. No less striking is the example of the Persian language, which, after the conquest of Iran by the Arabs, underwent a complete change. Not only were Arabic words taken in bulk, but the very structure of the Persian language was deeply affected by Arabic, despite the fact that Persian belongs to the group of Indo-European languages ​​and Arabic belongs to the Semitic group. Russian history likewise warns us against hasty identification of linguistic unity with racial unity. It is well known, for example, that the Scandinavians, who became the ruling class of the Kievan state in the ninth and tenth centuries, quickly assimilated among the local population, adopting the Slavic language. An interesting example of a social group united by culture and language, but built on varying racial elements, is the Russian nobility. Some of the most ancient Russian noble families have their ancestors among the leaders of the Alans and Varangians; others carry Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, German, Swedish, Mongolian, Tatar, Armenian or Georgian blood. All these heterogeneous elements have merged into one since the adoption of the Russian language and Russian culture took place. Similar processes could have taken place in the early period. The Antes, considered by historians of the sixth century AD to be the strongest tribe among the Slavs, were ruled by Iranian clans possibly from the second century AD. In the time of Procopius their language was, however, Slavic.

Thus, recognizing the controversial nature of the issue, we can still assume with all the necessary reservations that the original Slavic tribes belonged mainly to the Caucasian race, which differed in its physical features from the Mongoloid. Each of the three Proto-Slavic tribes had, however. different neighbors and thus subjected to a mixture of various alien ethnic traits. The West Slavic group must have had some relationship with the Baltic (Lithuanian) tribes in the north and with the Germans in the west. The middle Slavic tribe was possibly in close relationship with the Thracian tribes of Transylvania and the Balkans. The eastern group was more open to intermingling with the nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of the steppes - and their name is legion. Tribes of Thracian, Celtic, Iranian, Gothic, Ugric, Turkic, and Mongol origin pursued one another in endless succession. Each had to leave some trace in the country.

Summarizing what has been said, it can be argued that it is precisely some of the original middle and eastern Slavic tribes that can be considered as a group of ancestors of the Russian people. These early Slavs settled mainly on the border of the steppe zone, although some of their units settled more to the north, in the forests, while other groups descended south into the steppes. Agriculture was supposed to be the main occupation of people: those who lived in the forests were engaged in hunting and beekeeping; those who lived in the south were pastoralists. Since there were many fish in the rivers, fishing was also an important means of survival. Thus, the early Eastern Slavs were well acquainted with river life; they made boats by hollowing out tree trunks. Their mastery of ship management allowed them to feel confident when going out into the open sea, when they descended to the shores of the Azov and Black Seas. The diversity of their natural environment and economic conditions led to the early formation of various types of economic and social organization of people. Clan or family communities such as zadrugi were to predominate among the groups whose main occupation was agriculture. Hunting and fishing groups represented a different type of social unit, while others that ventured south into the steppes and were used as warriors by Sarmatian leaders were probably organized into military communes of the late Cossack type.

The territory of the early distribution of the Middle and Eastern Slavs previously coincided with the area that later became known as Ukraine. Around the eighth century AD they spread over a wider area now called European Russia, but perhaps better labeled Western Eurasia, the concept of "Eurasia" bringing the regions of European and Asian Russia together. Western Eurasia can thus be regarded as the first, single ancient and medieval stage of Russian expansion, and Eurasia as a whole as its second and final stage.

In a certain sense, Western Eurasia already in ancient times formed a common geographical basis for the development of the Eastern Slavs, although at that time they actually occupied only its south. Geographically and economically, the South and the North, as now, were interconnected. In order to approach the early history of the Eastern Slavs, we therefore need to study their prehistoric background within a broader geographical framework. Although the population of Western Eurasia was rare in prehistoric times, the country was not a desert. Man lived here for many millennia, or rather tens of thousands of years before the birth of Christ. It was in ancient times that his main occupations developed throughout Eurasia; adapting to the natural conditions of the country, a person created an early economy, and cultural traditions gradually formed to be passed on to his descendants.

Scattered across the Eurasian plains, the settlements of prehistoric man were not isolated from each other. Relations, both peaceful and military, were established between various groups in the primitive "pre-clan period" (prenatal society), according to the terminology of Soviet scientists, and in the period of a more organized tribal life. There were migrations and wars; merchants followed the soldiers. Rivers may have served at this time as the main commercial routes, and it is characteristic that most of the prehistoric settlements discovered to this day by archaeologists are located on the river banks or nearby. The interaction of various groups was not limited to local trade. It is rather striking that already in these ancient times commercial routes of international importance were established, and the tribes of Western Eurasia were thus connected with the adjacent countries.

Those engaged in rural production in the region of the middle Dnieper established contacts with people of similar interests in Transylvania and the Balkans. Commerce moved far to the south and east. Goods of the Caucasian type were brought both to the Dnieper and the Upper Volga regions: the painted pottery of the middle Dnieper region during this period reveals a striking similarity with the pottery of Turkestan, Mesopotamia and China. Just as in a later period, the Black Sea steppes were open to raids by nomadic tribes of Central and Eastern Eurasia. In fact, these steppes were simply a continuation of the Eurasian ones. There is no doubt that long before the arrival of the Scythians, their predecessors used the steppe zone for their migration. It was very important that the steppe road from China to the Black Sea passed through such provinces of an ancient civilization as Iran and the Caucasus, the cultural basis of which was in Mesopotamia. Through the peoples of the steppes, these old centers of culture spread their light far to the north. In the second millennium BC, the inhabitants of the Upper Volga region sharpened their stone axes according to the type of bronze axes of the Caucasians and decorated their clay products with a typical Caucasian pattern. Since the Caucasian culture of this era was influenced by the Hittite civilization, the stereotypes and design of Hittite Asia found their way to northern Russia.

Map 2. Landscape zones of Eurasia

The student of Russian history cannot forget the play of economic and cultural forces that took place on the territory of Russia long before the appearance of Russia proper. It was during this prehistoric period that the "living space" of the Russian people was formed. Some knowledge of this basic background is necessary to understand the main trends in early Russian economic and political history.

Russians are one of the most numerous peoples of the Earth, however, scientists are still arguing about which people can be considered its progenitor. One thing is clear: Russian roots are older than official history suggested.

Normans

The Norman theory of the origin of the Russian nation is for the most part the fruit of the efforts of Swedish historiography, the ideas of which were picked up by Russian science of the 18th-19th centuries. Thus, the Swedish writer of the 16th century Olaus Magnus in his work “History of the Northern Peoples” called Normans not only the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but also the population south of the Baltic Sea, including Lithuanians and Russians.

The chronicler Henrik Brenner was completely sure that the Russians descended from the Swedes. He associated the word "Rus" with the Finnish name of the Swedes "rotzalainen", which in turn came from "Ruslagen" - the name of the coastal regions of the historical province of Sweden Uppland.

The German historian Ludwig Schlozer expressed the opinion that the countdown of "Russian existence" should be based on the calling of the Varangians.

Karl Marx echoes him, noting that as a result of the aggressive campaign of the Rurikovichs, "the winners and the vanquished merged together in Russia faster than in other areas conquered by the Scandinavian barbarians."

However, the candidate of historical sciences Lydia Groth is skeptical of the Norman theory, believing that the Swedish historiographic tradition is "historical fantasies" brought to the point of absurdity.

Venedi

The historian Boris Rybakov, referring to ancient sources, expressed the opinion that the Slavs under the name of the Wends appeared around the 1st century AD as a result of "the contact of the Romans with the tribes of the southern Baltic." Indeed, many Latin authors of the 7th - 8th centuries. Slavs and Wends meant the same people.

However, some sources suggest that the Wends were the direct ancestors of the Russians.

In the language of the Finnish peoples, the memory of the Wends, who have always been identified with the Russians, has been preserved. In particular, the Finnish "Venäläinen" is translated as Russian, the Karelian "Veneä" as Rus, and the Estonian "Venemaa" is Russia.

The writer Sergei Ershov is convinced that the Wends are the Ruses: they began to be called Slavs 400-500 years later than the appearance of the ethnonym "Rus" - in the 6th-7th centuries. n. e. "Venedi-Rus", according to the writer, inhabited the entire territory of modern Poland, up to the mouth of the Elbe, and in the south of their land occupied the limits of the future Kievan Rus. By the 3rd century, the Ruses began to gradually "bud off" from the Wends, forming their own language.

The Slovak scholar Pavel Shafranik finds the term “rusa” in this Proto-Slavic language, meaning, in his opinion, a river. “This root Slavic word, as a common noun, has already remained in use only among Russians in the word channel,” the scientist concludes.

Etruscans

Historians have long been concerned about the fate of the Etruscans, who by the middle of the 1st century BC. e. almost completely disappear from the culture of Rome. Has the rich heritage of the Etruscans sunk into oblivion? The evidence found during the excavations of ancient Etruria allows us to say that it is not.

The nature of the burials, the names of the Etruscans, their traditions reveal common roots with the culture of the Slavs.

The Russian scientist Yegor Klassen, back in the 19th century, suggested using the Old Russian language to translate Etruscan inscriptions. Only since the 1980s. linguists continued the undertakings of the Russian researcher. Since that time, a version has appeared in which the Etruscans began to be considered Proto-Slavs.

Philosopher and political scientist Alexander Dugin does not go into linguistic jungle and understands the word "Etruscan" literally - "this is Russian." Further, he draws symbolic parallels in which he finds something in common between the Capitoline she-wolf, who nursed the founders of Rome, and the gray wolf from Russian fairy tales, who saved children lost in the forest. According to Dugin, the Etruscans gave rise to two branches - the Turkic and Russian peoples. As evidence, he calls the thousand-year cohabitation of the two peoples as part of the Golden Horde, the Russian Empire and the USSR.

Usun

No less curious is the version about the Siberian roots of the Russian people. Thus, the historian Nikolai Novgorodov believes that the Russians were known to the ancient Chinese from "pre-Christian times" under the name "Usun". According to this version, the Usuns eventually moved from Siberia to the west and began to be referred to by the Chinese as "Oruss".

Chinese historians, in order to prove the relationship of the South Siberian people "Usun" and Russians, refer to the descriptions of their neighbors, drawn from ancient sources.

In one of the characteristics, “they are people with blue sunken eyes, a prominent nose, a yellow (red) curly beard, with a long body; a lot of strength, but they like to sleep and when they sleep, they do not immediately wake up.

Note that the Arab scientists of the X-XII centuries. Three Ancient Russias were distinguished - Kuyavia, Slavia and Artania. If Kuyavia was identified by Western European and Russian historians with Kievan Rus, Slavia - with Novgorod Rus, then there was no consensus on the localization of Artania. Novgorodov suggested looking for her in Siberia.

In particular, he refers to the mention in Arabic sources of black sables, which at that time lived only in Siberia. Also, on some medieval geographical maps, the area with the name Arsa (Arta) is placed on the territory of modern Altai in the region of Lake Teletskoye.

Scythians

A large and powerful nation - the Scythians - disappeared into history suddenly: by the 4th century AD, its mention disappears from the annals. However, excavations by Soviet archaeologists carried out on the Dnieper, Bug, Dniester, Don and Kuban showed that the Scythians did not disappear anywhere, but simply became part of another cultural era.

At one time, Lomonosov wrote that among the "ancient ancestors of the current Russian people, the Scythians are not the last part."

The point of view of the great scientist is shared by many modern historians. In particular, a specialist in the field of historical anthropology, Valery Alekseev, noted that the physical predecessor of the Russian type is the Scythian-Sarmatian branch.

The similarity between Russians and Scythians can be seen in the surviving images, as well as in the descriptions of the chroniclers. The appearance of the Scythians was characterized by rather high stature, a slender and strong physique, light eyes and light brown hair.

Historian and archaeologist Pavel Shults completes the picture of the Scythian-Russian identity, noting that “in the living quarters of the Scythian capital of Crimea, Naples, beautiful plates of carved bone were found, which vividly resemble Russian woodcarving in their character.”

"Russian Khaganate"

Writers Sergei Buntovsky and Maxim Kalashnikov express the idea that the ancestral home of the Russian ethnos was the so-called "Russian Khaganate", where representatives of different peoples assimilated. In their opinion, the archaeological evidence presents the civilization of the ancient kaganate as a mixture of the cultures of the Slavs, Turks and Alans.

Researchers suggest that due to the predominance of the Alans from the 6th to the 8th centuries, a merger of Iranian and Slavic blood took place within the framework of the “Russian Khaganate”.

However, other nationalities living on the territory of the Kaganate - Bulgars, Yases and Scandinavians - also left their own, albeit smaller, mark in the Russian ancestry.

The author of the book "Secrets of the Russian Khaganate" Elena Galkina sees the headwaters of the Don River, Seversky Donets and Oskol as the center of the state and identifies it with the Saltov-Mayatskaya archaeological culture. Donetsk historian and publicist Aleksey Ivanov defines the boundaries of the kaganate by the current south-east of Ukraine, outlining them from the east by the Don, and from the west by Kiev.

Galkin finds confirmation of the version of the existence of the "Russian Khaganate" in Byzantine, Muslim and Western sources of the 9th century. In her opinion, after the defeat of the kaganate by the Hungarians, the terms "Rus" and "Rus" moved from the "Rus-Alans" (Roksolans) to the Slavic population of the Middle Dnieper.

Slavs are one of the indigenous inhabitants of Eastern Europe, but they are divided into three large groups: eastern, western and southern, each of these communities has similar features of culture and language.

And the Russian people - part of this large community - came from along with the Ukrainians and Belarusians. So why the Russians were called Russians, how and under what conditions this happened. We will try to find answers to these questions in this article.

Primary ethnogenesis

So, let's make a journey into the depths of history, or rather, at the moment when this IV-III millennium BC begins to take shape.

It was then that the ethnic demarcation of the European peoples took place. The Slavic mass stands out from the general environment. It was also not homogeneous, despite the similarity of languages, otherwise the Slavic peoples are quite different, this applies even to the anthropological type.

This is not surprising, since they mixed with different tribes, such a result was obtained with a common origin.

Initially, the Slavs and their language occupied a very limited territory. According to scientists, it was localized in the region of the middle reaches of the Danube, only later did the Slavs settle in the regions of modern Poland and Ukraine. Belarus and southern Russia.

Range expansion

The further expansion of the Slavs gives us an answer to the origin of the Russian people. In the IV-III centuries BC, the Slavic masses shifted to central Europe and occupied the Oder and Elbe basins.

At this stage, it is still impossible to speak of any clear distinction within the Slavic population. The greatest changes in the ethnic and territorial demarcation are made by the Hun invasion. Already by the fifth century AD, the Slavs appeared in the forest-steppes of modern Ukraine and to the south in the Don region.

Here they successfully assimilate the few Iranian tribes and found settlements, one of which is Kyiv. However, numerous toponyms and hydronyms remain from the former owners of the lands, which led to the conclusion that the Slavs appeared in these places around the above period.

At this moment, there is a rapid growth of the Slavic population, which led to the emergence of a large inter-tribal association - the Antsky Union, it is from its midst that the Russians appear. The history of the origin of this people is closely connected with the first prototype of the state.

The first mention of Russian

From the fifth to the eighth century, there is a continuous struggle between the Eastern Slavs and nomadic tribes, however, despite the enmity, these peoples will be forced to coexist in the future.

By this period, the Slavs had formed 15 large inter-tribal unions, the most developed of which were the glade and the Slavs who lived in the area of ​​Lake Ilmen. The strengthening of the Slavs led to the fact that they appear in the possessions of Byzantium, it is from there that the first information about the Russians and dews comes.

That is why the Russians were called Russians, this is a derivative of the ethnonym that the Byzantines and other peoples around them gave them. There were other names close in transcription - Rusyns, Rus.

During this chronological period, an active process of formation of statehood was going on, moreover, there were two centers of this process - one in Kyiv, the other in Novgorod. But both bore the same name - Rus'.

Why are Russians called Russians

So why did the ethnonym "Russians" appear both in the Dnieper region and in the northwest? After the great migration of peoples, the Slavs occupied vast areas of the Center and East of Europe.

Among these numerous tribes there are the names of Russ, Ruthenians, Rutens, Rugs. Suffice it to recall that Rusyn has survived to our time. But why this particular word?

The answer is very simple, in the language of the Slavs the word "fair-haired" meant fair-haired or just light-haired, and the Slavs, according to the anthropological type, looked exactly like that. A group of Slavs who originally lived on the Danube, when moving to the Dnieper banks, also brought this name.

From there the terminology and the origin of "Russian" originate, the Russians turn into Russians over time. This part of the Eastern Slavs settles in the area of ​​modern Kyiv and adjacent territories. And they bring this name here, and since they have settled here, the ethnonym has also settled down, over time it has only slightly changed.

The emergence of Russian statehood

Another part of the Russians occupied the lands along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, here they drove the Germans and the Balts to the west, and they themselves gradually moved to the northwest, this group of Eastern Slavs already had princes and a squad.

And practically stood one step away from the creation of the state. Although there is a version about the northern European origin of the term "Rus" and it is connected with the Norman theory, according to which the Varangians brought statehood to the Slavs, this term denoted the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but there is no evidence for this.

The Baltic Slavs moved to the area of ​​Lake Ilmen, and from there to the east. Therefore, by the ninth century, two Slavic centers bear the name of Rus, and they are destined to become rivals in the struggle for dominance, this is what gives the new people their origin. A Russian person is a concept that originally denoted all the Eastern Slavs who occupied the territories of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The history of the Russian people at its very beginning

As mentioned above, a sharp rivalry arises between Kiev and Novgorod at the end of the ninth century. The reason for this was the acceleration of socio-economic development and the need to create a single state.

In this battle, the northerners won. In 882, Prince Oleg of Novgorod gathered a large army and went on a campaign against Kyiv, but he failed to take the city by force. Then he went to the trick and passed off his boats as a merchant caravan, taking advantage of the effect of surprise, he killed the Kyiv princes and took the Kiev throne, declaring himself the Grand Duke.

This is how the ancient Russian state appears with a single supreme ruler, taxes, a squad and a judicial system. And Oleg becomes the founder of those who ruled in Rus'-Russia until the 16th century.

It was then that the history of our country and its largest people begins. The fact is that the Russians, the history of the origin of this people, are inextricably linked with the Ukrainians and Belarusians, who are the closest ethnic relatives. And only in the post-Mongolian period, the fragmentation of a single basis was indicated, as a result of which new ethnonyms (Ukrainians and Belarusians) appeared, characterizing the new state of affairs. Now it is clear why the Russians were called Russians.

Historians have been trying to figure out who the Russians are and where they came from for more than a hundred years, but so far no one has found a single correct answer to this question. There are dozens of the most plausible theories, but each of them has its drawbacks, weaknesses. It is quite possible that we still have not found out where the ancestral home of the Slavs and the Russian people is, so that everyone can believe in what he considers most likely.

Where did the Russians come from?

It's no secret that the Russians came from the Slavs, but where they came from, these our ancestors, is a mystery.

In this regard, a number of interesting theories are put forward:

1. Norman.
2. Scythian.
3. Danube.
4. Autochthonous.
5. Hellenthal.

Briefly about each theory:

• Everyone heard about the first theory, the Scandinavian leaders came to us from northern lands , brought a squad and began to rule. But it is difficult to believe that the tribes living in this territory did not have their own state structure, culture and customs.
• Consider yourself descendants Scythians- one of the most pleasant options. Yet ancient Greek historians gave them too flattering a description. The veracity of this idea can also be doubted, especially if you approach the issue from the point of view of genetics.
• There is an assumption that all Slavic tribes came from across the Danube, from Europe. It happened about one and a half thousand years ago, and since then the Slavs have firmly entrenched themselves in new territories and actively explored the North and East.
• According to fourth theory, our distant ancestors were the "indigenous" inhabitants of those territories in which we live today. Where they were born, they came in handy there.
• And here Hellenthal made an interesting hypothesis. According to this scientist, for more than 4 thousand years, part of the tribes from the territory of modern Germany and Poland moved to Eastern Europe. And 3 thousand years ago there was a migration of the population from Altai, a mixture of these two groups led to the appearance of the Slavs, and later Russians.

Where did Russian music originate?

With music, everything is much easier. A huge number of scattered tribes lived on the territory of modern Russia, each of which sought to fill its life with music, fill solemn events with it. Folk music is at least a thousand years old and includes:

• Wedding songs.
• Dance.
• Ritual.
• Calendar.
• Lyrical.

It is not for nothing that folk art is called oral, because it was passed from mouth to mouth, rarely when works were recorded in writing.

So there are not so many sources that have come down to us from ancient times. By the number of songs and musical instruments, one can only indirectly conclude that our ancestors were musical people.

They used sonorous melodies not only to celebrate celebrations, but also to brighten up everyday life.

Where did the Russian language come from?

But in the history of the Russian language there are three stages:

Even in our time, new words appear, new rules are introduced, and completely new features are indicated.

The Russian language is not a kind of frozen substance, it changes according to modern trends. But the basis of the language was laid many centuries ago and it does not change. If two Russian people from the 17th and 21st centuries met now, they would not be able to explain normally.

But at the same time, our contemporary would have caught the essence of the ancestor's statements, but the "traveler from the past" would have too many problems with understanding. Now there are too many foreign words in the Russian language, and even without this, it has changed a lot over the past centuries.

Modern studies of the problem

Now pseudo-scientific articles regarding the origin of the Slavs have come into fashion. And they raise not only the topic of a common ancestor, but in all seriousness, "researchers" are trying to find the most "worthy" descendant. In fact:

• The process of nation-formation started and went full steam ahead just four centuries ago.
• Prior to this, self-identification was based on belonging to a particular territory, religion or community.
• Neighbors have always had a very similar culture, one religion and called themselves almost the same, with slight differences.
• Our ancestors probably would not have understood the enmity and the current degree of tension.
• They were absolutely not worried about the question of the dignity or not of the dignity of their descendants; in harsh times, people faced more pressing problems. Yes, even elementary physical survival.

Unfortunately, these simple facts are now ignored by many. One can only hope that in their work all researchers will rely on historical sources, and not write what comes into their heads. It's not hard to follow fashion, but the value of such materials tends to zero.

Common ancestral home of Russian people

Until now, the origin of Russians and all Slavs causes fierce debate:

1. Most likely, we did not originate in this territory, but came from somewhere.
2. Western Europe, the mouth of the Danube and the region of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea are named as the starting point of migration.
3. It is possible that the Slavs were formed as a result of a mixture of two or more groups that massively migrated towards each other or in the same direction.
4. It is likely that our distant ancestors were Indo-Europeans.
5. Ancient Roman helmets and other signs of the West are found on the territory of modern Russia, so our ancestors were familiar with Europe thousands of years ago. The only question is who "went to visit" whom.
6. Written sources of antiquity give conflicting information, but they agree on one thing - initially the Slavs came from somewhere in the West and moved to the East, developing new lands.

It would be nice to get a definitive answer to the question and find out where the very “small Motherland” of the whole people is located. But for now, we have to make do with these theories.

Someday we will be able to find out who the Russians are and where they came from. But one should not hope that scientists will name any one village, rather it will be about a territory that stretches over tens of thousands of square kilometers.

Video about the appearance of the Russians

In this video, historian Anatoly Klesov will tell you where, in his opinion, the Russians came from and who they are, what ancient race they belong to, what peoples they formed from: