finno- Ugric peoples -

After Slavic and Turkic, this group of peoples is the third largest among all peoples Russia . Of the 25 million Finno-Ugric more than 3 million planets now live on territories Russia. In our country they are represented by 16 peoples, five of which have their own national-state, and two - national-territorial formations. The rest are dispersed throughout the country.

According to the 1989 census, in Russia there were 3184317 representatives Finno-Ugric peoples. Of these, the number of Mordovians was 1072939 people, Udmurts - 714833, Mari- 643698, Komi - 336309, Komi - Permyaks - 147269, Karelians - 124921, Khanty - 22283, Vepsians - 12142, Mansi- 8279, Izhorians - 449. In addition, 46390 Estonians, 47102 Finns, 1835 Saami, 5742 Hungarians, other representatives of the small Finno-Ugric peoples and ethnic groups such as Setos, Livs, vod and etc.

significant portion Finno-Ugric lives in "titular" subjects Federations : republics Karelia, Komi, Mari El, Mordovia, Udmurt Republic, Komi-Perm Autonomous Okrug, Khanty- Mansi autonomous region. There are diasporas in Vologda, Kirovskaya , Leningrad , Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Perm, Pskov, Samara, Saratov , Sverdlovsk, Tverskoy, Tomsk , Ulyanovsk regions, as well as in the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets autonomous regions, in the republics Bashkortostan , Tatarstan , Chuvashia .

Russian finno- Ugric peoples, except for the Komi-Permyaks, have one thing in common: living in an ethnically mixed environment, where they are a minority. For their ethnocultural, linguistic and social development, such factors as the compactness of settlement and the share in national administrative formations are also important.

Subjects of the Federation in which finno- Ugric peoples, federal bodies authorities, pay much attention to the development of cultures and languages ​​of these peoples. Laws on culture, in a number of republics - about languages ​​(Republics of Komi, Mari El), in other republics, draft laws on languages ​​are under preparation. Regional programs for the national-cultural development of peoples have been prepared and are being implemented, in which specific measures on issues of national culture, education, and languages ​​occupy a significant place.

The history of the Finno-Ugric peoples and languages ​​goes back many millennia. The process of formation of modern Finnish, Ugric and Samoyedic peoples was very complicated. The real name of the Finno-Ugric or Finno-Ugric family of languages ​​was replaced by the Ural one, since Samoyedic languages ​​were discovered and proved to belong to this family.

The Uralic language family is divided into the Ugric branch, which includes the Hungarian, Khanty and Mansi languages ​​(the latter two are combined under the general name "Ob-Ugric languages"), into the Finno-Perm branch, which combines the Permian languages ​​(Komi, Komi- Permyak and Udmurt), the Volga languages ​​(Mari and Mordovian), the Baltic-Finnish language group (Karelian, Finnish, Estonian, as well as the languages ​​of Veps, Vodi, Izhora, Livs), Saami and Samoyedic languages, within which the northern branch is distinguished (Nganasan , Nenets, Enets languages) and the southern branch (Selkup).

The number of peoples who speak the Uralic languages ​​is about 23 - 24 million people. The Ural peoples occupy a vast territory that stretches from Scandinavia to the Taimyr Peninsula, with the exception of the Hungarians, who, by the will of fate, found themselves aloof from other Ural peoples - in the Carpatho-Danube region.

Most of the Uralic peoples live in Russia, with the exception of the Hungarians, Finns and Estonians. The most numerous are the Hungarians (more than 15 million people). The Finns are the second largest people (about 5 million people). There are about a million Estonians. On the territory of Russia (according to the 2002 census) live Mordovians (843,350 people), Udmurts (636,906 people), Maris (604,298 people), Komi-Zyryans (293,406 people), Komi-Permyaks (125,235 people), Karelians (93,344 people) , Veps (8240 people), Khanty (28678 people), Mansi (11432 people), Izhora (327 people), Vod (73 people), as well as Finns, Hungarians, Estonians, Saami. At present, Mordvins, Maris, Udmurts, Komi-Zyrians, Karelians have their own national-state formations, which are republics within the Russian Federation.

Komi-Permyaks live on the territory of the Komi-Permyatsky District of the Perm Territory, Khanty and Mansi - Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra of the Tyumen Region. Veps live in Karelia, in the north-east of the Leningrad region and in the north-western part of the Vologda regions, the Saami live in the Murmansk region, in the city of St. Petersburg, the Arkhangelsk region and Karelia, the Izhora live in the Leningrad region, the city of St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia . Vod - in the Leningrad region, in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia

Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia

Finno-Ugric peoples

Documents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament:

The position of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples. Report. Committee for Culture, Science and Education. Speaker: Katrin Saks, Estonia, Socialist Group (Doc. 11087, October 26, 2006): http://www.mari.ee/eng/scien/topical/Katrin_Saks_Report.html

Resolution 1171 (1989). Cultures of the Ural national minorities in danger (in English): http://www.suri.ee/doc/reso_1171.html

In a statement signed by an employee of the Institute of Human Rights, a linguist, Professor Mart Rannut, the institute notes that the diversity of nationalities and cultures is a world wealth, and therefore it is necessary to stop the forced assimilation of Finno-Ugric speaking national minorities carried out by officials and the educational and administrative system of Russia.

“Until now, the participation of Finno-Ugric peoples in public life has been limited to folk art, the state funding of which is carried out according to not entirely clear criteria, which allows Russian officials to do everything on their own, without taking into account the needs of the national minorities themselves,” the institute reports.

The Institute draws attention to the fact that in 2009 the opportunity to take the state exam in the Finno-Ugric languages ​​was eliminated; in addition, national minorities do not have the opportunity to participate in decision-making concerning themselves; there is also no legislative basis for the study of national minority languages ​​and their use in public life.

“Local toponyms are very rarely used in the Finno-Ugric territories, in addition, conditions for the development and viability of the linguistic environment of national minorities have not been created in cities. The share of television and radio broadcasts in national minority languages ​​is decreasing, which leads to a forced change of language in many areas of life.

The Russian Federation has so far consistently prevented national minorities from using alphabets other than Cyrillic, although this is one of the fundamental rights of national minorities,” the statement says.

The Institute emphasizes that over the past ten years the Finno-Ugric population of Russia has decreased by almost a third. Discrimination against national minorities and their languages ​​continues, and interethnic hatred and intolerance are being fomented.

"The above direct violations of human rights have been documented by many international human rights organizations, including in the report of the Council of Europe," the statement says.

The Institute of Human Rights calls on the Russian Federation to respect the rights of national minorities, including the rights of the Finno-Ugric peoples, and to comply with the obligations assumed under international treaties in this area.

===========================================================================

I told you 3 fantastic stories, and this is not science fiction, but fantasy (from English. fantasy- "fantasy"), science fiction[English] science fiction< science - наука, fiction>- fiction; fiction, fantasy]. None of these countries not only sent their troops to the territory of the Russian Federation, but did not even plan to do so, although they have exactly the same reasons for this as Russia has to send troops to the territory of sovereign Ukraine.

I want to ask questions to the Russian-speaking readers of "7x7 Komi", who, like myself, do not belong to the indigenous nationality of our Republic, have lived in it for a long time, and many of them all their lives: How many of us know the Komi language? Do we have a desire to know the language of the people on whose land we live, their customs and culture? Why? Why in any of the national republics of the Russian Federation, knowledge of the Russian language is mandatory for all residents of this republic, including for the indigenous population, and knowledge of the language of the indigenous population is not mandatory for its non-indigenous population? Isn't this a manifestation of Russian imperial thinking? Why does any "guest worker" who comes to any place in the Russian Federation try to master the Russian (but not the local) language? Why does the Russian-speaking population of Crimea, which has been part of Ukraine for 60 years, consider it a violation of their rights to know its state language, and the population of Western Ukraine, after its entry into the USSR (let me remind you that this "entry" took place when the USSR was an ally of Hitler's Germany) was obliged learn and know Russian? Why does any Russian who has moved for permanent residence to any country in the non-post-Soviet space consider it natural to master the language of this country first of all, but does not think so when living in the former Soviet republics? Why does Russia still consider them, including Ukraine, to be its fiefdom, to which it can dictate its terms from a position of strength?

The names of the peoples included in the Finno-Ugric language group will occupy almost all letters of the alphabet. The inhabitants of Mari El, the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, Karelia, Udmurtia and other regions of Russia are very different and yet have something in common. We tell.

The Finno-Ugric peoples are not the largest, but rather large in terms of the number of peoples, a language group. Most of the peoples live partially or completely on the territory of Russia. There are hundreds of thousands of some (Mordovians, Maris, Udmurts), some can be counted on the fingers (in 2002, only 73 people were registered in Russia, calling themselves Vod). However, most of the Finno-Ugric speakers live outside of Russia. First of all, these are Hungarians (about 14.5 million people), Finns (about 6 million) and Estonians (about a million).

Who are the Finno-Ugrians

The largest variety of Finno-Ugric peoples is represented in our country. This is primarily the Volga-Finnish subgroup (Mordovians and Mari), the Permian subgroup (Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks and Komi-Zyryans) and the Ob subgroup (Khanty and Mansi). Also in Russia there are almost all representatives of the Baltic-Finnish subgroup (Ingrians, Setos, Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Vodians and Sami).

The ancient Russian chronicles preserved the names of three more peoples that have not survived to our time and, apparently, are completely assimilated by the Russian population: the Chud, who lived along the banks of the Onega and the Northern Dvina, the Merya - in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka, and the Murom - in the Oka basin.

Also, the archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Dalnekonstantinovsky Museum of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the University of Nizhny Novgorod is now studying in detail another ethnic subgroup of the Mordovians that disappeared quite recently - the Teryukhans, who lived in the south of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The most numerous Finno-Ugric peoples have their own republics and autonomous regions within Russia - the republics of Mordovia, Mari El, Udmurtia, Karelia, Komi and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug).

Where live

Initially living in the Urals and Western Siberia, the Finno-Ugric peoples eventually settled to the west and north of their ancestral lands - up to modern Estonia and Hungary. At the moment, there are four main areas of their settlement:

• Scandinavian, Kola Peninsula and Baltic;
• the middle reaches of the Volga and the lower reaches of the Kama;
• Northern Urals and Northern Ob region;
• Hungary.

However, over time, the borders of the settlement of the Finno-Ugric peoples become less and less clear. This is especially evident in the last 50 years, and this process is associated with labor migration both within the country (from the countryside to cities) and interstate (especially after the creation of the European Union).

Languages ​​and anbur

The language is actually one of the main signs of this community, otherwise, simply by appearance, it can hardly be said that the Hungarians, Estonians and Mansi are relatives. In total, there are about 35 Finno-Ugric languages, divided into only two sub-branches:

• Ugric - Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi;
• Finno-Permian - all the rest, including the dead Murom, Meryan, Meshchersky, Kemi-Sami and the Akkala language.

According to researchers and linguists, all modern Finno-Ugric languages ​​had a common ancestor, named for the linguistic classification of the Proto-Finno-Ugric language. The oldest known written monument (the end of the 12th century) is the so-called "Tomb Speech and Prayer", which is written in Latin in Old Hungarian.

We will be more interested in the so-called Anbur - ancient Permian writing, which was used on the territory of Perm the Great in the XIV-XVII centuries by the peoples inhabiting it: Komi-Permyaks, Komi-Zyryans and Russians. It was created by the Russian Orthodox missionary, Ustyuzhan Stefan of Perm in 1372 on the basis of the Russian, Greek alphabets and tamga - runic Perm symbols.

Anbur was necessary for the Muscovites to communicate with their new neighbors in the east and northeast, since the Muscovite state was systematically and fairly quickly expanding in the direction as usual, baptizing new citizens

Anbur was necessary for the Muscovites to communicate with their new neighbors in the east and northeast, since the Muscovite state was systematically and rather quickly expanding in the direction, as usual, baptizing new citizens. The latter, by the way, were not particularly opposed (if we are talking about Permians and Zyryans). However, with the gradual expansion of the Moscow principality and the inclusion of the whole of Perm, the Great Anbur is completely replaced by the Russian alphabet, since, in general, all literate people in those places already speak Russian. In the 15th-16th centuries, this writing was still used in some places, but already as a secret script - this is a kind of cipher, which is familiar to a very limited number of people. By the 17th century, the anbur was completely out of circulation.

Finno-Ugric holidays and customs

At present, the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples are Christians. The Russians are Orthodox, the Hungarians are mostly Catholics, the Baltic peoples are Protestants. However, in Russia there are many Finno-Ugric Muslims. Also recently, traditional beliefs have been revived: shamanism, animism and the cult of ancestors.

As is usually the case during Christianization, the local holiday calendar was timed to coincide with the church calendar, churches and chapels were erected on the site of sacred groves, and the cult of locally revered saints was introduced.

Among the Khanty, who are mainly engaged in fishing, “fish” gods were more revered, but among the Mansi, who are mainly engaged in hunting, various forest animals (bear, elk) were revered. That is, all nations prioritized depending on their needs. Religion was quite utilitarian. If the sacrifices made to some idol had no effect, then the same Mansi could easily flog him with a whip

The pre-Christian religion of the Finno-Ugric peoples was polytheistic - there was a supreme god (usually the god of heaven), as well as a galaxy of “smaller” gods: the sun, earth, water, fertility ... All nations had different names for the gods: in the case of the supreme deity, god the sky at Finns called Yumala, Estonians— Taevataat, at Mari— Yumo.

And, for example, Khanty, engaged mainly in fishing, "fish" gods were more revered, but among Mansi engaged mainly in hunting - various forest animals (bear, elk). That is, all nations prioritized depending on their needs. Religion was quite utilitarian. If the sacrifices made to some idol had no effect, then his same Mansi could easily be whipped.

Also, until now, some of the Finno-Ugric peoples practice dressing up as animal masks during the holidays, which also takes us back to the times of totemism.

At Mordovians, engaged mainly in agriculture, the cult of plants is highly developed - the ritual significance of bread and porridge, which were mandatory in almost all rituals, is still great. The traditional holidays of the Mordovians are also associated with agriculture: Ozim-purya - a prayer for harvesting bread on September 15, a week later for Ozim-purya, the Keremet molyans, Kaldaz-Ozks, Velima-biva (worldly beer) are celebrated near Kazanskaya.

Mari celebrate U Ii Payrem (New Year) from December 31 to January 1. Shortly before this, Shorykyol (Christmas) is celebrated. Shorykyol is also called "sheep's leg". This is because on this day the girls went from house to house and always went into the sheepfolds and pulled the sheep by the legs - this was supposed to ensure well-being in the household and family. Shorykyol is one of the most famous Mari holidays. It is celebrated during the winter solstice (from December 22) after the new moon.

Roshto (Christmas) is also celebrated, accompanied by a procession of mummers led by the main characters - Vasli kuva-kugyz and Shorykyol kuva-kugyz.

In the same way, almost all local traditional holidays are timed to coincide with church ones.

It should also be noted that it was the Mari who gave a strong rebuff to Christian missionaries and still visit sacred groves and sacred trees on traditional holidays, conducting rituals there.

At Udmurts traditional holidays were also timed to coincide with church, as well as agricultural work and the days of the winter and summer solstices, spring and autumn equinoxes.

For Finns the most important are Christmas (as for decent Christians) and Midsummer (Juhannus). Yuhannus in Finland is the holiday of Ivan Kupala in Rus'. As in Russia, the Finns believe that this is a holiday in honor of John the Baptist, but it is immediately clear that this is a pagan holiday that could not eradicate itself, and the church found a compromise. Like ours, on Ivan's Day, young people jumped over the fire, and the girls let the wreaths float on the water - whoever catches the wreath will be the groom.

This day is also revered Estonians.

legion media

The rite of karsikko is very interesting. Karelians and Finns. Karsikko is a specially chopped or felled tree (necessarily coniferous). The rite can be associated with almost any significant event: a wedding, the death of an important and respected person, a good hunt.

Depending on the situation, the tree was chopped down or all its branches were cut off completely. They could leave one branch or only the top. All this was decided on an individual basis, known only to the performer of the ritual. After the ceremony, the tree was watched. If his condition did not worsen and the tree continued to grow, this meant happiness. If not, grief and misfortune.

Where you can get acquainted with the life and history of the Finno-Ugric peoples

Seto: Museum-estate of the people of Seto in the village of Sigovo http://www.museum-izborsk.ru/ru/page/sigovo

Vepsians: Vepsian Forest Natural Park, as well as

Lyantor Khanty Ethnographic Museum http://www.museum.ru/M2228

Komi: Finno-Ugric Cultural Center of the Komi Republic http://zyrians.foto11.com/fucenter

Karely: Center for National Cultures and Folk Art

• Toponym (from the Greek "topos" - "place" and "onyma" - "name") - a geographical name.
• Russian historian of the 18th century. V. N. Tatishchev wrote that the Udmurts (formerly they were called votyaks) perform their prayers “under some good tree, but not under a pine and spruce, which have no leaf or fruit, but aspen is revered as a cursed tree ... ".

Considering the geographical map of Russia, one can notice that in the basins of the Middle Volga and Kama, the names of rivers ending in "va" and "ga" are common: Sosva, Izva, Kokshaga, Vetluga, etc. Finno-Ugrians live in those places, and in translation from their languages ​​"va" and "ga" mean "river", "moisture", "wet place", "water". However, Finno-Ugric toponyms are found not only where these peoples make up a significant part of the population, form republics and national districts. Their distribution area is much wider: it covers the European north of Russia and part of the central regions. There are many examples: the ancient Russian cities of Kostroma and Murom; rivers Yakhroma, Iksha in the Moscow region; the village of Verkola in Arkhangelsk, etc.

Some researchers consider Finno-Ugric in origin even such familiar words as "Moscow" and "Ryazan". Scientists believe that Finno-Ugric tribes once lived in these places, and now ancient names keep their memory.

WHO ARE THE FINNO-UGRI

The Finns are the people inhabiting Finland, neighboring Russia (in Finnish, "Suomi"), and the Hungarians were called Ugrians in ancient Russian chronicles. But in Russia there are no Hungarians and very few Finns, but there are peoples who speak languages ​​related to Finnish or Hungarian. These peoples are called Finno-Ugric. Depending on the degree of proximity of languages, scientists divide the Finno-Ugric into five subgroups. The first, Baltic-Finnish, includes Finns, Izhors, Vods, Vepsians, Karelians, Estonians and Livs. The two largest peoples of this subgroup - Finns and Estonians - live mainly outside our country. In Russia, Finns can be found in Karelia, the Leningrad region and in St. Petersburg; Estonians - in Siberia, the Volga region and in the Leningrad region. A small group of Estonians - Setos - lives in the Pechora district of the Pskov region. By religion, many Finns and Estonians are Protestants (usually Lutherans), Setos are Orthodox. The small people of the Veps live in small groups in Karelia, the Leningrad region and in the north-west of the Vologda region, and the Vod (there are less than 100 people left!) - in the Leningrad region. Both Vepsians and Vods are Orthodox. Orthodoxy is also practiced by the Izhors. There are 449 of them in Russia (in the Leningrad region), and about the same number in Estonia. The Vepsians and Izhors have preserved their languages ​​(they even have dialects) and use them in everyday communication. The Votic language has disappeared.

The largest Baltic-Finnish people of Russia are the Karelians. They live in the Republic of Karelia, as well as in the Tver, Leningrad, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions. In everyday life, Karelians speak three dialects: Karelian proper, Ludikov and Livvik, and their literary language is Finnish. It publishes newspapers, magazines, and the Department of Finnish Language and Literature operates at the Faculty of Philology of Petrozavodsk University. Karelians also know Russian.

The second subgroup is made up of the Saami, or Lapps. Their main part is settled in Northern Scandinavia, and in Russia the Saami are the inhabitants of the Kola Peninsula. According to most experts, the ancestors of this people once occupied a much larger territory, but over time they were pushed to the north. Then they lost their language and learned one of the Finnish dialects. The Saami are good reindeer herders (nomads in the recent past), fishermen and hunters. In Russia they profess Orthodoxy.

The third, Volga-Finnish, subgroup includes the Mari and Mordovians. Mordva is the indigenous population of the Republic of Mordovia, but a significant part of this people lives throughout Russia - in the Samara, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Ulyanovsk regions, in the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, in Chuvashia, etc. Even before joining in the 16th century. Mordovian lands to Russia, the Mordovians got their own nobility - "inyazors", "otsyazors", i.e. "masters of the land". The Inyazors were the first to be baptized, quickly became Russified, and later their descendants made up an element in the Russian nobility a little less than those from the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. Mordva is divided into Erzya and Moksha; each of the ethnographic groups has a written literary language - Erzya and Moksha. Mordovians are Orthodox by religion; they have always been considered the most Christianized people of the Volga region.

Mari live mainly in the Republic of Mari El, as well as in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Sverdlovsk and Perm regions. It is generally accepted that this people has two literary languages ​​- Meadow-Eastern and Mountain Mari. However, not all philologists share this opinion.

More ethnographers of the 19th century. noted the unusually high level of national self-consciousness of the Mari. They stubbornly resisted joining Russia and being baptized, and until 1917 the authorities forbade them to live in cities and engage in crafts and trade.

The fourth, Permian, subgroup includes the Komi proper, the Komi-Permyaks and the Udmurts. Komi (in the past they were called Zyryans) form the indigenous population of the Komi Republic, but also live in the Sverdlovsk, Murmansk, Omsk regions, in the Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrugs. Their primary occupations are farming and hunting. But, unlike most other Finno-Ugric peoples, there have long been many merchants and entrepreneurs among them. Even before October 1917. Komi in terms of literacy (in Russian) approached the most educated peoples of Russia - Russian Germans and Jews. Today, 16.7% of Komi work in agriculture, but 44.5% in industry, and 15% in education, science, and culture. Part of the Komi - the Izhemtsy - mastered reindeer breeding and became the largest reindeer herders in the European north. Komi Orthodox (partly Old Believers).

Komi-Permyaks are very close in language to the Zyryans. More than half of these people live in the Komi-Perm Autonomous Okrug, and the rest - in the Perm region. Permians are mostly peasants and hunters, but throughout their history they have been factory serfs in the Ural factories, and barge haulers on the Kama and Volga. By religion, the Komi-Permyaks are Orthodox.

Udmurts are mostly concentrated in the Udmurt Republic, where they make up about 1/3 of the population. Small groups of Udmurts live in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, the Republic of Mari El, in the Perm, Kirov, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk regions. The traditional occupation is agriculture. In cities, they most often forget their native language and customs. Perhaps that is why only 70% of Udmurts, mostly residents of rural areas, consider the Udmurt language their native language. Udmurts are Orthodox, but many of them (including the baptized) adhere to traditional beliefs - they worship pagan gods, deities, spirits.

The fifth, Ugric, subgroup includes Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi. "Ugrs" in Russian chronicles were called Hungarians, and "Ugra" - Ob Ugrians, i.e. Khanty and Mansi. Although the Northern Urals and the lower reaches of the Ob, where the Khanty and Mansi live, are located thousands of kilometers from the Danube, on the banks of which the Hungarians created their state, these peoples are the closest relatives. Khanty and Mansi belong to the small peoples of the North. The Mansi live mainly in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, and the Khanty live in the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, Tomsk Region. Mansi are primarily hunters, then fishermen, reindeer herders. The Khanty, on the contrary, were first fishermen, and then hunters and reindeer herders. Both of them profess Orthodoxy, but they have not forgotten the ancient faith. The traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians was greatly damaged by the industrial development of their region: many hunting grounds disappeared, rivers were polluted.

Old Russian chronicles preserved the names of the Finno-Ugric tribes, now disappeared - Chud, Merya, Muroma. Merya in the 1st millennium AD. e. lived in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka, and at the turn of the I and II millennia merged with the Eastern Slavs. There is an assumption that the modern Mari are the descendants of this tribe. Murom in the 1st millennium BC. e. lived in the Oka basin, and by the XII century. n. e. mixed with the Eastern Slavs. Modern researchers consider the Finnish tribes who lived in antiquity along the banks of the Onega and the Northern Dvina to be a miracle. It is possible that they are the ancestors of the Estonians.

WHERE THE FINNO-UGRIANS LIVED AND WHERE THEY LIVE

Most researchers agree that the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples was located on the border of Europe and Asia, in the areas between the Volga and Kama and in the Urals. It was there in the IV-III millennium BC. e. a community of tribes arose, related in language and close in origin. KI millennium AD e. the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples settled as far as the Baltic and Northern Scandinavia. They occupied a vast territory covered with forests - almost the entire northern part of present-day European Russia to the Kama in the south.

Excavations show that the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples belonged to the Uralic race: their appearance has mixed Caucasoid and Mongoloid features (wide cheekbones, often a Mongolian section of the eye). Moving west, they mixed with Caucasians. As a result, in some peoples descended from the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples, Mongoloid signs began to smooth out and disappear. Now the "Ural" features are characteristic to one degree or another of all the Finnish peoples of Russia: medium height, broad face, nose, called "snub-nosed", very blond hair, a sparse beard. But in different peoples, these features manifest themselves in different ways. For example, the Mordvin-Erzya are tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed, and the Mordvin-Moksha are both shorter in stature and have a wider face, and their hair is darker. The Mari and Udmurts often have eyes with the so-called Mongolian fold - epicanthus, very wide cheekbones, and a thin beard. But at the same time (the Ural race!) Fair and red hair, blue and gray eyes. The Mongolian fold is sometimes found among Estonians, and among Vodi, and among Izhorians, and among Karelians. Komi are different: in those places where there are mixed marriages with the Nenets, they are black-haired and braced; others are more like Scandinavians, with slightly wider faces.

The Finno-Ugric peoples were engaged in agriculture (in order to fertilize the soil with ashes, they burned out parts of the forest), hunting and fishing. Their settlements were far apart. Perhaps for this reason they did not create states anywhere and began to be part of neighboring organized and constantly expanding powers. One of the first mentions of the Finno-Ugric peoples contains Khazar documents written in Hebrew, the state language of the Khazar Khaganate. Alas, there are almost no vowels in it, so it remains to be guessed that "tsrms" means "Cheremis-Mari", and "mkshkh" - "moksha". Later, the Finno-Ugric peoples also paid tribute to the Bulgars, they were part of the Kazan Khanate, in the Russian state.

RUSSIAN AND FINNO-UGRI

In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Russian settlers rushed to the lands of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Most often, the settlement was peaceful, but sometimes indigenous peoples resisted the entry of their region into the Russian state. The most fierce resistance was provided by the Mari.

Over time, baptism, writing, urban culture, brought by the Russians, began to displace local languages ​​and beliefs. Many began to feel like Russians, and really became them. Sometimes it was enough to be baptized for this. The peasants of one Mordovian village wrote in a petition: "Our ancestors, the former Mordovians", sincerely believing that only their ancestors, pagans, were Mordovians, and their Orthodox descendants do not belong to Mordovians in any way.

People moved to cities, went far away - to Siberia, to Altai, where one language was common to all - Russian. The names after baptism were no different from ordinary Russians. Or almost nothing: not everyone notices that there is nothing Slavic in surnames like Shukshin, Vedenyapin, Piyashev, but they go back to the name of the Shuksha tribe, the name of the goddess of war Veden Ala, the pre-Christian name Piyash. So a significant part of the Finno-Ugric peoples was assimilated by the Russians, and some, having adopted Islam, mixed with the Turks. That is why the Finno-Ugric peoples do not make up the majority anywhere - even in the republics to which they gave their name.

But, having dissolved in the mass of Russians, the Finno-Ugric peoples retained their anthropological type: very blond hair, blue eyes, a "she-shek" nose, a wide, high-lying face. The kind that nineteenth-century writers called "Penza peasant", is now perceived as a typical Russian.

Many Finno-Ugric words have entered the Russian language: "tundra", "sprat", "salaka", etc. Is there a more Russian and everyone's favorite dish than dumplings? Meanwhile, this word is borrowed from the Komi language and means "bread eye": "pel" - "ear", and "nyan" - "bread". There are especially many borrowings in the northern dialects, mainly among the names of natural phenomena or landscape elements. They give a peculiar beauty to local speech and regional literature. Take, for example, the word "taibola", which in the Arkhangelsk region is called a dense forest, and in the Mezen River basin - a road that runs along the seashore next to the taiga. It is taken from the Karelian "taibale" - "isthmus". For centuries, peoples living nearby have always enriched each other's language and culture.

Patriarch Nikon and Archpriest Avvakum were Finno-Ugric by origin - both Mordvins, but irreconcilable enemies; Udmurt - physiologist V. M. Bekhterev, Komi - sociologist Pitirim Sorokin, Mordvin - sculptor S. Nefyodov-Erzya, who took the name of the people as his pseudonym; Mari - composer A. Ya. Eshpay.

1. Title

The Finno-Ugric peoples were an autochthonous population of the Oka-Volga interfluve, their tribes were Ests, all, Merya, Mordvins, Cheremis were part of the Gothic kingdom of Germanarich in the 4th century. The chronicler Nestor in the Ipatiev Chronicle indicates about twenty tribes of the Ural group (Ugrofiniv): Chud, Livs, waters, yam (Ӕm), all (even North of them on the White Lake sit Vѣt Vѣs), Karelians, Yugra, caves, Samoyeds, Perm (Perm ), cheremis, casting, zimgola, kors, nerom, mordovians, measuring (and on Rostov ѡzere Merѧ and on Kleshchin and ѣzerѣ sѣdѧt mѣrzh same), murom (and Ѡtsѣ rѣtsѣ where to flow into the Volga ҕzyk Svoi Murom) and Meshchery. The Muscovites called all the local tribes Chud from the indigenous Chud, and accompanied this name with irony, explaining it through Moscow weird, weird, strange. Now these peoples are completely assimilated by Russians, they have disappeared from the ethnic map of modern Russia forever, having replenished the number of Russians and leaving only a wide range of their ethnic place names.

These are all the names of the rivers with ending-wa: Moscow, Protva, Kosva, Silva, Sosva, Izva, etc. The Kama River has about 20 tributaries whose names end with na-va, means "water" in Finnish. Muscovite tribes from the very beginning felt their superiority over the local Finno-Ugric peoples. However, Finno-Ugric toponyms are found not only where these peoples today make up a significant part of the population, form autonomous republics and national districts. Their distribution area is much larger, for example, Moscow.

According to archaeological data, the settlement area of ​​the Chud tribes in Eastern Europe remained unchanged for 2 thousand years. Beginning in the 9th century, the Finno-Ugric tribes of the European part of present-day Russia were gradually assimilated by Slavic colonists who came from Kievan Rus. This process formed the basis for the formation of modern Russian nation.

The Finno-Ugric tribes belong to the Ural-Altai group and a thousand years ago they were close to the Pechenegs, Polovtsians and Khazars, but were at a much lower level of social development than the rest, in fact, the ancestors of the Russians were the same Pechenegs, only forest. At that time, these were the primitive and culturally most backward tribes of Europe. Not only in the distant past, but even at the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennia, they were cannibals. The Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) called them androphagi (devourers of people), and Nestor the chronicler already in the period of the Russian state - Samoyeds (Samoyed) .

The Finno-Ugric tribes of a primitive gathering and hunting culture were the ancestors of the Russians. Scientists argue that the Muscovite people received the greatest admixture of the Mongoloid race through the assimilation of Finno-Ugric peoples who came to Europe from Asia and partially absorbed Caucasoid admixture even before the arrival of the Slavs. A mixture of Finno-Ugric, Mongolian and Tatar ethnic components led to the ethnogenesis of Russians, which was formed with the participation of the Slavic tribes Radimichi and Vyatichi. Due to ethnic mixing with the Finns, and later the Tatars and partly with the Mongols, the Russians have an anthropological type that is different from the Kievan-Russian (Ukrainian). The Ukrainian diaspora jokes about this: "The eye is narrow, the nose is plush - completely Russian." Under the influence of the Finno-Ugric language environment, the formation of the Russian phonetic system (akanye, gekanya, ticking) took place. Today, "Ural" features are inherent to one degree or another in all the peoples of Russia: medium height, broad face, snub-nosed nose, and a sparse beard. The Mari and Udmurts often have eyes with the so-called Mongolian fold - epicanthus, they have very wide cheekbones, a liquid beard. But at the same time blond and red hair, blue and gray eyes. The Mongolian fold is sometimes found among Estonians and Karelians. Komi are different: in those places where there are mixed marriages with growing up, they are dark-haired and braced, others are more like Scandinavians, but with a slightly wider face.

According to the studies of the Meryanist Orest Tkachenko, "In the Russian people, on the maternal side associated with the Slavic ancestral home, the father was a Finn. On the paternal side, the Russians descended from the Finno-Ugric peoples." It should be noted that according to modern studies of the Y-chromosome halotypes, in fact, the situation was the opposite - Slavic men married women of the local Finno-Ugric population. According to Mikhail Pokrovsky, the Russians are an ethnic mixture, in which the Finns belong to 4/5, and the Slavs - 1/5. , men's shirt-kosovorotka, bast shoes (bast shoes) in the national costume, dumplings in dishes, the style of folk architecture (tented buildings, porch), Russian bath, sacred animal - bear, 5-tone scale of singing, a-touch and vowel reduction, pair words like stitches, paths, arms and legs, alive and well, such and such, turnover I have(instead of I, characteristic of other Slavs) a fabulous beginning "once upon a time", the absence of a mermaid cycle, carols, the cult of Perun, the presence of a cult of birch, not oak.

Not everyone knows that there is nothing Slavic in the surnames Shukshin, Vedenyapin, Piyashev, but they come from the name of the Shuksha tribe, the name of the goddess of war Vedeno Ala, the pre-Christian name Piyash. So a significant part of the Finno-Ugric peoples was assimilated by the Slavs, and some, having adopted Islam, mixed with the Turks. Therefore, today ugrofins do not make up the majority of the population, even in the republics to which they gave their name. But, having dissolved in the mass of Russians (Rus. Russians), the Ugrofins have retained their anthropological type, which is now perceived as typically Russian (Rus. Russian ) .

According to the overwhelming majority of historians, the Finnish tribes had an extremely peaceful and meek disposition. By this, the Muscovites themselves explain the peaceful nature of the colonization, stating that there were no military clashes, because written sources do not remember anything like that. However, as the same V.O. Klyuchevsky notes, "in the legends of Great Russia, some vague memories of the struggle that flared up in some places survived."

3. Toponymy

Toponyms of Meryan-Yerzyans origin in Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Vologda, Tver, Vladimir, Moscow regions account for 70-80% (Veksa, Voksenga, Elenga, Kovonga, Koloksa, Kukoboy, lekht, Meleksa, Nadoksa, Nero (Inero), Nuks, Nuksha, Palenga, Peleng, Pelenda, Peksoma, Puzhbol, Pulokhta, Sara, Seleksha, Sonohta, Tolgobol, otherwise, Sheksheboy, Shehroma, Shileksha, Shoksha, Shopsha, Yakhrenga, Yahrobol(Yaroslavl region, 70-80%), Andoba, Vandoga, Vokhma, Vokhtoga, Voroksa, Lynger, Mezenda, Meremsha, Monza, Nerekhta (flicker), Neya, Notelga, Onga, Pechegda, Picherga, Poksha, Pong, Simonga, Sudolga, Toyehta, Urma, Shunga, Yakshanga(Kostroma region, 90-100%), Vazopol, Vichuga, Kineshma, Kistega, Kokhma, Ksty, Landeh, Nodoga, Paksh, Palekh, Scab, Pokshenga, Reshma, Sarokhta, Ukhtoma, Ukhtokhma, Shacha, Shizhegda, Shileksa, Shuya, Yukhma etc. (Ivanovsk region), Vokhtoga, Selma, Senga, Solokhta, Sot, Tolshmy, Shuya and others. (Vologda region), "" Valdai, Koi, Koksha, Koivushka, Lama, Maksatikha, Palenga, Palenka, Raida, Seliger, Siksha, Syshko, Talalga, Udomlya, Urdoma, Shomushka, Shosha, Yakhroma etc. (Tver region), Arsemaky, Velga, Voininga, Vorsha, Ineksha, Kirzhach, Klyazma, Koloksha, Mstera, Moloksha, Motra, Nerl, Peksha, Pichegino, Soima, Sudogda, Suzdal, Tumonga, Undol etc. (Vladimir region), Vereya, Vorya, Volgusha, Lama,

The Finno-Ugric peoples are not the largest, but rather large in terms of the number of peoples, language group. Most of the peoples live partially or completely on the territory of Russia.

There are hundreds of thousands of some (Mordovians, Maris, Udmurts), some can be counted on the fingers (in 2002, only 73 people were registered in Russia, calling themselves Vod). However, most of the Finno-Ugric speakers live outside of Russia. First of all, these are Hungarians (about 14.5 million people), Finns (about 6 million) and Estonians (about a million).

The largest variety of Finno-Ugric peoples is represented in our country. This is primarily the Volga-Finnish subgroup (Mordovians and Mari), the Permian subgroup (Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks and Komi-Zyryans) and the Ob subgroup (Khanty and Mansi). Also in Russia there are almost all representatives of the Baltic-Finnish subgroup (Ingrians, Setos, Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Vodians and Sami).
The ancient Russian chronicles preserved the names of three more peoples that have not survived to our time and, apparently, were completely assimilated by the Russian population: the Chud, who lived along the banks of the Onega and the Northern Dvina, Merya - in the interfluve of the Volga and Oka and Murom - in the Oka basin.


Also, the archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Dalnekonstantinovsky Museum of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the University of Nizhny Novgorod is now studying in detail another ethnic subgroup of the Mordovians that disappeared quite recently - the Teryukhans, who lived in the south of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
The most numerous Finno-Ugric peoples have their own republics and autonomous regions within Russia - the republics of Mordovia, Mari El, Udmurtia, Karelia, Komi and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug).

Where live

Initially living in the Urals and Western Siberia, the Finno-Ugric peoples eventually settled to the west and north of their ancestral lands - up to modern Estonia and Hungary. At the moment, there are four main areas of their settlement: the Scandinavian, Kola Peninsula and the Baltic; the middle reaches of the Volga and the lower reaches of the Kama; Northern Urals and Northern Ob region; Hungary. However, over time, the borders of the settlement of the Finno-Ugric peoples become less and less clear. This is especially evident in the last 50 years, and this process is associated with labor migration both within the country (from the countryside to cities) and interstate (especially after the creation of the European Union).

Languages ​​and anbur

The language is actually one of the main signs of this community, otherwise it can hardly be said by appearance that the Hungarians, Estonians and Mansi are relatives. In total, there are about 35 Finno-Ugric languages, divided into only two sub-branches:
Ugric - Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi; Finno-Perm - all the rest, including the dead Murom, Meryan, Meshchersky, Kemi-Sami and the Akkala language. According to researchers and linguists, all modern Finno-Ugric languages ​​had a common ancestor, named for the linguistic classification of the Proto-Finno-Ugric language. The oldest known written monument (the end of the 12th century) is the so-called "Tomb Speech and Prayer", which is written in Latin in Old Hungarian.
We will be more interested in the so-called Anbur - ancient Permian writing, which was used on the territory of Perm the Great in the XIV-XVII centuries by the peoples inhabiting it: Komi-Permyaks, Komi-Zyryans and Russians. It was created by the Russian Orthodox missionary, Ustyuzhan Stefan of Perm in 1372 on the basis of the Russian, Greek alphabets and tamga - runic Perm symbols.
Anbur was necessary for the Muscovites to communicate with their new neighbors in the east and northeast, since the Muscovite state was systematically and rather quickly expanding in the direction, as usual, baptizing new citizens. The latter, by the way, were not particularly opposed (if we are talking about Permians and Zyryans). However, with the gradual expansion of the Moscow principality and the inclusion of the whole of Perm, the Great Anbur is completely replaced by the Russian alphabet, since, in general, all literate people in those places already speak Russian. In the 15th-16th centuries, this writing was still used in some places, but already as a secret script - it is a kind of cipher, which is familiar to a very limited number of people. By the 17th century, the anbur was completely out of circulation.

Finno-Ugric holidays and customs

Currently, the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples are Christians. The Russians are Orthodox, the Hungarians are mostly Catholics, the Baltic peoples are Protestants. However, in Russia there are many Finno-Ugric peoples - Muslims. Also recently, traditional beliefs have been revived: shamanism, animism and the cult of ancestors.
As is usually the case during Christianization, the local holiday calendar was timed to coincide with the church calendar, churches and chapels were erected on the site of sacred groves, and the cult of locally revered saints was introduced.
The pre-Christian religion of the Finno-Ugric peoples was polytheistic - there was a supreme god (usually the god of heaven), as well as a galaxy of “smaller” gods: the sun, earth, water, fertility ... All nations had different names for the gods: in the case of the supreme deity, god The Finns called the sky Yumala, the Estonians - Taevataat, the Mari - Yumo.
Moreover, for example, among the Khanty, who are mainly engaged in fishing, "fish" gods were more revered, but among the Mansi, who are mainly engaged in hunting, various forest animals (bear, elk). That is, all nations prioritized depending on their needs. Religion was quite utilitarian. If the sacrifices made to some idol had no effect, then the same Mansi could easily flog him with a whip.
Also, until now, some of the Finno-Ugric peoples practice dressing up as animal masks during the holidays, which also takes us back to the times of totemism.
The Mordovians, who are mainly engaged in agriculture, have a highly developed cult of plants - the ritual significance of bread and porridge, which were mandatory in almost all rituals, is still great. The traditional holidays of the Mordovians are also associated with agriculture: Ozim-purya - a prayer for harvesting bread on September 15, a week later for Ozim-purya, the Keremet molyans, Kaldaz-Ozks, Velima-biva (worldly beer) are celebrated near Kazanskaya.


The Mari people celebrate U Ii Payrem (New Year) from December 31 to January 1. Shortly before this, Shorykyol (Christmas) is celebrated. Shorykyol is also called "sheep's leg". All because on this day the girls went from house to house and always went into the sheepfolds and pulled the sheep by the legs - this was supposed to ensure well-being in the household and family. Shorykyol is one of the most famous Mari holidays. It is celebrated during the winter solstice (from December 22) after the new moon.
Roshto (Christmas) is also celebrated, accompanied by a procession of mummers led by the main characters - Vasli kuva-kugyz and Shorykyol kuva-kugyz.
In the same way, almost all local traditional holidays are timed to coincide with church ones.

It should also be noted that it was the Mari who gave a strong rebuff to Christian missionaries and still visit sacred groves and sacred trees on traditional holidays, conducting rituals there.
Among the Udmurts, traditional holidays were also timed to coincide with church holidays, as well as agricultural work and the days of the winter and summer solstices, spring and autumn equinoxes.
For Finns, the most important are Christmas (as for decent Christians) and Midsummer (Juhannus). Yuhannus in Finland is the holiday of Ivan Kupala in Rus'. As in Russia, the Finns believe that this is a holiday in honor of John the Baptist, but it is immediately clear that this is a pagan holiday that could not eradicate itself, and the church found a compromise. Like ours, on Ivanov's day, young people jumped over the fire, and the girls let the wreaths float on the water - whoever catches the wreath will be the groom.
This day is also revered by the Estonians.


Karsikko rite among Karelians and Finns is very interesting. Karsikko is a specially chopped or felled tree (necessarily coniferous). The rite can be associated with almost any significant event: a wedding, the death of an important and respected person, a good hunt.
Depending on the situation, the tree was chopped down or all its branches were cut off completely. They could leave one branch or only the top. All this was decided on an individual basis, known only to the performer of the ritual. After the ceremony, the tree was watched. If his condition did not worsen and the tree continued to grow, this meant happiness. If not, grief and misfortune.