Are the Finno-Ugric tribes the ancestors of the Russians? The great migration of peoples or the history of the Finno-Ugric tribes.

), mordov-sky (mord-va - er-zya and mok-sha), ma-riy-sky (mary-tsy), perm-sky (ud-mur-you, ko-mi, ko- mi-per-mya-ki), Ugrian-sky (Ug-ry - Hung-ry, khan-ty and man-si). The number of len-ness approx. 24 million people (2016, est.).

Pra-ro-di-na F.-u., in-vi-di-mo-mu, on-ho-di-las in the zone of forests Zap. C-bi-ri, Ura-la and Pre-du-ra-lya (from the Middle Ob to the Lower Ka-we) in the 4th - ser. 3rd millennium BC e. Their ancient-shi-mi for-nya-tiya-mi would have been hunting, river fishing and co-bi-ra-tel-st-vo. According to lin-gwis-ti-ki, F.-y. did you have a con-so-you are on the east-ke with sa-mo-di-ski-mi na-ro-da-mi And tun-gu-so-man-chur-ski-mi on-ro-da-mi, in the south as mi-ni-mum from the beginning. 3rd millennium - from In-to-Iran. on-ro-da-mi (aria-mi), on the za-pa-de - with pa-leo-ev-ro-pei-tsa-mi (from their languages ​​\u200b\u200bwere sub-strat-ny traces in Western Finno-Ugric languages), from the 2nd half. 3rd millennium - with na-ro-da-mi, close-ki-mi to the ancestors of the Germans, Bal-tov and Slav-Vyan (before-hundred-vi-te-la-mi shnu-ro-howl ke-ra-mi-ki cul-tour-no-is-to-ri-che-community). From the 1st floor. 2nd thousand in the course of con-tact with the arias in the south and from the center-european-rop. in-do-ev-ro-pei-tsa-mi on the pas-de F.-y. know-to-myat-sya with cattle-water-st-vom and then with earth-le-de-li-eat. In the 2-1st thousand pro-is-ho-di-lo races-pro-countries of the Finno-Ugric languages ​​​​to the west - to the North-East. Pri-bal-ti-ki, Sev. and Center. Scan-di-na-vie (see. Set-cha-toy ke-ra-mi-ki cul-tu-ra , Anan-in-skaya kul-tu-ra) and you-de-le-nie p-Bal-Ty-Sko-Finnish languages And Sami languages. From the 2nd floor. 1st millennium BC e. in CB-ri and from the 2nd floor. 1st millennium AD e. in the Vol-go-Ura-lie on-chi-on-yut-sya con-so-you with tyur-ka-mi. To ancient letters. upo-mi-na-ni-yam F.-y. ot-no-syat Fenni in Ta-tsi-ta's "Ger-ma-nii" (AD 98). From con. 1st thousand for the development of a number of Finno-Ugric peoples of the eye-for-lo su-sche-st-ven-noe influence of their inclusion in so-becoming Wed-century. state ( Bul-ga-ria Volzh-sko-Kam-skaya, Ancient Rus', Sweden). According to the given middle-century. letters. is-toch-no-kov and then-po-no-mii, F.-y. still at the beginning 2nd millennium AD e. with-stav-la-whether basic. on-se-le-nie se-ve-ra forest-noy and tun-d-ro-howl zone Vost. Ev-ro-py and Scan-di-on-wii, but would it mean for that. me-re as-si-mi-li-ro-va-ny ger-man-tsa-mi, glory-vya-na-mi (pre-zh-de of all me-rya; perhaps, mu-ro-ma, me-sche-ra, za-vo-loch-skaya, etc.) and tur-ka-mi.

For the spiritual culture of F.-y. would-whether ha-rak-ter-ny cul-you du-hov-ho-zya-ev nature. Possibly, the fore-was representing the supreme not-devil-god-st-ve. The question of whether there are elements of sha-ma-niz-ma dis-kus-sio-nen. From the beginning 2nd thousand. Ev-ro-py in christian-an-st-vo (Hungarians in 1001, ka-re-ly and Finns in the 12-14th centuries, which in the late 14th century) and times -vi-tie writing-men-no-stay in Finno-Ugric languages. At the same time, a number of Finno-Ugric groups (especially ben-but among the Mari-tsev and Ud-mur-tov of Bash-ki-rii and Tatar-stan) until the 21st century. preserves its communal religion, although it is subject to christian influence. Acceptance of is-la-ma F.-y. in the Volga and C-bi-ri would-st-ro with-in-di-lo to their as-si-mi-la-tion ta-ta-ra-mi, in this mu- sulm. communities among F.-at. Hardly ever.

In the 19th century for-mi-ru-et-sya me-zh-du-nar. Fin-no-Ugric movement, in some rum pro-yav-la-yut-sya pan-fin-no-ug-riz-ma.

Lit .: Os-no-you of the Fin-no-Ugric language-to-knowledge: In-pro-sy about-is-ho-zh-de-niya and development of Fin-no -Ugric languages. M., 1974; Hai-du P. Ural languages ​​and languages. M., 1985; Na-pol-skih V.V. Introduction to the is-ri-che-hurray-li-sti-ku. Izhevsk, 1997.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finno-Ugric peoples (Finno-Ugric) is a linguistic community of peoples speaking Finno-Ugric languages ​​living in Western Siberia, Central, Northern and Eastern Europe.

). This time we will talk about the Finno-Ugric peoples, i.e. peoples speaking Finno-Ugric languages. This branch of languages ​​is part of the Uralic language family, the other branch of which is the Samoyedic languages ​​(which are currently spoken by the Nenets, Enets, Nganasans and Selkups).
The Finno-Ugric languages ​​are divided into 2 groups: Finno-Permian and Ugric. The Finno-Permian group includes the following peoples: Finns (sometimes Ingrian Finns are considered an independent ethnic group), Estonians, Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Livs, Vods, Sami, Mordovians (this people actually represents two different peoples: Erzyans and Mokshans), Mari, Udmurts, Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Permyaks. The Ugric group includes Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi.
Currently, there are 3 independent Finno-Ugric states: Hungary, Finland and Estonia. There are several Finno-Ugric national autonomies in Russia, but in all of them the Finno-Ugric nations are inferior in number to the Russians.
The total number of Finno-Ugric peoples is 25 million people, of which more than half are Hungarians (14.5 million). Finns are second in number (6.5 million), Estonians are third (1 million). The most numerous Finno-Ugric people of Russia is the Mordovians (744 thousand).
The ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples is Western Siberia, from where the ancestors of the modern Finno-Ugric peoples settled in Eastern Europe and the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Finno-Ugrians influenced the ethnogenesis of the Russian people, this influence is especially great on the northern Russians (the territory of the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions). Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Our Great Russian physiognomy does not accurately reproduce common Slavic features. Other Slavs, recognizing these features in it, however, notice some third-party admixture: namely, the high cheekbones of the Great Russian, the predominance of swarthy complexion and hair, and especially the typical Great Russian nose, resting on a broad base, with most likely put on account of the Finnish influence".

The most beautiful Finnish- model Emilia Järvela. Known as the face of the Finnish cosmetics company Lumene. Height 180 cm, figure parameters 86-60-87.

The most beautiful ingrian- Russian actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Elena Kondulainen(born April 9, 1958, Toksovo village, Leningrad region).

The most beautiful Lapp - Berit-Anne Juuso. In 2012, she won the Hymytyttö (Girl's Smile) competition, held annually by the Finnish Internet portal hymy.fi. She was born and lives in the Finnish province of Lapland. Her father is Sami, mother is Finnish.

The most beautiful Hungarian - Catherine Schell / Catherine Schell(born July 17, 1944, Budapest) is a British actress of Hungarian origin. Real name -Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott / Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott. Despite the German surname (inherited from her German great-grandfather), Katherine Schell is almost completely Hungarian by blood, her parents belonged to the Hungarian nobility: her father bore the title of baron, and her mother was a countess.

The most famous films with her participation: the 6th Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969, the role of Nancy), "Moon 02" (1969, the role of Clementine), "Return of the Pink Panther" (1975, the role of Lady Claudine Lytton) . In the UK, the actress is best known for her role as Maya in the 1970s sci-fi series Space: 1999.

Katherine Shell in the film "Moon 02" (1969):

The most beautiful Estonian- singer (born September 24, 1988, Kohila, Estonia). Represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

The most beautiful mokshanka -Svetlana Khorkina(born January 19, 1979, Belgorod) - Russian gymnast, two-time Olympic champion in uneven bars (1996, 2000), three-time absolute world champion and three-time absolute European champion. In an interview, he calls himself a Mordovian: "My parents are Mordovians, and since their blood flows in me, I consider myself a purebred Mordovian."

The most beautiful Erzyanka -Olga Kaniskina(born January 19, 1985, Saransk) - athlete, Olympic champion in 2008, the first three-time world champion in the history of race walking (2007, 2009 and 2011), European champion in 2010, two-time champion of Russia.

The most beautiful Komi Permian - Tatyana Totmyanina(born November 2, 1981, Perm) - figure skater, Olympic champion in Turin, paired with Maxim Marinin. The same pair won the World Championship twice and the European Championship 5 times.

The most beautiful Udmurt- singer Svetlana (Sveti) Ruchkina(born September 25, 1988). She is the vocalist of the Udmurt-language rock band Silent Woo Goore.

The most beautiful karelka - Maria Kalinina. The winner of the contest "Miss students of Finno-Ugria 2015".

Finno-Ugric peoples call the linguistic community of peoples who speak the so-called Finno-Ugric languages. They live in Western Siberia, Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. There are many representatives of these nationalities in Russia, as evidenced by surnames of Finno-Ugric origin.

Who belongs to the Finno-Ugrians?

According to the All-Russian Population Census of 2010, more than 2 million representatives of the Finno-Ugric peoples live in the Russian Federation. Among them are Mordovians, Udmurts, Maris, Komi-Zyrians, Komi-Permyaks, Khanty, Mansi, Estonians, Veps, Karelians, Sami, Izhorians. The Russian people also have common chromosomes with the Finno-Ugric peoples.
Researchers divide the Finno-Ugric peoples into five subgroups. The first, Baltic-Finnish, includes Estonians, Karelians, Vepsians and Izhors, as well as Vods and Livs.
The second subgroup is called the Sami or Lapp. Its representatives in Russia live in the area of ​​the Kola Peninsula. According to scientists, they once occupied a large territory, but were forced out to the north. In addition, their own language was replaced by one of the Finnish dialects.
The third subgroup - the Volga-Finnish - includes the Mari and Mordovians.
The fourth, Permian subgroup, includes Komi, Komi-Permyaks and Udmurts.
The fifth subgroup is called Ugric. It includes, in particular, the peoples of the Khanty and Mansi, who inhabit the lower reaches of the Ob and the northern Urals.
In the XVI-XVIII centuries, there was an active expansion of Russian settlers to the lands inhabited by the Finno-Ugric peoples. Gradually, the Christian religion, Russian writing and culture began to crowd out local traditions. Today, the majority of Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia speak Russian and practice Orthodoxy.
Meanwhile, traces of the Finno-Ugric culture have been preserved on the territory of our country in the form of toponyms, features of dialects and surnames. By the way, according to the latter, it is sometimes possible to calculate the descendants of the Finno-Ugric peoples.

Karelian surnames

Karelian surnames are usually either of Russian origin or formed according to the "Russian" type. Most often they are based on the name of one of the ancestors.
Before the revolution, the names of many Karelians were replaced by nicknames. Subsequently, they were recorded as surnames. So, the surname Tukhkin came from the word "tukhka" (ash), Languev - from "langu" (snare, loop), Lipaev - from "lipata" (blink). Some surnames are associated with pagan nicknames: Lemboev (from "lembo" - devil, goblin), Reboev (from "rebo" - fox). Moreover, the suffixes -ov and -ev are often attached to the vowel stem.
A number of Karelian surnames also came from various toponyms: Kundozers from "Kundozero", Palaselov - from the name of the settlement Palaselga.
In addition, some surnames originated from Russian names translated into Karelian. Among them are Garloev (on behalf of Haura - Gavriil), Anukov (from Onekka - Ondrey or Andrey), Teppoev (from Teppan - Stepan), Godarev (from Khodari - Fedor).

Mordovian surnames

Mordvins had surnames in the 17th century. At first they came from patronymics. So, the son of Lopay became Lopaev, the son of Khudyak - Khudyakov, Kudash - Kudashev, Kirdyai - Kirdyaev.
But in principle, all Mordovian surnames can be divided into four varieties. The first comes from pre-Christian personal names: for example, Arzhaev from Arzhay (“arzho” - a scar, notch), Vechkanov from Vechkan (“vechkels” - love, respect). The second - from the canonical personal names that were given at baptism. But often baptized Mordvins were called diminutive names. Hence the surnames Fedyunin (from Fedor), Afonkin (from Athanasius), Larkin (from Illarion). The third group originated from Russian common nouns: Kuznetsov, Kochetkov, French. Finally, the fourth is the surnames borrowed from the Turkic-speaking population, with whom the Mordovians assimilated, in particular, from the Tatars: Bulatkin, Karabaev, Islamkin. In Mordovian surnames, “pejorative” suffixes are much more common than in Russian ones: Isaikin, Ageikin, Eroshkin, Taraskin.

Surnames Komi

Komi surnames have appeared since the 15th century. The fact is that Perm Vychegodskaya and Perm Velikaya were originally subordinate to the Novgorod Republic, where surnames were assigned to representatives of all segments of the population. Thus, all the currently existing surnames of the Komi peoples are formed according to the “Russian” type - with the help of suffixes -ov (-ev), -in, -skiy. However, the roots underlying surnames can be divided into three varieties. The first includes roots borrowed from the Komi language. To the second - the roots taken from the Russian language. To the third - roots that have an international origin from proper names.
So, the surname Burmatov comes from "bur" (kind) and "mort" (man), Ichetkin - from "ichet" (small), Kudymov - from the mythological Komi-Permyak hero Kudym-Osh, Kolegov - from "kalog" (chatty ), Kychanov - from "kychi" (puppy), Pupyshev - from "pimple" (pimple), Cheskidov - from "cheskyd" (sweet, pleasant), Yurov - from "yur" (head).

Udmurt surnames

They are also formed according to the "Russian" system. Among them are the following groups:
Surnames with roots from the Udmurt language. These include, for example, Agaev (from "agai" - older brother or uncle), Vakhrushev (from "vahra" - wind), Gondyrev - (from "gondyr" - bear), Yuberov, Yuberev (from "uber" - woodpecker ).
Surnames from Udmurt personal names. For example, Budin, Buldakov (with emphasis on the second syllable), Udegov, Shudegov.
Surnames of non-Udmurt origin. For example, they may be of Russian or Turkic origin: Vladykin, Ivshin, Lukin, Snigirev, Khodyrev. Of course, in this case, their origin is more difficult to determine.

The Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic community of peoples includes over 20 million people. Their ancestors lived in the territories of the Urals and Eastern Europe in ancient times, starting from the Neolithic era. Finno-Ugric peoples are indigenous peoples for their territories. The vast expanses that belonged to the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed (close to them) tribes originate from the Baltic Sea, the forest-steppe of the Russian Plain, and end at Western Siberia and the Arctic Ocean, respectively. The modern European part of Russia was occupied by the Finno-Ugrians, who could not but contribute to the genetic and cultural heritage of these lands.

The division of the Finno-Ugric peoples by language

There are several subgroups of Finno-Ugric peoples, divided by language. There is the so-called Volga-Finnish group, which included the Mari, Erzyans and Mokshans (Mordvaians). The Permo-Finnish group includes Besermen, Komi and Udmurts. Ingrian Finns, Setos, Finns, Izhors, Vepsians, descendants of Mary and other peoples belong to the group of Balto-Finns. Separately, the so-called Ugric group is singled out, which includes such peoples as Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi. Some scientists classify the Volga Finns as a separate group, which includes peoples who are descendants of the Morums and the medieval Meshchera.

Heterogeneity of Finno-Ugric Anthropology

Some researchers believe that along with the Mongoloid and Caucasoid, there is the so-called Ural race, whose peoples are characterized by signs of representatives of both the first and second races. Mansi, Khanty, Mordovians and Mari are more characterized by Mongoloid features. The rest of the peoples are dominated by signs of the Caucasoid race, or they are evenly divided. However, the Finno-Ugrians do not have the features of the Indo-European group.

Cultural Features

All Finno-Ugric tribes are characterized by identical material and spiritual cultural values. They have always strived for harmony with the surrounding world, nature, the peoples bordering on them. Only they were able to preserve their culture and traditions, including Russian ones, to this day. This is easily explained by the fact that the Finno-Ugric peoples have always revered not only their own traditions and customs, but also those that they borrowed from neighboring peoples.

Most of the ancient Russian legends, fairy tales and epics that make up epic folklore are attributed to the Veps and Karelians - the descendants of the Finno-Ugric peoples who lived in the Arkhangelsk province. From the lands occupied by these peoples, many monuments of ancient Russian wooden architecture also passed to us.

Relationship between Finno-Ugric peoples and Russians

Undoubtedly, the Finno-Ugrians had a considerable influence on the formation of the Russian people. The entire territory of the Russian Plain, which is now occupied by the Russians, used to belong to these tribes. The material and spiritual culture of the latter, and not the Turks or the southern Slavs, was largely borrowed by the Russians.

It is easy to notice the common features of the national character and psychological characteristics of Russians and Finno-Ugric peoples. This is especially true for that part of the population that lives in the northeastern, northern and northwestern parts of European Russia, which is considered indigenous to the Russian people.

The well-known academician O. B. Tkachenko, who devoted his life to studying the Mary people, stated that the representatives of the Russian people on the paternal side are connected with the Finns, and only on the maternal side - with the Slavic ancestral home. This opinion is confirmed by multiple cultural features characteristic of the Russian nation. Novgorod and Moscow Rus arose and began their development precisely in those territories that were occupied by the Finno-Ugric peoples.

Various opinions of scientists

According to the historian N. A. Polevoy, who in his writings touched upon the problem of the ethnogenesis of the Great Russians, the Russian people are genetically and culturally purely Slavic. The Finno-Ugric tribes had no influence on its formation. The opposite opinion was expressed by F. G. Dukhinsky, who also lived in the 19th century. The Polish historian believed that the Russian people were formed on the basis of the Turks and Finno-Ugric peoples, and only linguistic features were borrowed from the Slavs.

Lomonosov and Ushinsky, who agreed, defended an intermediate point of view. They believed that the Finno-Ugric peoples and Slavs exchanged cultural values ​​with each other. The composition of the Russian people eventually included Muroma, Chud and Merya, contributing to the Russian ethnos that was just emerging at that time. The Slavs, in turn, influenced the Ugric-Hungarian peoples, as evidenced by the presence of Slavic vocabulary in the Hungarian language. In the veins of Russians, both Slavic and Finno-Ugric blood flows, and there is nothing shameful in this, according to Ushinsky.

Many peoples living on the shores of the Baltic coast, as well as Danes, Swedes and even Russians, originate with the inexplicably silent disappearance of the Finno-Ugric peoples. These tribes, who lived mainly in Europe, formed so long ago that they cannot be called peoples who migrated from other lands. Perhaps, earlier they lived in the entire northern part of Asia and Europe, and even occupied the territory of central Europe. Thus, the Finno-Ugric peoples actually laid a solid foundation for the formation of most northern and European powers, including Russia.

About the Finno-Ugric tribes

In the third quarter of the 1st millennium AD. e. the Slavic population, settled in the Upper Dnieper and mixed with the local East Baltic groups, with its further advancement to the north and east, reached the border of the regions that had belonged to the Finno-Ugric tribes since ancient times. These were Estonians, Vods and Izhoras in the South-Eastern Baltic, all on the White Lake and the tributaries of the Volga - Sheksna and Mologa, measuring in the eastern part of the Volga-Oka interfluve, Mordvins and Muroms on the Middle and Lower Oka. If the eastern Balts were neighbors of the Finno-Ugric peoples from ancient times, then the Slavic-Russian population had a close encounter with them for the first time. The subsequent colonization of certain Finno-Ugric lands and the assimilation of their indigenous population represented a special chapter in the history of the formation of the ancient Russian people.

In terms of the level of socio-economic development, way of life and nature of culture, the Finno-Ugric population differed significantly from both the Eastern Balts and especially from the Slavs. The Finno-Ugric languages ​​were completely alien to both. But not only because of this, not only because of significant specific differences, Slavic-Finno-Ugric historical and ethnic relations developed differently than relations between the Slavs and their ancient neighbors - the Balts. The main thing was that the Slavic-Finno-Ugric contacts belong mainly to a later time, to a different historical period than the relationship between the Slavs and the Dnieper Balts.

When the Slavs at the turn and at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. penetrated into the lands of the Balts in the Upper Dnieper and along its periphery, although they were more advanced than the natives, they were still primitive tribes. It has already been said above that their distribution along the Upper Dnieper was a spontaneous process that lasted for centuries. Undoubtedly, it did not always proceed peacefully; The Balts resisted the aliens. Their burnt and destroyed shelter-fortifications, known in some areas of the Upper Dnieper, in particular in the Smolensk region, testify to cases of fierce struggle. Nevertheless, the advance of the Slavs into the Upper Dnieper region cannot be called a process of conquering these lands. Neither the Slavs nor the Balts acted then as a whole, united forces. Separate, scattered groups of farmers moved step by step up the Dnieper and its tributaries, looking for places for new settlements and arable land and acting at their own risk and fear. The settlements-shelters of the local population testify to the isolation of the Balts communities, to the fact that each community, in the event of clashes, defended itself first of all. And if they - Slavs and Balts - ever united for joint armed enterprises in larger groups, these were special cases that did not change the overall picture.

The colonization of the Finno-Ugric lands proceeded under completely different conditions. Only some of them in the southern part of the basin of lakes Ilmen and Peipsi were occupied by the Slavs and the Dnieper Balts who mixed with them relatively early, in the 6th–8th centuries, under conditions that did not differ much from the conditions of the spread of the Slavs in the Upper Dnieper region. In other Finno-Ugric lands, in particular in the eastern parts of the Volga-Oka interfluve - on the territory of the future Rostov-Suzdal land, which played a huge role in the fate of Ancient Rus', the Slavic Russian population began to settle only from the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennium AD. e., already in the conditions of the emergence of early feudal ancient Russian statehood. And here the colonization process, of course, included a considerable element of spontaneity, and here the peasant farmer acted as a pioneer, as many historians pointed out. But in general, the colonization of the Finno-Ugric lands proceeded differently. She relied on fortified cities, on armed squads. The feudal lords resettled the peasants to new lands. At the same time, the local population was subject to tribute, placed in a dependent position. The colonization of the Finno-Ugric lands in the North and in the Volga region is no longer a phenomenon of primitive, but of early feudal Slavic-Russian history.

Historical and archaeological data indicate that until the last quarter of the 1st millennium AD. e. Finno-Ugric groups of the Volga region and the North still largely retained their ancient forms of life and culture, which developed in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. The economy of the Finno-Ugric tribes was complex. Agriculture was relatively poorly developed; cattle breeding played an important role in the economy; he was accompanied by hunting, fishing and forestry. If the Eastern Baltic population in the Upper Dnieper and on the Western Dvina was very significant in number, as evidenced by hundreds of settlements-shelters and settlements along the banks of rivers and in the depths of watersheds, then the population of the Finno-Ugric lands was comparatively rare. People lived in some places along the shores of lakes and along rivers that had wide floodplains that served as pastures. Vast expanses of forests remained uninhabited; they were exploited as hunting grounds, just as they were a millennium ago, in the early Iron Age.

Of course, various Finno-Ugric groups had their own characteristics, differed from each other in terms of the level of socio-economic development and the nature of culture. The most advanced among them were the Chud tribes of the South-Eastern Baltic - Ests, Vod and Izhora. As X. A. Moora points out, already in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. agriculture became the basis of the Estonian economy, in connection with which the population settled from that time on in areas with the most fertile soils. By the end of the 1st millennium AD e. the ancient Estonian tribes stood on the threshold of feudalism, crafts developed among them, the first urban-type settlements arose, maritime trade connected the ancient Estonian tribes with each other and with their neighbors, contributing to the development of the economy, culture and social inequality. Tribal associations were replaced at that time by unions of territorial communities. The local features that distinguished separate groups of ancient Estonians in the past gradually began to fade, indicating the beginning of the formation of the Estonian nationality.

All these phenomena were also observed among other Finno-Ugric tribes, but they were much less represented among them. Vod and Izhora in many ways approached the Estonians. Among the Volga Finno-Ugric peoples, the most numerous and reached a relatively high level of development were the Mordovian and Murom tribes living in the Oka valley, in its middle and lower reaches.

The wide, many kilometers floodplain of the Oka was an excellent pasture for herds of horses and herds of other livestock. If you look at the map of the Finno-Ugric burial grounds of the second, third and last quarters of the 1st millennium AD. e., it is not difficult to notice that in the middle and lower reaches of the Oka they stretch in a continuous chain along sections with a wide floodplain, while to the north - in the region of the Volga-Oka interfluve and to the south, along the right tributaries of the Oka - Tsne and Moksha, as well as along Sura and the Middle Volga, the ancient burial grounds of the Volga Finno-Ugrians are represented in much smaller numbers and are located in separate nests (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Finno-Ugric burial grounds of the 1st millennium AD e. in the Volga-Oka region. 1 - Sarsky; 2 - Podolsky; 3 - Khotimlsky; 4 - Kholuysky; 5 - Novlensky; 6 - Pustoshensky; 7 - Zakolpievsky; 8 - Malyshevsky; 9 - Maksimovsky; 10 - Murom; 11 - Podbolotevsky; 12 - Urvansky; 13 - Kurmansky; 14 - Koshibeevsky; 15 - Kulakovsky; 16 - Oblachinsky; 17-Shatrishchensky; 18-Gaverdovsky; 19-Dubrovichsky; 20 - Borokovsky; 27 - Kuzminsky; 22 - Baku: 23 - Zhabinsky; 24 - Temnikovsky; 25 - Ivankovsky; 26 - Sergachsky.

Pointing to the connection of the settlements and burial grounds of the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples with wide river floodplains - the basis of their cattle breeding, P.P. e. as horse shepherds, somewhat reminiscent of their attire and weapons, and, consequently, the way of life of the nomads of the southern Russian steppes. “There can be no doubt,” wrote P. P. Efimenko, “that shepherding, for which the beautiful meadows along the Oka River were used, in the era of the emergence of burial grounds, becomes one of the most important types of economic activity of the population of the region.” Other researchers, in particular E. I. Goryunova, characterized the economy of the Volga Finno-Ugrians in the same way. On the basis of the materials of the Durasovsky ancient settlement, studied in the Kostroma region, dating back to the end of the 1st millennium AD. e., and other archaeological sites, she established that up to this time, the Volga Finno-Ugric peoples - the Meryan tribes - were mainly pastoralists. They bred mainly horses and pigs, and to a lesser extent cattle and small cattle. Agriculture occupied a secondary place in the economy along with hunting and fishing. This picture is also typical for the Tumovskoye settlement of the 9th–11th centuries studied by E.I. Goryunova, located near Murom.

The cattle-breeding image of the economy to one degree or another was preserved among the Finno-Ugric population of the Volga region and in the period of Ancient Rus'. In the "Chronicler of Pereyaslavl of Suzdal" after listing the Finno-Ugric tribes - "their tongues" - it is said: "The primordial tributaries and horse feeders are correct." The term "horsemen" does not raise any doubts. "Inii Yazytsi" raised horses for Rus', for its troops. It was one of their main duties. In 1183, Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, returning to Vladimir from a campaign against the Volga Bulgaria, “let the horses go to the Mordovians”, which was probably a common occurrence. Obviously, the Mordovian economy, like the economy of other Volga Finno-Ugric peoples - "horse feeders", differed significantly from the agriculture of the Slavic-Russian population. Among the "feedings" mentioned in the documents of the 15th-16th centuries, there is the "Meshchera horse spot" - a duty levied on sellers and buyers of horses.

On such a peculiar economic basis, with the predominance of cattle breeding, especially horse breeding, among the Volga Finno-Ugric peoples at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. only primitive, pre-feudal class relations could develop, although with significant social differentiation, similar to the social relations of the nomads of the 1st millennium AD. e.

On the basis of archaeological data, it is difficult to solve the question of the degree of development of the craft among the Volga Finno-Ugric peoples. For most of them, home crafts have long been common, in particular, the manufacture of numerous and various metal ornaments, which abounded in women's costume. The technical equipment of a home craft at that time did not differ much from the equipment of a professional craftsman - these were the same casting molds, lyacs, crucibles, etc. The finds of these things during archaeological excavations, as a rule, do not allow us to determine whether there was a home or specialized craft, product of the social division of labor.

But there were undoubtedly professional artisans at that time. This is evidenced by the emergence on the Finno-Ugric lands of the Volga region at the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennia of separate settlements, usually fortified with ramparts and ditches, which, according to the composition of the finds made during archaeological excavations, can be called trade and craft, "embryos" of cities. In addition to local products, imported items are found in these areas, including oriental coins, various beads, metal jewelry, etc. Such are the finds from the Sarsky settlement near Rostov, the already mentioned Tumovsky settlement near Murom, the Zemlyanoy Strug settlement near Kasimov, and some others.

It can be assumed that the northern Finno-Ugric tribes were more backward, in particular the entire tribe, which occupied, judging by the annals and toponymy data, a vast area around the White Lake. In its economy, like that of neighboring Komi, almost the main place was then occupied by hunting and fishing. The question of the degree of development of agriculture and animal husbandry remains open. It is possible that among the domestic animals there were deer. Unfortunately, the archaeological sites of the Belozersky Vesy of the 1st millennium AD. e. still remain unexplored. And not only because no one specially dealt with them, but mainly due to the fact that the ancient one did not leave behind any remains of well-defined long-term settlements, or burial monuments known in the land of other neighboring Finno-Ugric peoples - Estonians, Vodi , Mary, muroms. It was, apparently, a very rare and mobile population. In the Southern Ladoga area there are burial mounds of the end of the 9th-10th centuries. with burnings, peculiar according to the funeral rite and possibly belonging to Vesy, but already subjected to Slavic and Scandinavian influence. This grouping has already broken with the ancient way of life. Its economy and life in many respects resembled the economy and life of the Western Finno-Ugric tribes - Vodi, Izhora and Estonians. On the White Lake there are antiquities of the 10th and subsequent centuries - burial mounds and settlements that belonged to the village, which had already experienced significant Russian influence.

Most of the Finno-Ugric groups that were part of the borders of Ancient Rus' or closely associated with it did not lose their language and ethnic characteristics and subsequently turned into the corresponding nationalities. But the lands of some of them lay on the main directions of the Slavic-Russian early medieval colonization. Here the Finno-Ugric population soon found itself in the minority and was assimilated several centuries later. As one of the main reasons for the Slavic-Russian early medieval colonization of the Finno-Ugric lands, researchers rightly name the flight to the outskirts of Rus' of the agricultural population fleeing the growing feudal oppression. But, as already indicated above, there were also "organized" resettlements of peasants, led by the feudal elite. The colonization of the northern and northeastern lands intensified especially in the 11th-12th centuries, when the southern Old Russian regions, lying along the border of the steppes, were subjected to cruel blows from the nomads. From the Middle Dnieper, people then fled to the Smolensk and Novgorod North, and especially to the distant Zalesye with its fertile soils.

The process of Russification of the Finno-Ugric groups - Meri, Belozerskaya Vesi, Muroma, etc. - ended only in the 13th-14th centuries, and in some places even later. Therefore, the literature presents the opinion that the listed Finno-Ugric groups served as a component not so much of the Old Russian as of the Russian (Great Russian) people. Ethnographic materials also show that the Finno-Ugric elements in culture and everyday life were characteristic of the old rural culture only of the Volga-Oka and northern Russian population. But archaeological and historical data indicate that in a number of areas the process of Russification of the Finno-Ugric population ended or went very far by the 11th-12th centuries. By this time, significant groups of the Meri, Vesi and Oka tribes, as well as individual Baltic-Finnish groups in the North-West, had become part of the Old Russian people. Therefore, the Finno-Ugric peoples cannot be excluded from among the components of the Old Russian nationality, although this component was not significant.

The colonization of the Finno-Ugric lands, the relationship of newcomers with the indigenous population, its subsequent assimilation and the role of the Finno-Ugric groups in the formation of the ancient Russian people - all these issues have not yet been studied enough. Below we will talk about the fate of not all the Finno-Ugric groups whose lands were occupied in the early Middle Ages by the Slavic-Russian population, but only those of them about which there is currently any information - historical or archaeological. Most of the data is available about the ancient population of the eastern part of the Volga-Oka interfluve, where in the XII century. the most important center of Ancient Rus' moved. Something is known about the Finno-Ugric population of the Northwest.

Strange as it may seem at first glance, the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples, who found themselves within the borders of Rus', were most interested in the third quarter of the 19th century. Interest in them was aroused then, firstly, by the results of research by prominent Finno-Ugric scholars - historians, linguists, ethnographers and archaeologists, primarily A. M. Shegren, who first drew a broad historical picture of the Finno-Ugric world, and his younger contemporary M. A. Castrena. A. M. Shegren, in particular, "discovered" the descendants of the ancient Finno-Ugric groups - Vodi and Izhora, who played an important role in the history of Veliky Novgorod. The first study specifically devoted to the historical fate of the Vod was the work of P. I. Koeppen “Vod and Votskaya Pyatina” published in 1851. Secondly, interest in the Finno-Ugric peoples and their role in Russian history was then caused by the grandiose excavations of medieval mounds on the territory of the Rostov-Suzdal land, carried out by A.S. Uvarov and P.S. Savelyev in the early 50s of the 19th century. According to A. S. Uvarov, with whom he spoke at the I Archaeological Congress of 1869, these mounds belonged to the annalistic measure, as they said then, to the Meryans - the Finno-Ugric population, whose “rapid Russification” began “almost in prehistoric times for us ".

The work of A. S. Uvarov and P. S. Savelyev, “who discovered, it seemed, the missing culture of an entire nation and showed the great importance of archaeological excavations for the early history of Russia, rightly led contemporaries into admiration” and caused numerous attempts to find traces of Mary in written sources , in toponymy, in ethnographic materials, in the secret languages ​​of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl offen-peddlers, etc. Archaeological excavations also continued. Of the numerous works of that time devoted to the ancient Mary, I will name an article by V. A. Samaryanov on the traces of the settlements of the Mary within the Kostroma province, which was the result of archival research, and an excellent book by D. A. Korsakov about the measure, the author of which, summing up the huge and varied factual material, had no doubt that “Chudskoe (Finno-Ugric, - P.T.) tribe" was "once one of the elements of the formation of the Great Russian people."

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. the attitude towards the ancient Finno-Ugrians of the Volga-Oka interfluve has noticeably changed, interest in them has decreased. After the excavations of medieval mounds were carried out within different ancient Russian regions, it turned out that the mounds of the Rostov-Suzdal land in their mass do not differ from ordinary ancient Russian ones and, therefore, A.S. Uvarov gave them an erroneous definition. A. A. Spitsyn, who presented a new study on these mounds, recognized them as Russian. He pointed out that the Finno-Ugric element in them is insignificant and expressed distrust in relation to the reports of the annals about Mary. He believed that Merya had been pushed out of the Volga-Oka interfluve to the northeast, "lingering on the retreat path only in small patches."

In general, the views of A. A. Spitsyn regarding the Rostov-Suzdal mounds of the 10th-12th centuries were undeniably correct and never disputed. But his desire to almost completely exclude the Finno-Ugric peoples from the population of North-Eastern Rus', to reduce their role to a minimum, was certainly erroneous.

In the same way, the assessment given by A. A. Spitsyn to materials from medieval barrows, explored at the end of the last century by V. N. Glazov and L. K. Ivanovsky, south of the Gulf of Finland, between lakes Chudskoye and Ilmen, was erroneous. Almost all of these barrows were recognized by A. A. Spitsyn as Slavic, contrary to the opinion of Finnish archaeologists who attributed them to Vodi monuments. A.V. Schmidt was right, pointing out in his essay on the history of the archaeological study of the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples that the views of A.A. its main representatives in Russian archeology of that time - I. I. Tolstoy and N. P. Kondakov. This point of view was then presented in the works of the historians of Ancient Russia: D. I. Ilovaisky, S. M. Solovyov, V. O. Klyuchevsky and others. Of course, they did not deny that within the boundaries of Ancient Russia there were areas with “foreign ”, the Finno-Ugric population, which in some places survived until the 13th-14th centuries, and in some places even later. But pre-revolutionary researchers did not see the subject of history in non-Slavic tribes. They were not interested in their fate, assigned them a passive, third-rate role in the history of Rus'.

A belated echo of these views was the speech of the famous ethnographer D.K. Zelenin, who published an article in 1929 in which he questioned the very fact of the participation of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the formation of the Russian people. This speech was then severely criticized by ethnographers.

Unfortunately, the nihilistic attitude to the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples and other non-Slavic participants in the creation of the Old Russian people, for other reasons, of course, than before, has been preserved among Soviet historians of Ancient Rus'. In the works of such specialists in the history of the population and feudal relations in North-Eastern Rus' as M. K. Lyubavsky and S. B. Veselovsky and others, the non-Slavic population - the whole, Merya, Meshchera, Muroma - is only mentioned and no more. In the works of B. D. Grekov, devoted to the history of the peasantry, S. V. Yushkov, which deals with the history of law, M. N. Tikhomirov on peasant and urban anti-feudal movements and others, the population of Ancient Rus' is considered from the very beginning as essentially homogeneous. Willingly or unwittingly, historians proceed from the idea that the ancient Russian people in the 9th-10th centuries. already formed. They do not see and do not take into account local features, do not see or do not take into account the fact that individual Slavic-Russian, Finno-Ugric and other groups had their own economic, social and ethnic specifics. Non-Russian tribes fought for independence not only in the 9th-10th centuries, during the formation of Ancient Rus', but also later - in the 11th-12th centuries. Historians seem to be afraid that by recognizing the existence of antagonism between individual ethnic groups that were part of the borders of Ancient Rus', they weaken their Marxist assessment of historical events, the main force of which was the class struggle. As a result, this leads to some kind of idealization of Ancient Rus'.

Take, for example, the well-known anti-feudal uprising of 1071 in the Rostov region. Despite the fact that the description of this event in the annals leaves no doubt that its participants - both smerds led by sorcerers and the "best wives" who were robbed and killed by hungry smerds - were Meryan, Finno-Ugric elements (we are talking about this will be discussed below), the historians of Ancient Russia do not attach any importance to this, or they try to completely deny this circumstance.

So, M.N. Tikhomirov, recognizing that the Rostov-Suzdal land in the XI century. had a mixed Russian-Finno-Ugric population, nevertheless tried to consider the specific ethnographic features accompanying the uprising of 1071 as features allegedly common in the Russian environment. He considers the rebellious smerds with the Magi to be Russians, since nowhere in the annalistic story is it indicated that Jan Vyshatich spoke with the rebels with the help of translators.

Of the historians of our time, it seems that only V. V. Mavrodin gave, in my opinion, a correct description of that, not only social, but also specific tribal, environment in which the uprising of 1071 proceeded.

And at present, little has changed in historiography in this area. One can fully agree with the recently expressed opinion of V. T. Pashuto, who noted that “our historiography has not yet explored the issue of ethnic and economic complexity and the resulting political heterogeneity of the structure of the Old Russian state ... The features of the anti-feudal struggle of the peoples subject to Russia and its correlation with the history of the class struggle of Russian smerds and the urban poor. It should be pointed out that in the work of V. T. Pashuto, from which this quote is taken, in fact, for the first time, all these topics in their entirety were put before historians. But so far they have just been installed.

Things have been somewhat better in recent decades with archaeological research on the early medieval history of the Rostov-Suzdal land and the north-west of Novgorod. As a result of repeated excavations in the region of the Volga-Oka interfluve, significant new material was obtained, highlighting the culture of the Finno-Ugric - Meryan, Murom and Mordovian populations, as well as a picture of the appearance of Slavic-Russian settlers in this area. One of the latest results of these works is a large book by E. I. Goryunova published in 1961. In this book, in my opinion, one can not agree with everything, especially in those sections of it that deal with the distant past. But the second part of the book, devoted to the early Middle Ages, in particular the relationship of the Russian population with the local Meryansk and Murom groups, contains mostly very interesting data and their interpretation, which will be used more than once in the following presentation. The works of L. A. Golubeva, a researcher of the city of Beloozero, are devoted to the medieval antiquities of the Beloozero village. The population of this ancient city was mixed, Russian-Finno-Ugric.

Of great importance for research in the field of history and culture of the Volga-Oka Finno-Ugric tribes were also the results of archaeological work in the Mari, Mordovian, Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics adjacent to the Volga-Oka interfluve.

As for the northwestern Finno-Ugric regions, which were once part of the Votskaya Pyatina of Veliky Novgorod, then in its western parts, lying south of the Gulf of Finland and the river. Neva, over the past half century there have been very few archaeological studies devoted to the study of the history of the ancient indigenous population. Nevertheless, the views of A. A. Spitsyn on the medieval burial mounds of this area were revised. Such researchers as X. A. Moora, V. I. Ravdonikas, V. V. Sedov came to the conclusion that the kurgan antiquities of the XI-XIV centuries, a considerable part of them, must be associated with the indigenous population - Vod and Izhora. And how could it be otherwise, if these Finno-Ugric groups constituted a significant part of the population here until the 19th century. and if a population that preserves the memory of its Votic and Izhora origins exists here in some places at the present time.

In the 1920s and 1930s, large-scale studies of medieval burial mounds were carried out in neighboring regions - in the Southern Ladoga and Prionezhie; they were associated with excavations at the ancient settlement of Staraya Ladoga and were intended to give a picture of the rural population surrounding this city, previously known mainly from the excavations of N. E. Brandenburg. The results of all these studies caused a long discussion among archaeologists, which has not yet ended. As already mentioned, some researchers argue that the medieval burial mounds of Ladoga and Onega belong to villages; others see in them the monuments of the southern Karelian groups. It is only clear that this was not a Slavic-Russian population, but a Finno-Ugric one, although it was subjected to significant Slavic-Russian influence.