Scientists assert that Slavs arose up among the
autochtonic Indo-European population of East Europe. They accept the idea that northern
Carpathian
Mountains,
valleys of the river Wisla and Prypyat were the
places were Slavs origin from. From that places at the beginning of the VII
century Slavs began to settle apart in all directions. To the northeast they
deepened into the lands of Ugro-Finns close to Oka River and to the upper flow of Volga River. Westward their settlements were
established in the North Germany on the banks of Elba River.
The most mass colonization of Slavs
took place in Balkan. Slavs were settling apart from their pre-Slavic lands
gradually still keeping connections with their previous motherland. The most
interesting feature of that expansion was its peaceful character. Slavs moved
up to new lands mainly as colonists not as invaders.
Researches of the prominent Russian scientist
Alex Shakhmatov prove that at the beginning of the VI
century from the common language of Slavs three sub-groups were formed:
- West-Slavonic, from which such as Polish,
Czech and Slovak languages developed later;
- South-Slavonic, which the Bulgarian,
Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian languages derived from;
- East-Slavonic, which the Ukrainian, Russian
and Byelorussian languages developed from.
In the VII century East Slavs were concentrated on the right bank
of the Dniper River. Later on there were about 14 large
tribal unions which populated the territories of modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Dniper – the River on which banks the Ukrainian Nation was formed and harden.
View from the bell tower of the Kyivo-Pecherska
Lavra Monastery
in the very center of the capital
of Ukraine
Although there were plenty of East-Slavonic
settlements those days their sizes were relatively small. Villages were
disposed in a few kilometers from each other and consisted of 4-70 wooden
buildings. Every new group of settlements was built in the distance of 40-50
kilometers from the previous one. Fortresses, so-called „grad”, were built in
their centers. They were for the purpose of defense from enemies. They were
also used for tribal gatherings and cult ceremonies. That is why Scandinavians
called the lands of Slavs "Gardariki", means "lands of
fortresses" because there were hundreds of such settlements there.
The structure of the political organization of East Slavs is still unknown. It seems they had
neither supreme rulers nor centralized power. Tribes and clans led by
patriarchs were united by belief in their common gods. Important decisions they
agreed by their common consent. The class of tribal nobles appeared later. Its
representatives were called “Knyaz” (Dukes). But
socio-economic stratification of tribes remained insignificant. Soil and cattle
were considered common property belonging to numerous families. East Slavs were known as inflexible and
hard-tempered warriors. Obstinacy and endurance were their main advantages both
during war and in time of peace.
Trade between East Slavs those days was developed poorly.
Oriental merchants, especially Arab-muslims who visited the lands of East Slavs in the VIII century, brought it
back to life. Slavs exchanged their honey, beeswax, fur for precious metals,
thin fabrics, jewelry. Such kind of trade became
prosperous when at lower reaches of the River Volga and at the Caspian Sea coast the Turkic tribes of Hazars,
which later adopted Judaism, established their unique auction empire. East Slavs went out from their isolation then.
A new stage of their history began.
This publication is based on: Orest Subtelny. Ukraine: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1991.
