Why did Russians call Russians? The Origin of the Russian People

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

And Russian people - part of this great community - came from the Eastern Slavs, along with Ukrainians and Byelorussians. So why Russians were called Russians, how and in what conditions did this happen. We will try to find answers to these questions in this article.

Primary ethnogenesis

So, we make a journey into the depths of history, or rather, at the time when the Slavic tribes are beginning to form , this is the IV-III millennium BC.

It is then that ethnic demarcation of European peoples takes place. From the general environment, the Slavic mass is allocated. It, too, was not homogeneous, despite the similarity of languages, in other respects the Slavic peoples are quite different, this even applies to the anthropological type.

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

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

Expansion of the range

Further expansion of the Slavs gives us an answer to the origin of the Russian people. In the 4th-3rd centuries BC, the Slavic masses moved to central Europe and occupied the basins of the Vistula, Oder and Elbe rivers.

At this stage, one can not yet speak of any clear distinction within the Slavic population. The greatest change in the ethnic and territorial demarcation is the Hun invasion. By the fifth century of our era, the Slavs appeared in the forest-steppe of modern Ukraine and south of the area of the Don region.

Here they successfully assimilate a few Iranian tribes and establish settlements, one of which is Kiev. However, from the previous land owners there are numerous toponyms and hydronyms, which allowed to conclude that the Slavs appear in these places approximately to the above-mentioned period.

At this moment, a rapid growth of the Slav population occurs, which led to the emergence of a large intertribal union - the Anth Union, it is from his environment that the Russians emerge. The history of the origin of this people is closely connected with the first prototype of the state.

The first mention of the Russian

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

By this period, the Slavs formed 15 large intertribal unions, the most developed of which were glades and Slavs living in the area of Lake Ilmen. The strengthening of the Slavs led to the fact that they appear in the Byzantine possessions, it is from there that the first information about Russs and dews comes.

That is why Russians were called Russians, this is a derivative of the ethnonym, which they were given by the Byzantines and other peoples around them. There were other names similar in transcription: Rusyns, Rus.

In this chronological period there is an active process of formation of statehood, moreover, the centers of this process were two - one in Kiev, another in Novgorod. But both had the same name - Rus.

Why Russians were called Russians

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

Among these numerous tribes there are names of Rus, Rusyns, ruthenas, rugi. Suffice it to recall that the ethnic group of Rusyns has survived to our time. But why this word?

The answer is very simple, in the language of the Slavs, the word "fair-haired" meant blonde or simply light, and the Slavs in the anthropological type looked exactly like that. A group of Slavs who lived primarily on the Danube, when transferred to the Dnieper coast, brought this name.

From there originates the terminology and the origin of "Russian", the Russians gradually become Russian in the course of time. This part of the eastern Slavs settles in the area of modern Kiev and the surrounding territories. And they bring this name here, and since they are fixed here, the ethnonym has settled, with time it has only slightly changed.

The emergence of Russian statehood

Another part of the Russs occupied the lands along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, here they drove the Germans and the Balts westward, and gradually moved northwestward, this group of the Eastern Slavs already had princes and a squad.

And almost stood in one step from the creation of the state. Although there is a version of the northern European origin of the term "Rus" and it is related to the Norman theory that the Slavs were brought by the Vikings, Slavs were designated by this term, but there is no evidence of this.

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

The history of the Russian people at the very beginning

As already mentioned above, between Kiev and Novgorod in the late ninth century there is a sharp rivalry. The reason for this was the acceleration of socio-economic development and the need to create a unified state.

In this struggle, the northerners gained the upper hand. In 882 the Novgorod prince Oleg collected a large army and went on a campaign against Kiev, but he could not take the city by force. Then he went to the trick and gave his rooks for a merchant caravan, taking advantage of the effect of surprise, he killed the Kiev princes Askold and Dir and took the throne of Kiev, declaring himself the Grand Duke.

So there is an Old Russian state with a single supreme ruler, taxes, a squad and a judicial system. And Oleg becomes the founder of the dynasty of Rurikovich, who ruled in Rus-Russia until the 16th century.

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