Polyane - East Slavic tribal association of the 6th-9th centuries. in the forest-steppe region of the Dnieper region, between the mouths of pp. Desna and Rosi. The chronicle explains the ethnonym “Polyane”: “zane in polysedyahu,” contrasting the Polyans with the neighboring Drevlyans - the inhabitants of Polesie.
Polyane - East Slavic tribal association of the 6th-9th centuries. in the forest-steppe region of the Dnieper region, between the mouths of pp. Desna and Rosi.
The chronicle explains the ethnonym “Polyane”: “zane in polysedyahu,” contrasting the Polyans with the neighboring Drevlyans - the inhabitants of Polesie.
The center of the Polyanskaya ("Polish") land was Kyiv; its other settlements are Vyshgorod, Belgorod, Zvenigorod, Trepol, Vasilev, etc.
The area of the glades was part of the zone of ancient agricultural culture. According to chronicles and archival data, the glades were engaged in arable farming, cattle breeding, hunting, beekeeping and fishing; cattle breeding, farming, “timbering” and trade were more common among them than among other Slavs. The latter was quite extensive not only with its Slavic neighbors, but also with foreigners in the West and East: from the coin hoards it is clear that trade with the East began in the 8th century. - stopped during the strife of the appanage princes. At first, around the middle of the 8th century, the Polans, who paid tribute to the Khazars due to their cultural and economic superiority, soon moved from a defensive position in relation to their neighbors to an offensive one. Drevlyans, Dregovichs, northerners, etc. by the end of the 9th century. were already subject to the glades. Christianity was established among them earlier than others.
The remains of their settlements with small square semi-dugout dwellings were usually located on low river banks. With the development of feudal relations, fortified settlements and loans began to appear near the glades.
Evolution of Polyansky antiquities
The glades contain burial mounds. Jewelry of the Polyans, known from treasures of the 6th - 8th centuries, and distribution in the 9th century. potter's wheel indicate a significant development of their crafts. The chronicle repeatedly noted that the economic and social order of the glades was at a higher stage of development than that of their neighbors. The chronicle legend about the beginning of Rus', about the first Russian princes, about the founding of Kyiv, which conveys the historical situation of the 6th-7th centuries, is associated with Polyany. At this time, the land of the glades became the core of the ancient Russian statehood, which subsequently united other East Slavic regions around itself. The last time the name of the Polyans was mentioned in the chronicle was in 994, after which they were replaced by the ethnonym “Rus”.
According to Nestor, the glades came from the Danube back in the days of tribal life: during the initial settlement, they sat down near the Dnieper in the Danube style, scattered, each clan separately, in the mountains and in the forests, and were engaged in hunting. Nestor directly speaks about this: “In the field, the individual lives and rules over his own generations, and each one lives with his own kind and in his own place, each owning his own kind; and beat the catching beast.” But a foreign land soon forced the Polyans to deviate from their ancestral life. One clan soon grew stronger between them, with its settlements adjacent directly to the Dnieper. The oldest representatives of this family, brothers: Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, became the main leaders, princes of all Polyana families, and built the first city of Kyiv in this region. After the death of Kiy and his brothers, the power acquired by them passed to their clan: “their clan began to reign in the Fields.” Thus, even in the first generations of the Danube settlers, the Polyanian clans were united into one whole, and at the same time their original clan structure suffered a strong change. And when the descendants of Kiya, who ruled the glades, died out, the communal principles in this tribe received full development - the glades began to be governed by the veche; so that Nestor already compares them with the Novgorodians: “The Novgorodians and Smolnyans and Kiyans, and all the authorities, as if they come to a council at a meeting, whatever the elders decide, the suburbs will become the same.”
Thus, with the suppression of Kyiv’s descendants, the entire tribe of the Polyans formed a union of communities and the former clan eldership turned into a new eldership - communal, based as much on eldership as on power and wealth; It was not the clan or its representative, the ancestor, who became the eldest, but the city, which served as the first foundation of the community, and the youngest were its settlements and suburbs. Clan life here has decisively lost its former significance, society has taken a completely different path, its benefits are completely at odds with the benefits of the clan. The clan demanded separation and removal from others, and society sought communication and unification into one whole and found it in the subordination of the suburbs to the older city. Among the glades, the representative and leader of the whole tribe became not the ancestor, but the eldest city in that region - Kyiv; There is no information about childbirth as representatives of tribal life in the entire subsequent history of the glades. The first news about the communal structure of the Polyans, attested by history, we encounter during the attack of the Khazars. Nestor says: “I am the Kozari who sits on these mountains, and I decide to the Kozari: “Pay us tribute.” The clearing thought and the sword was blown away from the smoke.” This is the first Kiev Veche known to us. We meet the second veche during the invasion of Askold and Dir.
Under the communal structure, the glades began to strengthen, which was facilitated by the benefits of the area they occupied during the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The glades became representatives of communal life, the principles of which began to penetrate into their family life. The very structure of the family in the Polyans was special. Marriage was determined by an agreement, which determined the amount of dowry for the bride, and the agreement determined the child of the community. Family relations among the Polyans were distinguished by particular severity and order: “The Polyans have the custom of being meek and quiet towards their fathers, and shame towards their daughters-in-law, and sisters, and towards brothers-in-law, great shame in the name, marriage customs in the name. I don’t want a son-in-law to marry a bride, but I spend the evening, and in the morning I bring her what I have given.” The religion of the Polyans itself was influenced by the communal structure. According to Procopius, the Slavs on the Danube did not change ancient customs and strictly observed them, while the Polans, having moved, changed their religion. Initially, their religion consisted of worshiping lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, but later we see other gods among them - Perun, Stribog, Volos, etc., which they borrowed from the Lithuanians and Finnish tribes. This borrowing of foreign gods, unthinkable in tribal life, serves as irrefutable proof that the Slavic tribe moved from alienation and isolation to community on the widest scale.
Russian Civilization
Volynians
One of the chronicle tribes (tribal union), mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Known since the end of the 1st – beginning of the 2nd millennium on the lands of Western Ukraine and Belarus in the historical region of Volyn (the Bug River basin, the upper reaches of the Pripyat River).
Arab sources indicate that the Volynians were a powerful tribe to which other tribes were subordinate. In the 7th-8th centuries, the Arab geographer Al-Masudi points out, the Volynians created an early state union led by King Majak. There were about 70 fortified settlements on the lands of the Volynians. The main centers were Volyn, Buzhsk, and later Vladimir (Volynsky).
In 907, the Volynians became allies of the Kyiv prince Oleg in a campaign against Byzantium. In 981, the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich conquered the Cherven and Przemysl lands inhabited by Volynians, and they became part of Kievan Rus. During the period of feudal demarcation, a separate appanage Vladimir-Volyn principality arose in the territory where the Volynians settled, which over time became part of the Galician-Volyn state.
Vyatichi
“...and Vyatko settled with his family on the Oka, from him the Vyatichi were called”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
One of the large Slavic tribes or tribal associations that lived in the Oka River basin and its tributaries. Over time, the Vyatichi moved southeast to the upper reaches of the Don.
The name of the tribe probably comes from the name of the ancestor Vyatka. The Radimichi and Vyatichi tribes came from the west. “The Radimichi and Vyatichi are from the family of Poles. There were two brothers y l Yakhov - one is Radim, and the other is Vyatko"(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
And these two brothers brought their peoples, and became neighbors of the Polyans, the Drevlyans and the Northerners, and the Radimichs, and they all lived peacefully among themselves. Vyatichi was conquered by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. Being part of Kievan Rus, until the end of the 11th century. maintained political independence. In later times, the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh dealt with the Vyatichi tribal prince Khodota.
Until the end of the 13th century. (during the penetration of Christianity), the Vyatichi preserved pagan customs and rituals, for example, they burned the dead and built mounds over the burial site. The Vyatichi retained their tribal name longer than any other Slavic tribe. They lived under the laws of self-government and democracy. The last mention of the Vyatichi was in the chronicle of 1197.
Drevlyans
They were engaged in agriculture, beekeeping, cattle breeding, and developed trades and crafts. The lands of the Drevlyans constituted a separate tribal principality headed by a prince. Large cities: Iskorosten (Korosten), Vruchy (Ovruch), Malin.
In 884, the Kiev prince Oleg conquered the Drevlyans and annexed their lands. In 907, the Drevlyans, as part of the Kyiv army, took part in the campaign against Byzantium. An attempt by the Kyiv prince Igor in 945 to re-collect tribute led to an uprising of the Drevlyans and the death of Igor. In 946, Igor's wife, Princess Olga, went to war against the Drevlyans, captured their prince Mal, destroyed Iskorosten, and subjugated the lands of the Drevlyans to Kyiv. The name of the tribe was last found in the chronicle in 1136, where it is said that Prince Yaropolk transferred the lands of the Drevlyans to the Tithe Church.
Some researchers call the tribe in the East Slavic group of tribes next to the Drevlyans Zhitich, which allegedly existed on the banks of the Teterev River, and the main city of this tribe was the city of Zhitomir.
Dregovichi
“...and others sat down between Pripyat and Dvina and called themselves Dregovichs...”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
An inter-tribal association that possibly included two groups of tribes. They lived in the 9th – 10th centuries. between Pripyat and the upper reaches of the Western Dvina. In the east, the Dregovichi region moved to the left bank of the Dnieper. Obviously, the name of the tribe came from “dryagva”, “dregva” - swamp, quagmire, indicating the swampy nature of the area where the Dregovichi lived. Cities: Slutsk, Drutsk, Kletsk (Klechesk). Researchers believe that the tribal center of the Dregovichi was Turov. They were engaged in farming, collecting berries and plants, and crafts (pottery, iron processing).
In the 9th – 10th centuries. the territory of the Dregovichi was annexed to the Kyiv state. During the division of Rus' into appanages by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, most of the Dregovich lands went to the Turov (Turovo-Pinsk) principality, and the northwestern lands to the Polotsk principality. The history of the Dregovichi has no bright pages; they are only mentioned in the list of tribes.
Duleby
One of the most ancient East Slavic tribal associations, which arose in the 7th century. The chronicler mentions them in connection with the attack on them by the Avars (Obrov) during the time of Emperor Heraclius (610–641). “These obras fought against the Slavs, and tortured the Dulebs, also Slavs, and inflicted violence on the Dulebs’ wives.”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
Scientists suggest: the Dulebs, Buzhans and Volynians, who were sometimes considered one tribe, are different neighboring tribes. The Dulebs lived to the south of the Volynians in the Upper Nadnestrian region and in the upper reaches of the Western Bug between the Carpathians and Volyn. This is the southwestern outskirts of the East Slavic lands. " The Dulebs lived above the Bug, where the Volynians are now.”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”). After the defeat from the Avars, part of the Dulebs moved to Pannonia. In 911, the Dulebs took part in the campaign of the Kyiv prince Oleg to Constantinople. The Duleb tribal union was short-lived. It collapsed in the 10th century. into individual tribes, without achieving its state completeness.
“The center of the appanage principality in the Volyn land was the city of Cherven (Cherven) on the left bank of the river. Guchvy (nowadays a fortified settlement near the village of Czermno, Tyszowiec commune, Zamoyskie Voivodeship, Poland). In addition to Cherven, there were also Cherven cities: the city of Volyn (now the village of Grudek Nadbuzhny), the city of Suteysk (now the village of Sonsyadka) on the river. Por and others. In the second half of the 1st millennium, the territory of the Cherven cities was inhabited by the East Slavic tribes of Dulebs, Buzhans, and Volynians. Cherven cities arose during the formation of the East Slavic unification led by the Dulebs. At the beginning of the X century. The Cherven cities had a close connection with Kievan Rus, but in the third quarter of the 10th century. the local tribal elite became dependent on the Czech Republic. The Cherven cities passed from the Poles to Kievan Rus and were part of the Vladimir-Volyn and Galicia-Volyn principalities. In the middle of the 13th century. Cherven cities were destroyed by the Tatars, after which they fell into decay. In the 14th century this territory was captured by Polish and Lithuanian feudal lords"(Maria Kostik).
There are quite a lot of toponymic names “Duleby” on Slavic lands: the villages of Duleby on the Turia River and on the Stryi River, Duleby Island on the left bank of the Pripyat River, Dolobskoye Lake near Kyiv.
Ilmen Slavs
A unique separate group of Slavs were the Ilmen or Novgorod Slavs, who occupied the northern edge of the eastern Slavic lands. The Ilmen Slavs settled north of Polotsk and Krivichi, in the basin of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River. There are several assumptions about their origin: one group of scientists believes that the Slavs came to the north from the south, the other - from the west. Most likely, the Baltic Slavs came to Lake Ilmen.
“The same Slavs who settled near Lake Ilmen called themselves by their name - Slavens, and built a city and called it Novgorod”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
One of the first trade and craft centers of the Ilmen Slavs was Staraya Ladoga (an ancient Slavic settlement of the 7th century). At the end of the 9th century. new centers emerge - Ladoga, Rurik settlement; at the beginning of the 10th century – Novgorod, which became the tribal center of the Ilmen Slavs. In later times, Novgorod and Kyiv were the main political, commercial and cultural centers of the Eastern Slavs. The Union of Ilmen tribes incorporated three tribal entities: Ladoga, Pskov and Novgorod.
Krivichi
“...the Krivichi, who sit in the upper reaches of the Volga, and in the upper reaches of the Dvina, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, their city is Smolensk...”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
Tribal association of the Eastern Slavs in the 6th-10th centuries. They lived in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Western Dvina, Volga and in the southern part of the Lake Peipsi basin. Main cities: Smolensk (near Smolensk in Gnezdovo, archaeologists found a large burial mound and the remains of a settlement), Izborsk, Pskov, Toropets. The Krivichi of Smolensk, Pskov and Polotsk are known.
The Slavs came to these lands later and merged with the local Baltic population. The name “krivich” (“kriv”) corresponds to the Latvian krievs - Russian, Eastern Slav. The Krivichi were called Slavic Vends. History knows of an unification - a confederation of three cities: Izborsk (Krivichi-Vends), Staraya Ladoga (Estonians), Beloozero (Vepsians). In the middle of the 9th century. they “invited” the Danish king (from the Frigs) Rurik to rule. The main occupations of the Krivichs were agriculture, cattle breeding, and crafts.
As a result of the campaigns of the Kyiv prince Askold, the lands of the Krivichi became part of Kievan Rus. Later, the Smolensk and Polotsk principalities were created in the territories of residence (864 and 870). The northwestern part of the Krivichi lands went to the possessions of Novgorod. The last mention of the Krivichi in the chronicle was in 1162.
Polotsk residents
“...others sat down on the Dvina and called themselves Polotsk, from the river that flows into the Dvina and is called Polota”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
Part of the ancient Slavic tribal association of Krivichi; inhabited in the 9th century. areas of the middle reaches of the Western Dvina River. The name of the tribe comes from the name of the Polota River, which flows into the Western Dvina. The main city of Polotsk is the center of the tribal principality. All Slavic tribes had their own reign: “... and the Drevlyans had their own princedom. And the Dregovichi have theirs, and the Slavs in Novgorod have theirs. Another reign was on the Polota River, where Polotsk residents lived.”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
Archaeological site of the 6th-7th centuries. On the territory of residence of Polotsk residents in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina there is a large group of long mounds. Similar mounds were found by archaeologists in the settlement territory of their neighbors, the Krivichi. The Polochans, together with the Pskov and Smolensk Krivichi, were an alliance of tribes. In this union they are called Polotsk Krivichi. The Principality of Polotsk arose on the territory of the Polotsk tribe. The descendants of Polotsk residents disappeared into the population of Belarus, and together with the Dregovichi, Radimichi and Krivichi became the basis of the Belarusian people.
Glade
“...the Slavs came and sat along the Dnieper and called themselves Polyans”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
The tribal union of the glades occupies a special place in the chronicles. Polyana played the first role in the process of creating the Kyiv state. The Polyana princes Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv built Kyiv. Foreign sources of the early Middle Ages do not mention the Polyans, although they testify to other tribes. It is possible that by that time the tribal association of the glades no longer existed, and foreigners knew a new association called “Rus”.
In addition to ancient Russian glades, Polish glades are known in history, which became the basis of the Polish state; glades in Moravia, Bulgarian glades. There are suggestions that all these glades come from the large Antsky (Polyansky) tribal union, which was geographically settled between the Dniester and Dnieper in the forest-steppe zone. Polyane - inhabitants of the field. Byzantine sources call this Slavic union of tribes “Ants”, while the Ants themselves called themselves “Polyans”. A study of archaeological monuments of the territory inhabited by the Ant-Polyans shows that the Polyan tribal association included six tribal groups: Ulichi, Tivertsy, Dulebs, Buzhans, Volynians and White Croats. After the collapse of the Polyanian Union as a result of wars with the Avars in the 7th century. these tribes independently perform in the historical arena.
Radimichi
“...Radim sat on Sozhe, from him they were called Radimichi”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
East Slavic tribe, which in the 9th - 10th centuries. lived in the interfluve of the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Desna, in the Sozh River basin. They were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, and crafts. The name is probably from the name of the hero-ancestor Radim (Radimir). Main cities: Gomel (Gomiy), Vzhishch on the Desna, Chichersk on Sozh.
In the VIII-IX centuries. were under the rule of the Khazars. In 885 they were conquered by the Kyiv prince Oleg and became part of the Kyiv state. They strive for independence, but in 984, the Kiev prince Vladimir conquered the Radimichi for the second time and annexed their lands to Kievan Rus. In the 11th century. The lands of the Radimichi became part of the Smolensk and Chernigov principalities. Last mentioned in the chronicle in 1169.
“Obviously, they (Radimichi) really represent some kind of new formation that arose at the last stage of the formation of Rus' due to some specific conditions. This is also supported by the fact that the territory of the Radimichi is significantly smaller than the territory of any other chronicled tribe.”(Mikhail Braichevsky).
Northerners
“And others sat on the Desna, and on the Seym, and on the Sula, and were called northerners”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”). Tribal association of Eastern Slavs in the Northern Slavic territories. “North”, “siver” - cold, “siverko” - cold north wind. Territory of settlement at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. – the left bank of the Dnieper, the basins of the Sula, Desna, Seym rivers, the upper reaches of the Psla and Vorskla rivers. Cities: Chernigov (the center of the tribal principality), Pereyaslav, Novgorod-Siversky, Kursk, Lyubech. Chernigov was famous for its artisans, and especially its jewelers. There were more than 150 fortified settlements on the Siversk lands. Main occupations: arable farming, fishing, hunting, developed crafts.
In the VI-VII centuries. together with the Polans and other tribes, the northerners created an early state unification on the territory of the Middle Dnieper region. In the VIII-IX centuries. the northerners paid tribute to the Khazars. During the war between Prince Oleg and the Khazars in 884, part of the lands of the northerners became part of Kievan Rus. In 911, the northerners took part in Oleg’s campaign against Byzantium. In the 60s of the 10th century. after Prince Svyatoslav’s campaign against the Khazar Kaganate, the Seversky lands completely became part of the Kyiv state. The last mention of the northerners was in the chronicle of 1024.
Tivertsy
Tribe or tribal association. The name probably comes from the name of the Tivre River, or from the ancient name of the Dniester River - Tiras. They lived in the area between the rivers Dniester, Prut, and Danube. Archaeological excavations indicate the settlement of the Tiverts on the territory of Moldova and the ancient city of the Tiverts Cherna. “...the Ulichi and the Tivertsi sat on the Dniester, in close proximity to the Danube”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
On the territory of the Tiverts, according to archaeologists, there were about 150 fortified settlements with high earthen ramparts and deep ditches. The main occupations were agriculture, cattle breeding, beekeeping, and crafts and crafts developed.
From the second half of the 10th century. The lands of the Tiverts are attacked by the nomadic tribes of the Pechenegs and Polovtsians. For protection, the Tivertsi enter into an alliance with other Slavic tribes and mix with them. The relations between the Tiverts and the glades cannot be called friendly. Polyansky Prince Igor conquered the Tiverts and their neighbors, the Streets. In the X – XI centuries. Tivertsy were part of the Kyiv state. In the XII-XIII centuries. The Tivertsi tribal association was part of the Galician Principality. In later times, the descendants of the Tiverts disappeared into the population of Moldova.
Ulichi
A tribe or tribal group of Eastern Slavs. A widespread version was about the primary place of settlement of the Ulichs (Uglichs) between the Southern Bug and the Dniester, in an area that has long been called the Angle (Kut), as well as on the shores of the Black Sea. Later the Turks called this area Budzhak, which also means “corner”. This is where the name “ulich” comes from, from the primary “uglichi”. But the chronicles indicate that the primary territory of the streets was the Naddnepryanshchina to the south of Kyiv.
“And the Uglich sat along the Dnieper down (from Kyiv), and then they came between the Bug and the Dniester and sat there.”(First Novgorod Chronicle).
On the right bank of the Dnieper, slightly below the mouth of the Lybid River, there was the main city of the streets - Peresechen (the ancient settlement has been partially preserved). In the list of Russian cities (Resurrection Chronicle), Peresechen is mentioned between the city of Yuryev on the Ros River and the city of Vasilyev on the Stugna River. Bavarian geographer of the 9th century. testifies that the Ulichi - a numerous people - had 318 cities. Probably, the Ulichi first lived on the Right Bank of the Dnieper, and later moved to the forest-steppe Dnieper region. In 885, the streets became part of the Kyiv state. In the 10th century under the pressure of the Pechenegs they retreated to the north.
Prince and fighting squad. "The Life of Boris and Gleb"
B) West Slavic tribes
Moravians. Poles. Slovaks. Czechs
Moravians
“So some came and sat down on the Morava River and called themselves Moravians...”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
A West Slavic tribal association that occupied territory in the Morava River basin north of the Danube (Moravia). At the head of the Moravian union (principality) was the Mojmirovich family (first prince Mojmir I, 833–836). Mojmir I annexed the Nitrat principality of Prince Pribin to his possessions, and in the 30s of the 9th century. a power began to emerge in the center of Europe - Great Moravia. In the middle of the 9th century. Great Moravia included the lands of the Czech, Slovak, Serbian Sorbian tribes, Silesia and part of Pannonia. In 862, under Prince Rostislav, Great Moravia, with its capital Velegrad on the Morava River, occupied the territory from Tisza to the Vistula and Oder. In the same year, the prince sent an embassy to the Byzantine Emperor Michael with a request to rule the service of the Christian Church in his native language. Byzantine missionaries compiled an alphabet that the Czech-Moravian tribes did not yet have, and with the translation of the sacred books into the Slavic language, they arrived in Velehrad in 863.
During the reign of Prince Svyatopolk, the missionary activity of Cyril and Methodius began in Moravia, thanks to which Christianity according to the Greek-Eastern rite was established in Moravia, and then in the Czech Republic. There is a lot of evidence in the chronicles that Cyril and Methodius invented the Slavic alphabet. Scientists have not yet established which alphabet they created - Cyrillic or Glagolitic.
After the death of Svyatopolk (894), the Czech Republic separated from the Great Moravian Empire. Then Great Moravia was destroyed by the Magyars. After 955, the Czech prince Boleslav annexed Moravia to the Czech Republic.
Poles
“When the Volochs attacked the Slavs, and settled among them, and oppressed them, these Slavs came and sat on the Vistula and called themselves Poles, and from those Poles began the Poles, and from them also the Mazovshans and Pomeranians.”(“The Tale of Bygone Years”).
Nowadays it is the main population of Poland. They also live in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, USA, Canada, Argentina, France, England and other countries.
The Poles are the main and largest branch of the Western Slavs. They have been performing in the historical arena since the 9th century. With the emergence of the ancient Polish state (9th – 11th centuries), the Polish nation was formed. In the territory between the Oder (interfluve of the Vistula and Oder), the Baltic Sea and the Carpathians in the 9th – 10th centuries. there were more than 50 West Slavic tribes and tribal unions (among which the largest was the Polyans).
Poles are divided into several tribal groups:
1) Wielkopolska – in Szlesk, Poznan and Prussia: Poles or valleys, Vistula people, paloons, Pozhechane, kuyaby and etc; 2) Mazovskaya - over the middle Vistula, Narew and Bug: Mazovshans, Masurians, Kujawiaki, Xenzhans; 3) Lesser Poland - along the upper Vistula and Sian: the Carpathian ones stand out gurals.
The Kashubian group stands out separately ( Kashubians). Polish tribes appeared in the territory between the Oder and Vistula, the Baltic Sea and the northern mountains of the Czech Republic at the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century, after German tribes left these lands to the west. The Slavic neighbors called the Poles by the common name “Poles”. Large Polish tribes are known. Glades - above Varta and Notech. The Vistula people are on the upper Vistula. This territory of southeastern Poland has been inhabited since the end of the 15th century. called Lesser Poland. The center of the Vistula tribe was the city of Krakow. The lands of the Vistula at the end of the 10th century. Bolesław I the Brave annexed it to the Polish state. Sometimes the Vistula people who lived in the territory of the present Krakow and Sandomierz voivodeships were called Croats or Chrobats. Mazovshan - on both banks of the middle Vistula. Kujawiaki – on the lower Vistula near Thorn. A tribe that lived near lakes Goplo, Lednica and others in the Notec River basin. (Hoplo is a large lake west of the city of Gniezno. Often mentioned in folk songs and legends. Lednica is a lake near the city of Gniezno, with an island on which the ruins of the princely palace of the 9th - 10th centuries are preserved.) Slenzyans - lived above the upper Oder. There were still many small tribes.
The first form of civil life among the Polish Slavs was a clan that created a siege - “wies”; clans were united into “opole”, and those into a tribal organization, headed by zhupans and veche; Princes stood out among the zhupans. The pagan religion of the Polish tribes had a pan-Slavic character.
The tribal principality of Polan with its center in the city of Gniezno during the reign of the princely Piast dynasty in the second half of the 9th century. - first half of the 10th century. united other tribes around itself. The unification of the West Slavic tribes Polans, Slęzyans, Vistulas, Mazovshans, Pomorians, Lendians eventually became the basis of the Polish people. Under the first reliable prince Mieszko I (963–992), the state received the name Poland, and the population received a collective name - Poles. The Eastern Slavs called the Poles “Poles”, “Lechites”, as evidenced by written sources. During the period of unification, the Polish Principality fought: with the German Empire for the Pomeranian lands; with Kievan Rus, which united the East Slavic tribes, for border lands. In the south, the conflict with the Czech Republic was caused by the annexation of Silesia and Lesser Poland with Krakow to the Polish lands. Mythological sources testify to the common ancestors of the Polish and Czech peoples. In 1025, the Polish prince Boleslav I the Brave was crowned, and the state was named the Kingdom of Poland.
There are several versions of the origin of the Slavs. During this time, a huge number of tribes from central and eastern Europe headed west. Various hypotheses suggest that the Slavs descended from the Antes, Wends and Sklavens in the 5th-6th centuries. Over time, this large mass divided into three groups: western, southern and eastern. Representatives of the latter settled in the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
The Eastern Slavs were not a single people. This was impossible due to differences in climate and living conditions. There were 15 tribal unions. Despite their relative kinship and close proximity, their relations were not always friendly.
For ease of classification, researchers often group the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs. The table will help you understand the numerous names of these prototype states. In the IX-X centuries. they all united into Rus' under the leadership
Northern tribal unions
In the very north of this ecumene lived the Slovenians. The definition of “Ilmen” has also been established in historiography, based on the name of the lake around which they settled. Later, the large city of Novgorod will appear here, becoming, along with Kiev, one of the two political centers of Rus'. This tribal union of the Eastern Slavs was one of the most developed thanks to trade with neighboring peoples and countries on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Their frequent conflicts with the Varangians (Vikings) are known, which is why Prince Rurik was invited to reign.
To the south, another tribal union of Eastern Slavs settled - the Krivichi. They settled in the upper reaches of several large rivers: the Dnieper and the Volga. Their main cities were Smolensk and Izborsk. Polotsk residents lived in Polotsk and Vitebsk.
Central tribal unions
The Vyatichi lived on the largest tributary of the Volga - the Oka. It was the easternmost tribal union of the Eastern Slavs. Archaeological monuments of the Romeno-Borshchev culture remained from the Vyatichi. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and trade with the Volga Bulgars.
To the west of the Vyatichi and south of the Krivichi lived the Radimichi. They owned land between the Desna and Dnieper rivers in modern Belarus. There are almost no written sources left from this tribe - only mentions of more developed neighbors.
The Dregovichi lived even further west than the Radimichi. To the north of them began the possessions of the wild people of Lithuania, with whom the Slavs had constant conflicts. But even this relationship had a great influence on the Dregovichi, who adopted many Baltic habits. Even their language changed and borrowed new words from their northern neighbors.
Western tribal alliances
In the far west lived Volhynians and White Croats. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus even mentioned them (in his book “On the Administration of the Empire”). He believed that it was this tribal union of the Eastern Slavs that was the ancestor of the Balkan Croats who lived on the borders of his state.
The Volynians are also known as the Buzhans, who got their name from the river. They were mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years.
Southern tribal alliances
The Black Sea steppes became home to the Streets and Tiverts. These tribal unions ended up on the southern borders. They lived in the steppe and constantly fought with local nomads of Turkic origin - the Pechenegs and Cumans. The Slavs failed to win in this confrontation, and in the second half of the 10th century they finally left the Black Sea region, settling in the lands of the Volynians and mixing with them.
Northerners lived in the southeast of the Slavic ecumene. They differed from the rest of their fellow tribesmen by their narrow face shape. They were greatly influenced by their steppe nomadic neighbors, with whom the northerners mutually assimilated. Until 882, these tribes were tributaries of the Khazars, until Oleg annexed them to his power.
Drevlyans
The Drevlyans settled in the forests between the Dnieper and Pripyat. Their capital was Iskorosten (now a settlement remains from it). The Drevlyans had a developed system of relationships within the tribe. In essence, this was an early form of a state with its own prince.
For some time, the Drevlyans argued with their Polyan neighbors for supremacy in the region, and the latter even paid them tribute. However, after Oleg united Novgorod and Kyiv, he subjugated Iskorosten. His successor, Prince Igor, died at the hands of the Drevlyans after demanding excess tribute from them. His wife Olga brutally took revenge on the rebels, setting fire to Iskorosten, which was never restored.
The names of tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs often have analogues in different sources. For example, the Drevlyans are also described as a Duleb tribal union, or Dulebs. What remained of them was the Zimnov settlement, which was destroyed by aggressive Avars in the 7th century.
Glade
The middle reaches of the Dnieper were chosen by glades. It was the strongest and most influential tribal union. Excellent natural conditions and fertile soil allowed them not only to feed themselves, but also to successfully trade with their neighbors - to equip flotillas, etc. It was through their territory that the path “From the Varangians to the Greeks” passed, which gave them great profits.
The center of the clearings became Kyiv, located on the high bank of the Dnieper. Its walls served as reliable protection from enemies. Who were the neighbors of the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs in these parts? Khazars, Pechenegs and other nomads who wanted to impose tribute on the settled people. In 882, Novgorod captured Kyiv and created a unified East Slavic state, moving its capital here.
The “Elementary Russian Chronicle” brings to us fragments of information about the history and life of the Slavic tribes that settled the Bryansk region.Thus, the article about the events of 859 says: “The Varangians from overseas collected tribute from the Chuds, and from the Slovenians, and from the Meris, and from the Krivichi. And the Khazars took from the glades, and from the northerners, and from the Vyatichi, a silver coin and a squirrel from the smoke (that is, from the hearth).” Thus, we see that the Vyatichi and northerners were dependent on the Khazar Khaganate, a large state created by nomads on the banks of the Volga.
Khazaria was ruled by the Khagan, whose title was later sometimes used by the Kyiv princes. The Khazars professed Judaism, the religion of the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible.
Meanwhile, the union of Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes, which included the Krivichi, expelled the Viking Varangians and stopped paying them tribute.
(According to another version, the Varangians came from the coast of the Baltic Sea, related to the Slavic tribes (until the 18th century in Russia the Baltic Sea was called the Varangian).
However, the liberated tribes plunged into internecine wars, and in order to stop the strife, the Varangians had to be called upon again.
So Rurik became the prince of Novgorod, marking the beginning of the first Russian princely dynasty. Prince Oleg (Prophetic Oleg, sung by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin), who succeeded Rurik, captured Kyiv, where the Varangians had also ruled before him, and began to collect the lands of the Slavs around Kiev and the trade route “From the Varangians to the Greeks.” That is, to create a Russian state, because the Varangians were then called “Rus” (as Nestor the chronicler also calls them). But here Oleg’s interests collided with the Khazar ones (remember, Pushkin’s prophetic Oleg “took revenge on the foolish Khazars”). The Khazar tributaries in this case, like Radimichi, resignedly agreed to give the Khazar to Oleg, but in another, like the northerners, they persisted: “In the year 884. He went against the northerners, and defeated the northerners, and imposed a light tribute on them, and ordered them to pay tribute to the Khazars, saying: “I am their enemy” and why should you (pay them)?
The alliance with Prince Oleg brought benefit and glory to the Radimichi and northerners. We find squads sent by these tribes in the huge army with which Oleg in 907 besieged the capital of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, Constantinople (the Slavs called it Constantinople, the city of the Caesar-Tsars, that is, the Byzantine emperors). The Byzantines (the Russian inventory calls them Greeks, because they spoke Greek, but the Byzantines themselves called them Romans-Romans) did not fight - and paid off with a rich tribute, part of which Oleg’s allies also received. In 911, the campaign was repeated, and the Greeks undertook to pay tribute to a number of cities, including Chernigov, separately from Kyiv.
Traces of Rus', the Viking-Varangians, who came with Oleg and after him, can be found in our area. These are numerous silver coins, a favorite prey of the Vikings. (The Vikings considered coins to be the embodiment of good luck. It could help a Varangian during his lifetime, and may be needed after death - that’s why coins were buried in the ground) These are the remains of weapons and clothing found in the modern Starodub region, as well as traces of the settlement of the Rus-Varangians (the village of Levenka ) on the way of the “Big Polyudye”. The fortification had a round shape. The Chashin Kurgan settlement on the territory of Bryansk dates back to the end of the 11th century, which also resembles the fortresses that were built in large numbers by the Danish Viking kings starting in the 9th century.
Chashin Kurgan ancient settlement in Bryansk
Relatively not far from us, near Smolensk, there is one of the oldest Viking cemeteries in Europe (the village of Gnezdovo, on the site of which tribute was collected in favor of Kiev), and in the famous mounds of Chernigov - “Black Grave” and “Gulbishche” - Viking weapons were found, already mixed with eastern, Khazar or Pecheneg, and the horns of a wild aurochs bull, bound in silver, from which the Varangians drank honey and beer. But how could these sea wanderers sail past the Desna, which would lead them to the Khazar lands, rich in gold, silver and all sorts of goods?
The outstanding Russian artist Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (No. 74-1947) was a great expert on antiquities. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, he personally conducted excavations of Slavic and Varangian burial mounds in northwestern Russia. The painting “Overseas Guests” is inspired by these excavations. It depicts Vikings sailing along one of the Russian rivers. No wonder our great fellow countryman, poet Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy wrote in the 19th century:
I drink to the Varangians, to the dashing grandfathers,
Who raised the Russian power,
For whom our Kyiv is famous, for whom the Greek has calmed down,
For the blue sea that is theirs,
Noisy, brought from the sunset! 
Finds from Chernigov burial mounds:
Oriental type helmet, Turya horns.
The background shows the stages of construction of the burial mound.
Weapons of Russian warriors of the late 10th century.
Danish sword from a settlement near the villages of Lyubozhichi - Monastery near Truchesky
After Oleg, Prince Igor ruled in Kyiv. When Igor died, instead of his young son Svyatoslav, the wise Princess Olga, the first Christian among the Russian princes, ruled. Svyatoslav, when he matured, decided to subjugate to his will the Vyatichi tribe, which had hitherto paid tribute to the Khazars.
The chronicle reports: “In the year 964. When Svyatoslav grew up..., he began to gather many brave warriors, and he was fast, like a pardus (a cheetah is one of the fastest animals), and he fought a lot.<...>And he sent them to other lands with the words: “I want to go against you.” And he went to the Oka River and the Volga, and met the Vyatichi, and said to the Vyatichi: “Who are you giving tribute to?” They answered: “We give the Khazars a shchelyag (small silver coin) per plow.”
In the year 965. Svyatoslav went against the Khazars. Having heard about this, the Khazars came out to meet them, led by their prince Kagan, and agreed to fight; in the battle Svyatoslav defeated the Khazars and the capital<.. .>took it.<.. .>In the year 966. Svyatoslav defeated the Vyatichi and imposed tribute on them.” Svyatoslav died while returning from a long campaign across the Danube. At this time, the outlying Slavic tribes stopped paying Kiev and some even started their own princely dynasties - “For example, there were such dynasties in Polotsk, Turov and, as modern scientists believe, in Chernigov among the northerners. Prince Vladimir, the future baptist of Rus', won the dynastic war and the saint had to restore the unity of the Russian land.
He began with the Vyatichi, once conquered by his father: "In the year 981<...>Vladimir won<...>Vyatichi and imposed tribute on them - from each plow, just as his father took it.
In the year 982. The Vyatichi rose up in war, and Vladimir went against them and defeated them a second time.” Apparently, the Vyatichi people liked to live freely, without owners from the banks of the Volga or Dnieper. Pacified by Vladimir, they will not defend their independence with arms in hand for a long time.
Following the Vyatichi, it was the turn of the Radimichi to defend freedom on the battlefield. The chronicle contains interesting information on this matter: “In the year 984. Vladimir went against the Radimichi. He had a governor, Wolf Tail; and Vladimir sent Wolf Tail ahead of him, and he met the Radimichi on the Pishchan River, and defeated the Radimichi Wolf Tail. That’s why the Russians tease the Radimichi, saying: “The Pischants are running from the wolf’s tail.”
By the middle and second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. refers to the formation of powerful Slavic tribal unions registered in the Tale of Bygone Years. Several such unions have developed on the territory of Belarus. The largest of them were Krivichsky, Dregovichsky, Radimichsky and Drevlyansky.
Map of the settlement of ancient Russian tribes.
The Russian chronicler gave the ethnogeography of the East Slavic tribes as it had developed by the 9th century. For the territory of Belarus, this was already the result of large and lengthy ethnic movements and complex relationships between Slavic tribes and the local population.
In the archeology of East Slavic tribes, the problem of establishing ethnic characteristics inherent in individual tribes and determining them based on their mapping is of undoubted interest.
tribal areas.
Attempts to clarify the areas of individual East Slavic tribes were made on the basis of relatively late archaeological data from the period of Kievan Rus. At this time, tribes as such no longer existed, but echoes of the former tribal division were quite clearly imprinted in material culture. In the mass of things and details of funeral rites, signs characteristic of certain tribes were identified.
The existence on the territory of the chronicle tribes of local groups of monuments that differ in detail, but coincide chronologically, makes it possible to identify within these “tribes” those primary and unknown tribes from the chronicle that, in the era of the disintegration of primitive communal relations, united into large unions.
One of the largest East Slavic tribes - the Krivichi, according to the initial chronicle, occupied lands in the upper reaches of the Volga, Dvina and Dnieper. In the middle and second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. in this territory, as well as in certain areas of Ponemanye and the Western Bug, long and elongated mounds were common, which were replaced in the 9th century. round mounds with single corpse burnings arrived. Elongated mounds are low, on average up to 1.5 m, mounds up to 20 m long and about 10 m wide. Under them, on the horizon, corpses are usually found to have been burned on the side. There are known finds of burnt bones placed in pots. In one of the mounds near the village of Khotenchitsy, burnt horse bones were found, poured into a hole under the mound and covered with an inverted vessel.
Long mounds have the form of a shaft, up to 80...100 m long. Their width can be 20 m or more, their height
Elongated and long mounds are very poor in finds. Usually these are rough molded pots, small bronze jewelry and costume details: trapezoidal pendants, spirals, bracelets, bells, buckles.
The oldest long mounds on the territory of Belarus date back to approximately the 7th century. The burial mounds in Budrany in Polotchina date back to this time, where a narrow-bladed ax was found, characteristic of antiquities of the 5th…8th centuries. There, between the villages of Mashuli and Shalteni, a long mound was excavated, dated by B-shaped buckles
Most researchers trace a continuity between elongated and long mounds, on the one hand, and ancient Russian burial structures, on the other. Both are characterized by ritual fire pits, preserved in the form of an ash-coal layer in an embankment or hole under the base of the mound. This circumstance makes it possible to connect long and elongated mounds with Krivichi. Recent studies of the Krivichy monuments lift the veil on the question of their origin. By the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. territorial isolation of the Krivichi from the rest of the East Slavic tribes began to emerge. The oldest known long mounds are located, according to the observations of V.V. Sedov, in the area of settlement of the Pskov group of Krivichi. They are not found either in the Smolensk Dnieper region or in the Polotsk region. But even in the ancient Pskov region, the Krivichi culture was alien. The Krivichi brought with them the tradition of above-ground buildings in the form of adobe houses with stone ovens, previously unknown in those places.
The search for the original territory of formation of the Krivichi tribes has not yet been successful. Krivichi monuments older than those in the Pskov region have not yet been discovered anywhere. However, one cannot ignore the fact that in the last centuries of the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. in the lands located between the Pskov region and the Upper Neman region, some kind of population movement is planned, accompanied by the death of fortified settlements. Many settlements with lined pottery in the western part of their distribution area ceased to exist in the 4th century. At the same time, settlements with hatched ceramics are spreading over the territories previously occupied by the Finno-Ugric population. Y. V. Stankevich noted in ceramics and other inventory of settlements of the 3rd...4th centuries. a combination of Slavic and East Baltic elements. According to V.V. Sedov, these phenomena should be explained by the penetration of the Krivichi tribes into this territory from the southwest, who in their movement carried away other tribes, in particular the tribes of hatched ceramics.
Temporal rings of Krivichi (1) and Radimichi (2). Granular Dregovichi bead (3).
The further history of the Krivichi is connected with their colonization of the Smolensk Dnieper region and the Polotsk region, where they penetrated approximately in the 7th century. n. e. It is interesting to note that in the oldest long barrows of the Polotsk and Smolensk regions there are no Baltic items. According to V.V. Sedov, this indicates that the Slavs initially did not mix with the local population here. But in the later long barrows of the 8th...9th centuries. Baltic things are known. The rural community, which by this time had replaced the clan community, obviously already admitted a foreign population into its composition. About the presence of a tribal organization among the Krivichi of the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. nothing is known yet.
Echoes of the ethnic uniqueness of the Krivichi culture make themselves felt for a long time. In the monuments of the ancient Russian era, features that go back to the time of tribal isolation are clearly visible. This is manifested in the details of the funeral ritual, which retained its characteristics for a long time, and in the stability of the traditional forms of some things. Archaeologically, an easily detectable ethnic feature of the Krivichs is women's temple rings in the form of a wire bracelet with tied ends. Such rings were woven into the hair near the temples, usually three on each side. Mapping of mounds with Krivichi
The burial ritual and bracelet-shaped temple rings make it possible to establish much more clearly the area of settlement of the Krivichi. By the time it became part of the Old Russian state, the Krivichi lands occupied a significant part of northeastern Belarus. Their southern border apparently ran north of Minsk.
The initial chronicle names the area of settlement of another East Slavic tribe - the Dregovichi - as the land between Pripyat and the Western Dvina. A. A. Spitsyn was the first to notice that the mound antiquities of this territory are characterized by some stable features: the presence of wooden frames, or towers, inside the mound mounds, ring-shaped temple rings with overlapping ends (the so-called one and a half turn), large metal granular beads, known as beads "Minsk type". These signs have been confirmed by other researchers.
True, ring-shaped temporal rings are also known among the southern neighbors of the Dregovichi - the Drevlyans and Volynians. But neither the Krivichi nor the Radimichi have them, which allows us to consider them a sign that helps distinguish between the Dregovichi, on the one hand, and the Krivichi and Radimichi, on the other. In the same way, it is not only the Dregovichi people who have the custom of burying their dead in wooden houses. A similar ritual is also known among the Volynians. V.V. Sedov considers grainy beads to be a typical Dregovichi item. They are not found at all in the necklaces of other Eastern Slavs. They should obviously be considered the main ethnically defining feature of the Dregovichi.
Based on the mapping of archaeological data characteristic of the Dregovichi, V.V. Sedov defines the territory of the Dregovichi within the following boundaries: in the south - the Pripyat River, in the east - the Dnieper, in the northeast - the watershed of the Berezina and Druti, in the north - the line of the cities of Zaslavl - Borisov. The natural border in the west was a vast swampy area - the so-called Vygonovskoe swamp.
The oldest Slavic monuments in this territory are settlements of the 6th…8th centuries. with Prague type ceramics. All of them are located in the southern part of Dregovichi land.
It should be noted that settlements of this type are also characteristic of the territory of the Drevlyans and Volynians. It can be assumed that the Prague-type culture was the source for the Dregovichi, Drevlyans, Volynians and, possibly, for some other Slavic tribes. This is apparently evidenced by the above-mentioned common features in their funeral rites and inventory.
V.V. Sedov dates the beginning of the Dregovich colonization of the left bank of Pripyat to the 9th century. It was at this time that burial mounds containing molded urns spread here. The local Baltic population, representing the descendants of the “shakers,” was assimilated. This process is quite clearly reflected in archaeological, anthropological and linguistic material. It is in the northern part of the Dregovichi territory, where the culture of hatched ceramics was widespread in the early Iron Age, that the ritual side of the burials contains an element characteristic of other East Slavic tribes that settled in the ancient territory of the Balts - the presence in the mounds of the remains of fire pits under burials.
This element is absent in the burial monuments of the Eastern Slavs located outside the area of ancient Baltic hydronymy, including among the southern Dregovichi.
Anthropological data speaks to this as well. Craniological studies by V.V. Sedov showed that in the northern part of the Dregovichi territory in the 11th...12th centuries. The Caucasoid long-headed and relatively broad-faced anthropological type, characteristic of the Baltic population, was widespread. In the southern part of the Dregovichi land, the population belonged to the Caucasoid, long-headed and narrow-faced anthropological type.
The southern neighbors of the Dregovichi were the Drevlyans. In the chronicle, their territory is marked, as always, very conditionally. The most important material for establishing the tribal territory of the Drevlyans is provided by archeology.
The most ancient Slavic culture in the land of the Drevlyans, like that of the Dregovichi, is represented by monuments of the Prague type, which were replaced in the 9th century. mounds came with single corpse burnings, and later corpses. The burial goods of the Drevlyans were extremely poor: a knife, a wire ring or a bead. It is not yet possible to identify ethnically defining things among things. The only opportunity to establish the tribal territory of the Drevlyans is provided by some features of the funeral rite. According to the observations of I.P. Rusanova, burials on the horizon (74%) or in the mound embankment (18%) are most typical for the Drevlyans. Differences in the ritual are purely territorial and not related to chronological changes. It is possible that these local features reflect the territorial division of the Drevlyans. A very important feature of Drevlyan burials is the presence of coal-ash accumulations in the mound mound above the burial. Unlike the neighboring mounds of the Dregovichi and Volynians, the Drevlyan mounds do not have log houses inside.
These features of the funeral rite of the Drevlyans and its difference from the rite of their neighbors make it possible to include the mounds of the right bank of the Pripyat east of the interfluve of the Sluch and Goryn into the tribal territory of the Drevlyan union. The main part of the Drevlyan land was located on the territory of Ukraine, reaching in the south to Zdvizh and Teterev.
To the east of the Dregovichi and south of the Krivichi lived the East Slavic tribe of the Radimichi. The Russian chronicler places them on Sozh.
The ethnically defining tribal feature of the Radimichi is the temple rings in the form of a plate with seven rays diverging downwards and an arch for attachment to the hairstyle. Mapping of the seven-rayed temporal rings outlines the territory of the Radimichi from the Dnieper in the west to Iput in the east and from the lower reaches of the Pronya in the north to the mouth of the Sozh in the south.
Early Radimichi sites in this area have been poorly studied. At the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. burial mounds with corpses were widespread here. In the middle reaches of the Dnieper and the Sozh basin, such mounds reach a height of 3.5 m. A characteristic feature of the ritual is the burning of the deceased on the site of the future mound. The remains of a fireplace with burnt bones and fragments of pottery are found in the sand-filled mound. There are usually no other things.
In the 11th century The ritual of cremation was replaced by the deposition of corpses. On the territory of the Radimichi, the ritual prevails
burial of the deceased on the horizon. According to the calculations of G.F. Solovyova, out of 59 studied mound groups, in 49 groups the burials were made on the horizon, in the rest - either in the mound embankment or in pits. Although the burial mounds date back to the next historical era, observations of the details of the ritual and inventory made it possible to identify several local groups, apparently reflecting the once existing tribal division of the Radimichi union. G. F. Solovyova, who studied the Radimich mounds, identifies 8 such groups.
The first occupied the area between the Dnieper and Sozh. Its characteristic features boil down to the following: burials were made in an embankment, the deceased was oriented with his head to the west, the dishes were placed at the feet of the deceased. The second group occupied the Sozh basin. It is characterized by burials on the horizon, the deceased lies on his back with his head to the west, there are no traces of coffins. Men's burials are usually without things. The third group of monuments is located in the Iput basin. The burials took place on the horizon. The orientation is mixed - west and east. Male bones are usually oriented to the east. Remains of wooden coffins and a ritual fire pit are discovered. The fourth group is located in the Iput and Snova basin. The ritual is dominated by burials on the horizon, but there are burials in mounds and pits; female burials are oriented to the west, male burials are oriented to the east; the remains of coffins and coals can be traced. The fifth group is located in the Again basin. The burials took place on the horizon. The orientation of the dead is Western. The sixth group is located in the lower reaches of the Iput. All three types of burials are known - on the horizon, in an embankment, and in a pit. The dead are oriented with their heads to the west. There is no coal. The seventh group occupies the area of the middle reaches of the Dnieper. All three types of burials are known. The orientation of the buried people is predominantly western. Burials in wooden logs are typical. Men's bones are usually not accompanied by things. Finally, the eighth group of Radimichi mounds was located between the Sozh and Besedi rivers. Burials were made both in the mound and on the horizon. Moreover, only male burials with a predominant eastern orientation were found in the mounds. Coal is often traced.
The presence of fairly distinct local groups of monuments in the Radimichi land gives grounds to suggest that the Radimichi tribal union was formed as a result of the unification of at least 8 primary tribes. We don’t know their names and are unlikely to ever find out. One thing is certain - there were significantly more East Slavic tribes than we know from the Tale of Bygone Years.