The Great Patriotic War
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 -
The liberation war of the Soviet people against Nazi Germany and its allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland); the most important part2nd world war .
Germany began direct preparations for an attack on the USSR in 1940 (plan "Barbarossa "). Together with its European allies, Germany concentrated 191.5 divisions to attack the USSR; The enemy forces numbered 5.5 million people, about 4.3 thousand tanks and assault guns, 47.2 thousand guns and mortars, about 5 thousand combat aircraft, 192 ships. Germany planned a “lightning war” (“blitzkrieg”) against the USSR.
The USSR's efforts in the 1930s to create a collective security system were unsuccessful. The non-aggression pact with Germany (August 1939) made it possible to delay the start of the war. However, the secret protocols signed at this time, as well as during the conclusion of the friendship and border treaty with Germany in September 1939, were incompatible with the norms of international law and undermined the prestige of the country. The country's defense capability was undermined by the socio-economic policies pursued by the totalitarian regime, mass repressions that also affected military personnel, as well as major miscalculations in military development, in determining the likely timing of the outbreak of war, the main blame for which lies withI. V. Stalin and his immediate circle. By June 1941 the Red Army had 187 divisions; it consisted of approx. 3 million people, more than 38 thousand guns and mortars, 13.1 thousand tanks, 8.7 thousand combat aircraft; in the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets there were 182 ships and 1.4 thousand combat aircraft. The Soviet troops were not fully equipped with personnel, tanks, aircraft, anti-aircraft weapons, cars, and engineering equipment; The troops and command staff had a low level of training.
22nd of June 1941 Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the USSR.
The Headquarters of the High Command was created (from August 8 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command).The winter campaign of 1941-42 began with a counter-offensive of Soviet troops in the western strategic direction.
In the winter campaign of 1942-43, the main military events were the Stalingrad and North Caucasus offensive operations and the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad.
In the summer-autumn campaign of 1943, the decisive event was the Battle of Kursk.
An important stage in the development of international and inter-allied relations was the Tehran Conference (November 28 - December 1 1943).
During the winter campaign of 1943-44, the Red Army carried out an offensive in Ukraine (10 simultaneous and sequential front-line operations united by a common plan), completed the defeat of Army Group South, reached the border with Romania and transferred hostilities to its territory. Leningrad was finally released. As a result of the Crimean operation, Crimea was liberated.
In June 1944, the Allies opened the 2nd Front in France, which worsened the military-political situation in Germany.
August 9 1945 The USSR, fulfilling its allied obligations, began military operations against Japan. During the Manchurian operation, Soviet troops defeated the Kwantung Army and liberated South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.September 2 1945 Japan signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender.
May 9, 1945 At 0 hours 43 minutes Moscow time, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed.
For those who want to know more:
June 21, 1941, 13:00. German troops receive the code signal "Dortmund", confirming that the invasion will begin the next day.
Commander of the 2nd Tank Group of Army Group Center Heinz Guderian writes in his diary: “Careful observation of the Russians convinced me that they did not suspect anything about our intentions. In the courtyard of the Brest fortress, which was visible from our observation points, they were changing the guards to the sounds of an orchestra. The coastal fortifications along the Western Bug were not occupied by Russian troops."21:00. Soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German serviceman who crossed the border Bug River by swimming. The defector was sent to the detachment headquarters in the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
23:00. German minelayers stationed in Finnish ports began to mine the exit from the Gulf of Finland. At the same time, Finnish submarines began laying mines off the coast of Estonia.
June 22, 1941, 0:30. The defector was taken to Vladimir-Volynsky. During interrogation, the soldier identified himself Alfred Liskov, soldiers of the 221st Regiment of the 15th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht. He said that at dawn on June 22, the German army would go on the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was transferred to higher command.
At the same time, the transmission of Directive No. 1 of the People's Commissariat of Defense for parts of the western military districts began from Moscow. “During June 22-23, 1941, a surprise attack by the Germans is possible on the fronts of LVO, PribOVO, ZAPOVO, KOVO, OdVO. An attack may begin with provocative actions,” the directive said. “The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.”
The units were ordered to be put on combat readiness, to secretly occupy firing points of fortified areas on the state border, and to disperse aircraft to field airfields.
It is not possible to convey the directive to military units before the start of hostilities, as a result of which the measures specified in it are not carried out.
Mobilization. Columns of fighters are moving to the front. Photo: RIA Novosti
“I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory”
1:00. The commandants of the sections of the 90th border detachment report to the head of the detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “nothing suspicious was noticed on the adjacent side, everything is calm.”
3:05 . A group of 14 German Ju-88 bombers drops 28 magnetic mines near the Kronstadt roadstead.
3:07. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to the Chief of the General Staff, General Zhukov: “The fleet's air surveillance, warning and communications system reports the approach of a large number of unknown aircraft from the sea; The fleet is in full combat readiness."
3:10. The NKGB for the Lviv region transmits by telephone message to the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR the information obtained during the interrogation of the defector Alfred Liskov.
From the memoirs of the chief of the 90th border detachment, Major Bychkovsky: “Without finishing the interrogation of the soldier, I heard strong artillery fire in the direction of Ustilug (the first commandant’s office). I realized that it was the Germans who opened fire on our territory, which was immediately confirmed by the interrogated soldier. I immediately began to call the commandant by phone, but the connection was broken...”3:30. Chief of Staff of the Western District General Klimovsky reports on enemy air raids on the cities of Belarus: Brest, Grodno, Lida, Kobrin, Slonim, Baranovichi and others.
3:33. The chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General Purkaev, reports on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
3:40. Commander of the Baltic Military District General Kuznetsov reports on enemy air raids on Riga, Siauliai, Vilnius, Kaunas and other cities.
“The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled."
3:42. Chief of the General Staff Zhukov is calling Stalin and reports the start of hostilities by Germany. Stalin orders Tymoshenko and Zhukov arrive at the Kremlin, where an emergency meeting of the Politburo is convened.
3:45. The 1st border outpost of the 86th August border detachment was attacked by an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group. Outpost personnel under command Alexandra Sivacheva, having entered into battle, destroys the attackers.
4:00. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Oktyabrsky, reports to Zhukov: “The enemy raid has been repulsed. An attempt to strike our ships was foiled. But there is destruction in Sevastopol.”4:05. The outposts of the 86th August Border Detachment, including the 1st Border Outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev, come under heavy artillery fire, after which the German offensive begins. Border guards, deprived of communication with the command, engage in battle with superior enemy forces.
4:10. The Western and Baltic special military districts report the beginning of hostilities by German troops on the ground.
4:15. The Nazis open massive artillery fire on the Brest Fortress. As a result, warehouses were destroyed, communications were disrupted, and there were a large number of dead and wounded.
4:25. The 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division begins an attack on the Brest Fortress.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Residents of the capital on June 22, 1941, during the radio announcement of a government message about the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
“Protecting not individual countries, but ensuring the security of Europe”
4:30. A meeting of Politburo members begins in the Kremlin. Stalin expresses doubt that what happened is the beginning of a war and does not exclude the possibility of a German provocation. People's Commissar of Defense Timoshenko and Zhukov insist: this is war.
4:55. In the Brest Fortress, the Nazis manage to capture almost half of the territory. Further progress was stopped by a sudden counterattack by the Red Army.
5:00. German Ambassador to the USSR Count von Schulenburg presented to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov“Note from the German Foreign Office to the Soviet Government,” which states: “The German Government cannot remain indifferent to the serious threat on the eastern border, therefore the Fuehrer has ordered the German Armed Forces to ward off this threat by all means.” An hour after the actual start of hostilities, Germany de jure declares war on the Soviet Union.
5:30. On German radio, the Reich Minister of Propaganda Goebbels reads out the appeal Adolf Hitler to the German people in connection with the start of the war against the Soviet Union: “Now the hour has come when it is necessary to speak out against this conspiracy of the Jewish-Anglo-Saxon warmongers and also the Jewish rulers of the Bolshevik center in Moscow... At the moment, a military action of the greatest extent and volume is taking place, what the world has ever seen... The task of this front is no longer to protect individual countries, but to ensure the security of Europe and thereby save everyone.”7:00. Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop begins a press conference at which he announces the beginning of hostilities against the USSR: “The German army has invaded the territory of Bolshevik Russia!”
“The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?”
7:15. Stalin approves a directive to repel the attack of Nazi Germany: “The troops with all their might and means attack enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they violated the Soviet border.” Transfer of “directive No. 2” due to saboteurs’ disruption of communication lines in the western districts. Moscow does not have a clear picture of what is happening in the combat zone.
9:30. It was decided that at noon, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov would address the Soviet people in connection with the outbreak of war.
10:00. From the speaker's memories Yuri Levitan: “They’re calling from Minsk: “Enemy planes are over the city,” they’re calling from Kaunas: “The city is burning, why aren’t you broadcasting anything on the radio?” “Enemy planes are over Kiev.” A woman’s crying, excitement: “Is it really war?..” However, no official messages are transmitted until 12:00 Moscow time on June 22.
10:30. From a report from the headquarters of the 45th German division about the battles on the territory of the Brest Fortress: “The Russians are resisting fiercely, especially behind our attacking companies. In the citadel, the enemy organized a defense with infantry units supported by 35-40 tanks and armored vehicles. Enemy sniper fire resulted in heavy casualties among officers and non-commissioned officers."11:00. The Baltic, Western and Kiev special military districts were transformed into the North-Western, Western and South-Western fronts.
“The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours"
12:00. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov reads out an appeal to the citizens of the Soviet Union: “Today at 4 o’clock in the morning, without making any claims against the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders in many places and bombed us with their planes attacked our cities - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others, and more than two hundred people were killed and wounded. Raids by enemy planes and artillery shelling were also carried out from Romanian and Finnish territory... Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already taken place, the Soviet government has given an order to our troops to repel the bandit attack and expel German troops from the territory of our homeland... The government calls on you, citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally our ranks even more closely around our glorious Bolshevik Party, around our Soviet government, around our great leader, Comrade Stalin.
Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours" .
12:30. Advanced German units break into the Belarusian city of Grodno.
13:00.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issues a decree “On the mobilization of those liable for military service...”
“Based on Article 49, paragraph “o” of the USSR Constitution, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announces mobilization on the territory of the military districts - Leningrad, Baltic special, Western special, Kiev special, Odessa, Kharkov, Oryol, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Ural, Siberian, Volga, North -Caucasian and Transcaucasian.
13:30. Chief of the General Staff General Zhukov flies to Kyiv as a representative of the newly created Headquarters of the Main Command on the Southwestern Front.
Photo: RIA Novosti
14:00. The Brest Fortress is completely surrounded by German troops. Soviet units blocked in the citadel continue to offer fierce resistance.
14:05. Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano states: “In view of the current situation, due to the fact that Germany declared war on the USSR, Italy, as an ally of Germany and as a member of the Tripartite Pact, also declares war on the Soviet Union from the moment German troops entered Soviet territory.”
14:10. The 1st border outpost of Alexander Sivachev has been fighting for more than 10 hours. The border guards, who had only small arms and grenades, destroyed up to 60 Nazis and burned three tanks. The wounded commander of the outpost continued to command the battle.
15:00. From the notes of the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock: “The question of whether the Russians are carrying out a systematic withdrawal remains open. There is now plenty of evidence both for and against this.
What is surprising is that nowhere is any significant work of their artillery visible. Heavy artillery fire is conducted only in the northwest of Grodno, where the VIII Army Corps is advancing. Apparently, our air force has an overwhelming superiority over Russian aviation."Of the 485 border posts attacked, not a single one withdrew without orders.
16:00. After a 12-hour battle, the Nazis took the positions of the 1st border outpost. This became possible only after all the border guards who defended it died. The head of the outpost, Alexander Sivachev, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
The feat of the outpost of Senior Lieutenant Sivachev was one of hundreds committed by border guards in the first hours and days of the war. On June 22, 1941, the state border of the USSR from the Barents to the Black Sea was guarded by 666 border outposts, 485 of which were attacked on the very first day of the war. Not one of the 485 outposts attacked on June 22 withdrew without orders.
Hitler's command allotted 20 minutes to break the resistance of the border guards. 257 Soviet border posts held their defense from several hours to one day. More than one day - 20, more than two days - 16, more than three days - 20, more than four and five days - 43, from seven to nine days - 4, more than eleven days - 51, more than twelve days - 55, more than 15 days - 51 outpost. Forty-five outposts fought for up to two months.
Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The workers of Leningrad listen to a message about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union. Photo: RIA Novosti
Of the 19,600 border guards who met the Nazis on June 22 in the direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, more than 16,000 died in the first days of the war.
17:00. Hitler's units manage to occupy the southwestern part of the Brest Fortress, the northeast remained under the control of Soviet troops. Stubborn battles for the fortress will continue for weeks.
“The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland”
18:00. The Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow and Kolomna, addresses the believers with a message: “Fascist robbers attacked our homeland. Trampling all kinds of agreements and promises, they suddenly fell upon us, and now the blood of peaceful citizens is already irrigating our native land... Our Orthodox Church has always shared the fate of the people. She endured trials with him and was consoled by his successes. She will not abandon her people even now... The Church of Christ blesses all Orthodox Christians for the defense of the sacred borders of our Motherland.”
19:00. From the notes of the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Colonel General Franz Halder: “All armies, except the 11th Army of Army Group South in Romania, went on the offensive according to plan. The offensive of our troops, apparently, came as a complete tactical surprise to the enemy along the entire front. Border bridges across the Bug and other rivers were everywhere captured by our troops without a fight and in complete safety. The complete surprise of our offensive for the enemy is evidenced by the fact that the units were taken by surprise in a barracks arrangement, the planes were parked at airfields, covered with tarpaulins, and the advanced units, suddenly attacked by our troops, asked the command about what to do... The Air Force command reported, that today 850 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, including entire squadrons of bombers, which, having taken off without fighter cover, were attacked by our fighters and destroyed.”20:00. Directive No. 3 of the People's Commissariat of Defense was approved, ordering Soviet troops to launch a counteroffensive with the task of defeating Hitler's troops on the territory of the USSR with further advance into enemy territory. The directive ordered the capture of the Polish city of Lublin by the end of June 24.
Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. June 22, 1941 Nurses provide assistance to the first wounded after a Nazi air raid near Chisinau. Photo: RIA Novosti
“We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can.”
21:00. Summary of the Red Army High Command for June 22: “At dawn on June 22, 1941, regular troops of the German army attacked our border units on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea and were held back by them during the first half of the day. In the afternoon, German troops met with the advanced units of the field troops of the Red Army. After fierce fighting, the enemy was repulsed with heavy losses. Only in the Grodno and Kristinopol directions did the enemy manage to achieve minor tactical successes and occupy the towns of Kalwaria, Stoyanuv and Tsekhanovets (the first two are 15 km and the last 10 km from the border).
Enemy aircraft attacked a number of our airfields and populated areas, but everywhere they met decisive resistance from our fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. We shot down 65 enemy aircraft.”
23:00. Message from the Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill to the British people in connection with the German attack on the USSR: “At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked Russia. All his usual formalities of treachery were observed with scrupulous precision... suddenly, without a declaration of war, even without an ultimatum, German bombs fell from the sky on Russian cities, German troops violated Russian borders, and an hour later the German ambassador, who just the day before had generously lavished his assurances on the Russians in friendship and almost an alliance, paid a visit to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and declared that Russia and Germany were at war...
No one has been more staunchly opposed to communism over the past 25 years than I have been. I will not take back a single word that was said about him. But all this pales in comparison to the spectacle unfolding now.The past, with its crimes, follies and tragedies, recedes. I see Russian soldiers as they stand on the border of their native land and guard the fields that their fathers have plowed since time immemorial. I see them guarding their homes; their mothers and wives pray—oh, yes, because at such a time everyone prays for the safety of their loved ones, for the return of their breadwinner, patron, their protectors...
We must provide Russia and the Russian people with all the help we can. We must call on all our friends and allies in all parts of the world to pursue a similar course and pursue it as steadfastly and steadily as we will, to the very end.”
June 22 came to an end. There were still 1,417 days ahead of the worst war in human history.
The Great Patriotic War is one of the most terrible and difficult pages in our history. Even Soviet historians decided to divide the period of hostilities into three main stages - the time of defense, the time of offensive and the time of liberation of lands from invaders and victory over Germany. The victory in the Patriotic War was of great importance not only for the Soviet Union; the defeat and destruction of fascism had an impact on the further political and economic development of the whole world. And the prerequisites for the great victory were laid in the initial time periods of the Great Patriotic War.
Main stages
Stages of the war | Characteristic |
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First stage | The attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union - the beginning of the counteroffensive at Stalingrad | Strategic defense of the Red Army |
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Second phase | Battle of Stalingrad – liberation of Kyiv | A turning point in the war; transition from defense to offense |
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Third stage | Opening of the second front – Victory Day over Nazi Germany | Expulsion of invaders from Soviet lands, liberation of Europe, defeat and surrender of Germany |
Each of the three main designated periods of the Great Patriotic War had its own characteristics, its pros and cons, its mistakes and important victories. So, the first stage is the time of defense, the time of heavy defeats, which, however, gave the opportunity to consider the weaknesses of the (then) Red Army and eliminate them. The second stage is characterized as the time of the start of offensive operations, a turning point in the course of military operations. Having realized the mistakes they had made and having gathered all their strength, the Soviet troops were able to go on the offensive. The third stage is the period of the offensive, victorious movement of the Soviet Army, the time of liberation of the occupied lands and the final expulsion of the fascist invaders from the territory of the Soviet Union. The march of the army continued across Europe right up to the borders of Germany. And by May 9, 1945, the fascist troops were finally defeated, and the German government was forced to capitulate. Victory Day is the most important date in modern history.
a brief description of
Characteristic |
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The initial stage of military operations, characterized as a time of defense and retreat, a time of heavy defeats and lost battles. “Everything for the front, everything for victory” - this slogan proclaimed by Stalin became the main program of action for the coming years. |
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A turning point in the war, characterized by the transfer of initiative from the hands of the aggressor Germany to the USSR. Advances of the Soviet army on all fronts, many successful military operations. Significant increase in production aimed at military needs. Active assistance from allies. |
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The final period of the war, characterized by the liberation of Soviet lands and the expulsion of the invaders. With the opening of the Second Front, Europe was completely liberated. The end of the Patriotic War and the surrender of Germany. |
However, it is worth noting that with the end of the Patriotic War, World War II was not over yet. Here, historians highlight another stage, dating back to the Second World War, and not the Patriotic War, within the time frame from May 10, 1945 to September 2, 1945. This period is characterized by the victory over Japan and the defeat of the remaining troops allied with Nazi Germany.
By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Slavs stand out from the Indo-European community. The oldest known habitat of the Slavs in Europe was the lower and middle reaches of the Danube. By the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The Slavs became so significant in numbers and influence in the world around them that Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine authors began to report on them (Roman writer Pliny the Elder, historian Tacitus - 1st century AD, geographer Ptolemy Claudius - 2nd century. AD Ancient authors call the Slavs “Ants”, “Slavins”, “Vends” and speak of them as “countless tribes” During the era of the great migration of peoples, the Slavs on the Danube began to be crowded out by other peoples.
- · Some of the Slavs remained in Europe. Later they will get a name southern Slavs(Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, Bosnians, Montenegrins will descend from them).
- · Another part of the Slavs moved to the north - Western Slavs(Czechs, Poles, Slovaks). Western and southern Slavs were conquered by other peoples.
- · The third part of the Slavs, according to scientists, did not want to submit to anyone and moved to the northeast, to the East European Plain. Later they will get a name Eastern Slavs(Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians) Kantorovich I.V. From the history of Moscow: Materials for the course of Russian history from ancient times to the end of the 18th century. - M.: MIROS, 1997..
It should be noted that during the era of the great migration of peoples, most tribes strove to Central Europe, to the ruins of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire soon fell (476 AD) under the attacks of alien barbarians. On this territory, the barbarians, having absorbed the heritage of ancient Roman culture, will create their own statehood. The Eastern Slavs went to the northeast, into the deep forest wilds, where there was no cultural heritage. The Slavs went to the northeast in two streams: one part of the Slavs went to Lake Ilmen (later the ancient Russian city of Novgorod would stand there), the other part went to the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper (another ancient city of Kyiv would become there).
In the VI - VIII centuries. Eastern Slavs mainly settled along the East European Plain. The oldest place of residence of the Slavs in Europe was, apparently, the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, where the Slavs under the names of Wends, Antes and Sklavens were known back in Roman, Gothic and Hunnic times. From here the Slavs dispersed in different directions: to the south (Balkan Slavs), to the west (Czechs, Moravians, Poles) and to the east (Russian Slavs). The eastern branch of the Slavs came to the Dnieper probably back in the 7th century. and, gradually settling, reached Lake Ilmen and the upper Oka. Of the Russian Slavs near the Carpathians remained Croats And Volynians (Duleby, Buzhan). Polyane, Drevlyans And Dregovichi were based on the right bank of the Dnieper and its right tributaries. Northerners , Radimichi And Vyatichi They crossed the Dnieper and settled on its left tributaries, and the Vyatichi managed to advance even to the Oka. Krivichi also left the Dnieper system to the north, to the upper reaches of the Volga and West. Dvina, and their industry Slovenia occupied the river system of Lake Ilmen. In their movement up the Dnieper, on the northern and northeastern outskirts of their new settlements, the Slavs came into close proximity with Finnish tribes and gradually pushed them further and further to the north and northeast. At the same time, in the north-west the neighbors of the Slavs were Lithuanian tribes, gradually retreating to the Baltic Sea before the pressure of Slavic colonization. On the eastern outskirts, on the side of the steppes, the Slavs, in turn, suffered a lot from the nomadic Asian newcomers. As we already know, the Slavs especially “tormented” the Obras (Avars). Later, the glades, northerners, Radimichi and Vyatichi, who lived east of their other relatives, closer to the steppes, were conquered Khazars, one might say, they became part of the Khazar state. This is how the initial neighborhood of the Russian Slavs was determined. The wildest of all the tribes neighboring the Slavs was Finnish tribe , constituting one of the branches of the Mongol race. Within the boundaries of present-day Russia, the Finns have lived since time immemorial, subject to the influence of both the Scythians and Sarmatians, and later the Goths, Turks, Lithuanians and Slavs. Dividing into many small peoples (Chud, Ves, Em, Ests, Merya, Mordvins, Cheremis, Votyaks, Zyryans and many others), the Finns occupied with their rare settlements the vast forest spaces of the entire Russian north. Scattered and having no internal structure, the weak Finnish peoples remained in primitive savagery and simplicity, easily succumbing to any invasion of their lands. They quickly submitted to the more cultured newcomers and assimilated with them, or without any noticeable struggle they ceded their lands to them and left them to the north or east. Thus, with the gradual settlement of the Slavs in central and northern Russia, the mass of Finnish lands passed to the Slavs, and the Russified Finnish element peacefully joined the Slavic population. Only occasionally, where Finnish shaman priests (according to the old Russian name for “magi” and “magicians”) raised their people to fight, did the Finns stand against the Russians. But this struggle ended with the invariable victory of the Slavs, and which began in the 8th-10th centuries. The Russification of the Finns continued steadily and continues to this day. Simultaneously with the Slavic influence on the Finns, a strong influence on them from the Turkic people began Volga Bulgarians (so named in contrast to the Danube Bulgarians). The nomadic Bulgarians who came from the lower reaches of the Volga to the mouths of the Kama settled here and, not limiting themselves to nomads, built cities in which lively trade began. Arab and Khazar merchants brought their goods here from the south along the Volga (by the way, silver utensils, dishes, bowls, etc.); here they exchanged them for valuable furs delivered from the north by the Kama and upper Volga. Relations with the Arabs and Khazars spread Mohammedanism and some education among the Bulgarians. Bulgarian cities (especially Bolgar or Bulgar on the Volga itself) became very influential centers for the entire region of the upper Volga and Kama, inhabited by Finnish tribes. The influence of the Bulgarian cities also affected the Russian Slavs, who traded with the Bulgarians and subsequently became enemies with them. Politically, the Volga Bulgarians were not a strong people. Although initially dependent on the Khazars, they had, however, a special khan and many kings or princes subordinate to him. With the fall of the Khazar kingdom, the Bulgarians existed independently, but suffered a lot from Russian raids and were finally ruined in the 13th century. Tatars. Their descendants, the Chuvash, now represent a weak and underdeveloped tribe. Lithuanian tribes (Lithuania, Zhmud, Latvians, Prussians, Yatvingians, etc.), constituting a special branch of the Aryan tribe, already in ancient times (in the 2nd century AD) inhabited the places where the Slavs later found them. Lithuanian settlements occupied the basins of the Neman and Zap rivers. The Dvinas also reached the river from the Baltic Sea. Pripyat and the sources of the Dnieper and Volga. Retreating gradually before the Slavs, the Lithuanians concentrated along the Neman and Western. Dvina in the dense forests of the strip closest to the sea and there they retained their original way of life for a long time. Their tribes were not united, they were divided into separate clans and were at mutual enmity. The religion of the Lithuanians consisted of the deification of the forces of nature (Perkun - the god of thunder), the veneration of deceased ancestors, and was generally at a low level of development. Contrary to old stories about Lithuanian priests and various sanctuaries, it has now been proven that the Lithuanians had neither an influential priestly class nor solemn religious ceremonies. Each family made sacrifices to gods and deities, revered animals and sacred oaks, treated the souls of the dead and practiced fortune-telling. The rough and harsh life of the Lithuanians, their poverty and savagery placed them lower than the Slavs and forced Lithuania to cede to the Slavs those of its lands to which Russian colonization was directed. Where the Lithuanians directly neighbors the Russians, they noticeably succumb to their cultural influence. In relation to their Finnish and Lithuanian neighbors, the Russian Slavs felt their superiority and were aggressive. Otherwise it was the case with Khazars. The nomadic Turkic tribe of the Khazars settled firmly in the Caucasus and the southern Russian steppes and began to engage in agriculture, grape growing, fishing and trade. The Khazars spent the winter in cities, and in the summer they moved to the steppe to their meadows, gardens and field work. Since trade routes from Europe to Asia ran through the lands of the Khazars, the Khazar cities that stood on these routes received great trade importance and influence. The capital city of Itil on the lower Volga and the Sarkel fortress (in Russian Belaya Vezha) on the Don near the Volga became especially famous. They were huge markets where Asian merchants traded with European ones and at the same time Mohammedans, Jews, pagans and Christians converged. The influence of Islam and Jewry was especially strong among the Khazars; the Khazar khan ("khagan" or "khakan") with his court professed the Jewish faith; Among the people, Mohammedanism was most widespread, but both the Christian faith and paganism persisted. Such diversity of faith led to religious tolerance and attracted settlers from many countries to the Khazars. When in the 8th century some Russian tribes (Polyans, Northerners, Radimichi, Vyatichi) were conquered by the Khazars, this Khazar yoke was not difficult for the Slavs. It opened up easy access for the Slavs to Khazar markets and drew the Russians into trade with the East. Numerous treasures of Arab coins (dirgems), found in different parts of Russia, testify to the development of eastern trade precisely in the 8th and 9th centuries, when Rus' was under direct Khazar rule, and then under significant Khazar influence. Later, in the 10th century, when the Khazars weakened from a stubborn struggle with a new nomadic tribe - the Pechenegs, the Russians themselves began to attack the Khazars and greatly contributed to the fall of the Khazar state. The list of neighbors of the Russian Slavs must be supplemented with an indication of Varangians , who were not direct neighbors of the Slavs, but lived “beyond the sea” and came to the Slavs “from beyond the sea.” Not only the Slavs, but also other peoples (Greeks, Arabs, Scandinavians) called the Normans who left Scandinavia for other countries by the name “Varyags” (“Varangs”, “Verings”). Such immigrants began to appear in the 9th century. among the Slavic tribes on the Volkhov and Dnieper, on the Black Sea and in Greece in the form of military or trading squads. They traded or were hired by the Russian and Byzantine military service, or simply looked for booty and plundered where they could. It is difficult to say what exactly forced the Varangians to leave their homeland so often and wander around foreign lands; in that era, in general, the eviction of Normans from the Scandinavian countries to middle and even southern Europe was very large: they attacked England, France, Spain, even Italy. Among the Russian Slavs, from the middle of the 9th century, there were so many Varangians and the Slavs were so accustomed to them that the Varangians can be called direct cohabitants of the Russian Slavs. They traded together with the Greeks and Arabs, fought together against common enemies, sometimes quarreled and fought, and either the Varangians subjugated the Slavs, or the Slavs drove the Varangians “overseas” to their homeland. With close communication between the Slavs and the Varangians, one would expect a great influence of the Varangians on Slavic life. But such influence is generally imperceptible - a sign that culturally the Varangians were not superior to the Slavic population of that era. In the VI - VIII centuries. The Slavs were not yet one people. They were divided into tribal unions, which included 120 - 150 separate tribes. By the 9th century there were about 15 tribal unions. Tribal unions were named either by the area in which they lived or by the names of the leaders. Information about the settlement of the Eastern Slavs is contained in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor in the second decade of the 12th century. (The chronicler Nestor is called “the father of Russian history”). According to the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the Eastern Slavs settled: the glades - along the banks of the Dnieper, not far from the mouth of the Desna; northerners - in the basin of the Desna and Seim rivers; Radimichi - on the upper tributaries of the Dnieper; Drevlyans - along Pripyat; Dregovichi - between Pripyat and Western Dvina; Polotsk residents - along Polota; Ilmen Slovenes - along the Volkhov, Shchelon, Lovat, Msta rivers; Krivichi - in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Volga; Vyatichi - in the upper reaches of the Oka; Buzhans - along the Western Bug; Tivertsy and Ulich - from the Dnieper to the Danube; White Croats occupied part of the western slopes of the Carpathians.
The initial Russian chronicle does not remember the time of the arrival of the Slavs from Asia to Europe; she finds them already on the Danube. From this Danube country, which the compiler Stories about the beginning of the Russian land knew under the name of the Ugric and Bulgarian lands, the Slavs settled in different directions; From there also came those Slavs who settled along the Dnieper, its tributaries and further to the north. Tale leads these Eastern Slavs straight from the Danube to the Dnieper and does not remember that they stopped anywhere along the way.
Talking about the settlement of the Slavs, she distinguishes between their two branches - western and eastern. The Slavs from the Danube settled in different directions and called themselves by the names of the places where they settled: some settled along the Morava River and called themselves Moravians, others - Czechs. These are the Western Slavs. The eastern branch consisted of White Croats, Serbs and Horutans; from these Slavs Tale and produces those tribes that inhabited the Dnieper region. She says that when the Volochs (according to some researchers, the Romans under Emperor Trajan) attacked the Danube Slavs and began to oppress them, these eastern Slavs came to settle on the Dnieper and began to be called some Polyans, others Drevlyans, etc.
Means, actually Slavs then occupied the Carpathian region. The Carpathians were a common Slavic nest, from which the Slavs subsequently settled in different directions. These Carpathian Slavs throughout the 6th century. smashed the Byzantine Empire, crossing the Danube; the consequence of these constant invasions, the beginning of which dates back to the 3rd century, was the gradual settlement of the Balkan Peninsula by the Slavs. So, before the Eastern Slavs got from the Danube to the Dnieper, they remained in the Carpathians for a long time; this was their stopover. One of the East Slavic tribes, the Croats, is known on the slopes of the Carpathians, in Galicia, and our initial chronicle even in the 10th century, under Prince Oleg. The prolonged armed pressure of the Carpathian Slavs against the Empire united them into military alliances. We find traces of one such union, which included the Eastern Slavs.
Taleabout the beginning of the Russian land apparently compiled in Kyiv; its author treats the Kyiv glades with special sympathy, and knows more about them than about other tribes of the Eastern Slavs. He conveys a series of enemy invasions experienced by these Slavs, speaks of the Bulgarians, obra ( Avarah), ugrah ( Hungarians), Khazars; but before the Khazars he does not remember the fate of his glades. The flows of people that passed through Southern Russia and often made the Eastern Slavs feel painful, as if they did not in any way hurt the East Slavic tribe that lived closest to them - clearing.
In the memory of the Kyiv narrator of the 11th century. The legend of only one Eastern Slavic tribe has survived from those times, but one that in the 10th century. did not play a significant role in our history. Tale talks about the invasion of the Avars on the Dulebs (in the 6th century): “These Obry [Avars] fought with the Slavs and tortured the Duleb Slavs and committed violence on the Duleb wives: if the Obrin had to go, he did not allow him to harness either a horse or an ox, but he ordered 3 or 4 or 5 wives to be harnessed so that they would carry the obrin: this is how the Dulebs were tortured. The obrins were great in body and proud in mind, and God destroyed them, they all died, not a single obrin remained. There is a saying in Rus' to this day: died like obra» . Obviously, thanks to this saying in Stories and the legend about the images has survived.
But where were the clearings at that time and why did only Dulebs suffer from crops? Unexpectedly, the answer to this question comes to us from the other side. In the 40s X century, about a hundred years before the composition Arab Masudi wrote about the Eastern Slavs in his geographical work Golden meadows. Describing the Eastern Slavic tribes, he says that once one of them, indigenous among them, dominated over the others, had supreme power over them; but then discord arose between them, their alliance collapsed, they were divided into separate tribes, and each tribe chose a separate king. This once dominant tribe Masudi calls Valinana ( Volynians): from the chronicle we know that these Volynians were the same Dulebs and lived along the Western Bug. It is clear why the Kiev legend remembered only the Dulebs from the era of the Avar invasion: then the Dulebs dominated all the Eastern Slavs and covered them with their name, as all the Eastern Slavs were later called Russia by the name of the main region in the Russian land, for initially only the Kiev region was called Russia. At the time of the Avar invasion, there were neither glades nor Kyiv itself, and the mass of the Eastern Slavs were settled to the west, on the slopes of the Carpathians, on the edge of a vast watershed, from where the Dniester, both Bug, tributaries of the Upper Pripyat and Upper Vistula go in different directions.
So, we find among the Eastern Slavs in the 6th century. a large military alliance led by Prince Duleb. The constant struggle with Byzantium established this alliance and pulled the eastern tribes into one whole. Here is a fact that can be stated at first our history. From the slopes of the Carpathians, the Eastern Slavs gradually settled across our plain. This resettlement is second initial fact our history. It can be caught by some indirect indications. Byzantine writers of the 6th and early 7th centuries. find the Transdanubian Slavs in a state of extraordinary movement. Emperor Mauritius, who fought for a long time with these Slavs, writes that the Slavs live, like robbers, always ready to rise, in villages scattered through the forests and along the banks of the numerous rivers of their country. The historian Procopius, who wrote somewhat earlier, notes that the Slavs live in poor, scattered huts and often move.
Slavs and their neighbors in the 7th-8th centuries
Our The story of the beginning of the Russian land, not remembering the arrival of the Slavs from the Carpathians, I remembered one of the last moments of their settlement across the Russian plain. Placing the East Slavic tribes along the Dnieper and its tributaries, this Tale tells that there were two brothers among the Poles, Radim and Vyatko, who came with their families and sat down - Radim on the Sozh, and Vyatko on the Oka; From them came the East Slavic tribes of Radimichi and Vyatichi. The settlement of these tribes that came from present-day Poland beyond the Dnieper shows that their arrival was one of the later tides of Slavic colonization: the new newcomers no longer found a place for themselves on the right side of the Dnieper and had to move further east, beyond the Dnieper. From this side, the Vyatichi turned out to be the most extreme tribe of Russian Slavs. The chronicle says that the Radimichi and Vyatichi are “from the Poles”; this is because the area of the said watershed, the ancient country of the Croats, in the 11th century, when it was written Tale, was already considered a Lyash country and was the subject of the struggle between Rus' and Poland.
So, comparing Byzantine news with legends Stories about the beginning of the Russian land, We will find out the direction of settlement of the Eastern Slavs and the time when it began. The Byzantines stopped talking about the invasions of the Carpathian Slavs into the Eastern Empire from the second quarter of the 7th century, because the resettlement of these Slavs in different directions was accompanied by the cessation of their raids on the Empire. Then the Slavs settled in Poland, Baltic Pomerania; then they began to settle in the Dnieper region.
This is what we will call the narrative that sets out the most ancient legends about the Russian land and serves as an introduction to the initial Russian chronicle of the 12th century. It was compiled around the middle of the 11th century. and bears a complex title in the chronicle: “Behold the tale of bygone years, from where the Russian land began to eat.” This story, as it is read in the initial chronicle, has been revised and expanded by the compiler of the latter.