The history of the origin of the Russian people. Geneticists have discovered the secret of the origin of the Russian people

Russians are one of the most numerous peoples on Earth, but scientists are still arguing about which people can be considered their progenitor. One thing is clear: Russian roots are older than official history assumed.

Normans

The Norman theory of the origin of the Russian nation is mostly the fruit of the efforts of Swedish historiography, the ideas of which were picked up by Russian science in the 18th-19th centuries. Thus, the 16th-century Swedish writer Olaus Magnus, in his work “The History of the Northern Peoples,” called not only the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but also the population south of the Baltic Sea, including Lithuanians and Russians, Normans.

The chronicler Henrik Brenner was completely sure that the Russians were descended from the Swedes. He associated the word “Rus” with the Finnish name for the Swedes “rotzalainen”, which in turn came from “Ruslagen” - the name of the coastal regions of the historical Swedish province of Uppland.

The German historian Ludwig Schlözer expressed the opinion that the countdown of “Russian existence” should be traced back to the calling of the Varangians.

Karl Marx echoes him, noting that as a result of the Rurikovich’s campaign of conquest, “the winners and the vanquished merged together in Russia faster than in other areas conquered by the Scandinavian barbarians.”

However, candidate of historical sciences Lydia Grot is skeptical about the Norman theory, believing that the Swedish historiographic tradition is “historical fantasies” taken to the point of absurdity.

Wends

Historian Boris Rybakov, citing ancient sources, expressed the opinion that the Slavs under the name of the Wends appeared around the 1st century AD as a result of “contact between the Romans and the tribes of the southern Baltic region.” Indeed, many Latin authors of the 7th – 8th centuries. Slavs and Wends meant the same people.

However, some sources suggest that the Wends were the direct ancestors of the Russians.

The language of the Finnish peoples preserves the memory of the Wends, who have always been identified with the Russians. In particular, the Finnish “Venäläinen” is translated as Russian, the Karelian “Veneä” is translated as Rus', and the Estonian “Venemaa” is Russia.

The writer Sergei Ershov is convinced that the Wends are the Rus: they began to be called Slavs 400-500 years after the emergence of the ethnonym “Rus” - in the 6th-7th centuries. n. e. “Wends-Russ,” according to the writer, inhabited the entire territory of modern Poland, right up to the mouth of the Elbe, and in the south their lands occupied the borders of the future Kievan Rus. By the 3rd century, the Rus began to gradually “split off” from the Wends, forming their own language.

The Slovak scholar Pavel Shafranik finds the term “Rusa” in this Proto-Slavic language, which, in his opinion, meant a river. “This root Slavic word, as a common noun, has already remained in use only among Russians in the word channel,” the scientist concludes.

Etruscans

Historians have long been concerned about the fate of the Etruscans, who by the middle of the 1st century BC. e. almost completely disappear from the culture of Rome. Has the richest heritage of the Etruscans sunk into oblivion? Evidence discovered during excavations in ancient Etruria suggests that it is not.

The nature of the burials, the names of the Etruscans, and their traditions reveal common roots with the culture of the Slavs.

Back in the 19th century, the Russian scientist Yegor Klassen proposed using the Old Russian language to translate Etruscan inscriptions. Only since the 1980s. linguists continued the endeavors of the Russian researcher. From that time on, a version appeared in which the Etruscans began to be considered Proto-Slavs.

Philosopher and political scientist Alexander Dugin does not go into the linguistic jungle and understands the word “Etruscan” literally - “this is Russian.” Next, he draws symbolic parallels in which he finds commonality between the Capitoline wolf, who nursed the founders of Rome, and the gray wolf from Russian fairy tales, who saved children lost in the forest. According to Dugin, the Etruscans gave rise to two branches - the Turkic and Russian peoples. As evidence, he cites the thousand-year coexistence of two peoples as part of the Golden Horde, the Russian Empire and the USSR.

Usuni

No less interesting is the version about the Siberian roots of the Russian people. Thus, the historian Nikolai Novgorodov believes that the Russians were known to the ancient Chinese from “pre-Christ times” under the name “Usun”. According to this version, the Wusuns eventually moved from Siberia to the west and began to be referred to by the Chinese as “Oruses.”

Chinese historians, to prove the kinship of the South Siberian people “Usuni” and Russians, refer to descriptions of their neighbors drawn from ancient sources.

In one of the characteristics, “they are people with blue sunken eyes, a prominent nose, a yellow (red) curly beard, with a long body; a lot of strength, but they like to sleep and when they sleep, they don’t wake up right away.”

Note that Arab scientists of the 10th – 12th centuries. distinguished three Ancient Rus - Kuyavia, Slavia and Artania. If Western European and Russian historians identified Kuyavia with Kievan Rus, Slavia with Novgorod Rus, then there was no consensus on the localization of Artania. Novgorodov suggested looking for her in Siberia.

In particular, he refers to the mention in Arab sources of black sables, which at that time lived only in Siberia. Also, on some medieval geographical maps, the area with the name Arsa (Arta) is placed on the territory of modern Altai in the area of ​​Lake Teletskoye.

Scythians

A large and powerful nation - the Scythians - suddenly disappeared into history: by the 4th century AD, its mention disappeared from the chronicles. However, excavations by Soviet archaeologists carried out on the Dnieper, Bug, Dniester, Don and Kuban showed that the Scythians did not disappear anywhere, but simply became part of a different cultural era.

At one time, Lomonosov wrote that among “the ancient ancestors of the current Russian people, the Scythians are not the last part.”

The point of view of the great scientist is shared by many modern historians. In particular, a specialist in the field of historical anthropology Valery Alekseev noted that the physical predecessor of the Russian type is the Scythian-Sarmatian branch.

The similarity between Russians and Scythians can be seen in surviving images, as well as from the descriptions of chroniclers. The appearance of the Scythians was characterized by fairly tall stature, a slender and strong physique, light eyes and light brown hair.

Historian and archaeologist Pavel Shultz complements the picture of Scythian-Russian identity, noting that “in the living quarters of the Scythian capital of Crimea, Naples, beautiful plates of carved bone were found, which vividly resemble Russian wood carving in character.”

"Russian Kaganate"

Writers Sergei Buntovsky and Maxim Kalashnikov express the idea that the ancestral home of the Russian ethnic group was the so-called “Russian Kaganate”, where representatives of different nations assimilated. In their opinion, archaeological evidence presents the civilization of the ancient Khaganate as a mixture of cultures of the Slavs, Turks and Alans.

Researchers suggest that due to the predominance of Alans from the 6th to the 8th centuries, a fusion of Iranian and Slavic blood took place within the “Russian Kaganate”.

However, other nationalities living on the territory of the Kaganate - the Bulgars, Yasses and Scandinavians - also left their, albeit smaller, mark on the Russian ancestry.

The author of the book “Secrets of the Russian Kaganate” Elena Galkina sees the upper reaches of the Don River, Seversky Donets and Oskol as the center of the state and identifies it with the Saltov-Mayatsk archaeological culture. Donetsk historian and publicist Alexey Ivanov defines the borders of the Kaganate as the current south-east of Ukraine, outlining them from the east with the Don, and from the west - Kiev.

Galkina finds confirmation of the version of the existence of the “Russian Kaganate” in Byzantine, Muslim and Western sources of the 9th century. In her opinion, after the defeat of the Kaganate by the Hungarians, the terms “Rus” and “Rus” passed from the “Rus-Alans” (Roxolans) to the Slavic population of the Middle Dnieper region.

Russia is a state with a rich history, rich culture and interesting people. But not all of these people know for certain what their country owes its name to. Although what is there to talk about if not all historians and linguists have a unanimous opinion on this issue. We will try to consider the most reliable theories and find out why Russia has such a name.

A brief excursion into the “evolution” of the name “Russia”
Everyone knows that the history of our country originates in the Old Russian state, founded by the notorious Rurikovichs. They called it Kievan Rus, because. its capital was the glorious city of Kyiv, and the population was the Russian people.

Kievan Rus in its heyday
By the end of the 13th century, the Moscow Principality was formed, which was called “Russia”. And within about a century, the word “Russia” came into use. Researchers suggest that this is due to the peculiarities of the pronunciation of our people, which is why in the word “Russia” the letter “u” gradually turned into “o”. But “Russia” was used much less frequently than “Rus”, “Russian land” and “Muscovy”. The word “Russia” itself (then without the double “s”) arose in Byzantium in the 10th century for the Greek designation of Rus'. “Ρωσία” is what “Rosia” looks like in Greek, and it is in this form that it was supposedly written for the first time. And here is the first mention in Cyrillic, dating back to 1387:

The first mention of Russia in Cyrillic The territory of the Russian state gradually grew, and the population was replenished with peoples of other nationalities - along with this, the word “Russia” was increasingly used. It was officially established in 1547. Then the whole country began to be called the Russian (Russian) kingdom. Ultimately, we have what is called Russian as a separate people, and a large multinational state as Russian. By the way, the Latin name “Russia” was already found in Western European sources in the 11th century. Thus, it was the word “Rus” that became a derivative of “Russia”. But scientists have different opinions regarding Rus' and the Russian people. By the way, the name of Ukraine most likely comes from the consonant Old Russian word “ukraine”, meaning border territory or land near the edge. But with Belarus it’s even simpler - its name comes from the phrase “White Rus'”. Well, now let’s look at the existing theories about the origin of the word “Rus” and “Russians”.

Norman theory
In this case, it is said that Rus' is none other than the Vikings or Normans. The fact is that the Tale of Bygone Years seems to indicate that the East Slavic tribes turned to the Varangians, and, more precisely, to Rus', who were one of the tribes there. If we adhere to this theory, we should turn to the Old Icelandic word "Róþsmenn", which means oarsmen or sailors. Therefore, the name of the Norman tribe of Rus may well have such an origin. Actually, Rurik himself is a Varangian from the Rus people. The Slavic tribes called him to become their ruler, because... at that time they were mired in civil strife.

The Norman theory is supported by many Byzantine and European sources, where Rus' was identified with the Vikings. In the same sources, the names of Russian princes are indicated in the northern way: Prince Oleg - X-l-g, Princess Olga - Helga, Prince Igor - Inger. Another interesting argument is the essay of a certain Constantine Porphyrogenitus “On the Administration of the Empire,” written in the mid-10th century. The names of the Dnieper rapids are given there. The funny thing is that two languages ​​are used for this: Slavic and Russian. The latter version shows a Scandinavian similarity. Be that as it may, the Scandinavians definitely visited East Slavic territory. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. Moreover, they date back precisely to the time of the “calling of the Varangians.” By the way, the spelling of the double “s” was finally established only under Peter I.

Slavic theory
The name of Rus' is often associated with the name of one of the tribes of the Eastern Slavs - the Ros (or Rus). It is believed that they settled along the Ros River, which is one of the tributaries of the Dnieper. But many researchers consider this theory far-fetched, and the very existence of a Slavic tribe with that name, in their opinion, is doubtful. Firstly, in fact, at that time the river had a name with “ъ” at the root, that is, “Ръь”, and secondly, this assumption arose during the Soviet Union, when they tried in every possible way to challenge the Norman theory. Therefore, many statements are questionable. It is also worth mentioning that the Rus were so nicknamed because of their light brown hair color.

That same river Ros. More plausible is the opinion of Lomonosov, who believed that the people of the Rus (or Ros) have a connection with the Baltic Prussians (also Slavs). And archaeological finds indicate a connection between the Baltic Slavs and the northern population of Ancient Rus'.

Sarmatian (Iranian) theory
The Sarmatians are nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes who occupied the territory of modern Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan in the mid-1st millennium. These guys had such tribes as the Roxolons and Rosomans, whom many eminent scientists consider to be the ancestors of the Rus. This is where the name Rus' came from.

Sarmatians are another possible ancestor of ours. Why not a modern Russian brigade?
Swedish Theory From the 6th to the 5th centuries, Swedes visited those lands and said they saw Finnish tribes there, whom they called Rotsi.
Military theory There is also a version that says that “Rus” was a name for a special military class back at the time of the birth of the ancient Russian state. Over time, the name passed on to the entire nation.

Conclusion
Why does Russia have such a name? Because the words “Rus” and “Russian” were derivative, the origin of which is associated with the name of one of the rivers in the territory of the Slavs, and with the Varangian tribe, and even with the Sarmatians and their tribe of Roxolans. Today, the Norman theory, supported by historical facts and archaeological finds, seems to be the most plausible. So it is possible that Mother Russia is so called thanks to the legendary Vikings who once came to the lands of our ancestors.

Who are we, Russians? What kind of people? How did it come about? Almost no one knows anything about this. It’s not for nothing that Russians are called Ivans, who do not remember their kinship. Psychologists are convinced that most of the troubles of modern Russia are due to the fact that the consciousness of the titular nation, that is, the Russians, is, as it were, covered with a veil. Sometimes it seems that some universal demiurge has clouded our minds for a long time. But the time for clarity of consciousness is already coming. Gennady Klimov’s new book “Russian Vedas” was recently published, which tells in detail about the ancient history of Rus', the archaic civilizations of Eastern Europe, where, as it turned out, the evolution of humanity took place. It turned out that from school textbooks we approximately know the history of only 5 thousand years, and then with great distortions, but the history of the civilization of Rus' goes back at least 50 thousand years, that is, 10 times more. Gennady Klimov is a professional researcher of ancient religions and epics. In the last book there is a fragment that tells about the birth of the peoples who became the ancestors of the Slavs. Today we asked Gennady Klimov to tell us about the origin of the Russian people.


- Let's discard some of the myths that haunt us from the very beginning. Russians can be considered Slavs with a certain stretch. The Slavs are one of the peoples that separated from Rus' and nothing more. For example, in the Voronezh, Rostov, and Kharkov regions, the population consists of 60 percent of the descendants of the Aryans, who later formed the Sarmatian-Scythian world. And in Novgorodskaya. Tver, Pskov are also 40 percent descendants of Scandinavians. The Lower Volga region is populated in a certain proportion by people, from which Jews emerged in two waves. Russians are a ancestral ethnic group from which other peoples emerged. In the Russian language, in the Russian mentality, two codes are combined - Sarmatia, the world of female matriarchal foundations, and Scythia, the world of male battles and Cossack hordes. Russians have a very complex archetype, which is why Russian civilization still has so many problems. But soon the consciousness of Russian-speaking people will be cleared, and transformation will come. Then the true dawn of the Russian world will come. This process has already begun.
The question is often asked: where did the Russians come from? The Russians have always lived in their place in eastern Europe, even during the Ice Age and the Flood. The continuous history of Russia is observed from a depth of 50-70 thousand years. For example, China is barely 5 thousand years old. And the Egyptian pyramids were built only 4 thousand years ago. But of course the Slavs played a significant role in the entosogenesis of the Russian nation. In figurative form, the ancient authors of Aryan books preserved for us a message about the birth of the peoples of the Northern Black Sea region, including the Slavs. To a certain extent, the Wends can be considered the ancestors of the Russians. Aryan ancient books tell the following.
Kadru and Vinata were sisters. Their father was Daksha, the lord of creatures. He had 13 daughters, whom he married to the sage Kashyapa. Kadru gave birth to a thousand sons, but Vinata gave birth to only two. Kadru brought many eggs, but Vinata brought only two eggs. Five hundred years later, a thousand powerful snakes - nagas - hatched from the eggs of Kadru. By this time, Vinata’s other sister had not yet given birth to anyone. Impatiently, Vinata broke one egg and saw her son there, only half developed. She named him Aruna. Aryan texts contain many secrets. The name Arun means “runes of the Alatyr stone.” This is a system of signs used by the priests of Valdai as secret writing. For his ugliness, the angry Arun cursed his impatient mother Vinata, and predicted that she would be a slave for five hundred years. From the name Vinat comes the Russian word “wine” and the name of the ancient families of the Vendian Slavs. This word was used at different times in relation to different peoples, sometimes to all Slavs in general, and is also sometimes associated with Vandals. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Germans generally called all the neighboring Slavic peoples Vends (except for the Czechs and Poles, who descended from another branch of immigrants from Rus'): Lusatians, Lyutichs, Bodrichis (who lived in the territory of modern Germany) and Pomeranians. In Germany, during the Weimar Republic, there was still a special Vendian Department in the internal affairs bodies, which was engaged in working with the Slavic population of Germany. Today, to a large extent, modern Germans are the genetic descendants of the Baltic Slavs. A large number of words with the root “Wend” were found in the lands of eastern Germany: Wendhaus, Wendberg, Wendgraben (grave), Windenheim (homeland), Windisland (land of the Wends), etc. On the territory of modern Latvia back in the 12th-13th centuries. AD lived a people known as the Vendas. It is not difficult to assume that they come from the lineages laid by the two sons of the matriarchal Vinata commune mentioned in the Aryan Vedas. The word “Russia” in Finnish and Estonian sounds “Venaja” and “Vene”, respectively. It is believed that the Finnish and Estonian names for Russians are also related to the name “Vends”.
The story, which is preserved in the Aryan Vedas, says that the Slavs at the beginning of time appeared in the form of a son, Vinata, who was born prematurely, but received the name Arun, which means “possessing secret knowledge.” Cursing his mother (having left the matriarchal commune that gave birth to him), he said: “In five hundred years, another son will deliver you from slavery if you do not break the second egg ahead of time.”
This was shortly before the start of the Trojan War. At this time, the gods and asuras were at peace. The united Aryan Empire mobilized all its forces to build a gigantic wall separating the north from the south. This is how the ancients tried to protect themselves from diseases that were approaching Rus' from the south. At this time, the sisters Kadru and Vinata saw the wonderful horse Uchchaikhshravas emerging from the sea waters. A dispute arose between them about what color the horse’s tail was. Vinata said it was white (as it actually was). Her sister Kadru is like black. According to the terms of the dispute, the one who loses must become a slave.
At night, Kadru sent a thousand of her sons - “black snakes” so that they would hang on the tail of the white horse, and thereby hide its natural color. So the insidious Kadru deceived her sister into slavery. And so the curse of the first Slavs, the Aruns, came true. Most likely, this is one of the Scythian or Sarmatian tribes that moved to the Balkans after the Trojan War. Here the descendants of Arun began to be called Kolovyans - southern Slavs. They formed 12 Etruscan clans, which created the ancient Etruscan state and Rome.
In the Russian epic, the history of the migrations of this people is preserved in the tale of the kolobok. Actually, the bun is the Kolovians. This was approximately 1200 BC. After 2200 years, some of them will return to Rus' in Kyiv and Novgorod, after Moravia was conquered by the Hungarians. When they returned, they brought with them many tales and tales about their ancient history. This is how the fairy tale about the kolobok appeared in Rus'.

But this is only half the history of the Slavs. Vinata gave birth to a gigantic eagle from the second egg. He was destined to become a destroyer of naga snakes in revenge for his mother's slavery. When he was born, all living beings and the gods of Mount Alatyr themselves were in confusion. The circumstances of the life and struggle of the giant eagle are very reminiscent of the circumstances of the history of modern Russia, although the Aryan Vedas were written several thousand years earlier. The peoples descended from the gigantic eagle Garuda are the Baltic Slavs, Germans and modern Russians. At birth, the eagle Garuda himself broke the shell of the egg with his beak and, as soon as he was born, soared into the sky in search of prey. His birthplace, apparently, was the Don River. The matriarchal commune of Vineta was enslaved by the steppe nomads of the Nagas. Nagas formed numerous southern nationalities.
At that time, Surya, the sun god, began to threaten that he would burn the world. A drought began in the steppes. Then the eagle Garuda took his elder brother, the one who was born prematurely, on his back and placed him on the chariot of the Sun, so that with his body he would shield the world from the destructive rays. Since then, Vinata's eldest son became Surya's charioteer and the deity of the dawn.
Apparently, the Garuda tribe, whose coat of arms was an eagle, was born 500 years after the Trojan War and after the first expedition of immigrants from Rus' to the Balkans and the settlement of Sicily. That is, it was approximately 750 BC. It was at this time that another religious crisis occurred in Rus'. At this time, a new Jerusalem temple was built in Rus', which continues the religious reforms towards the transition to Monotheism begun in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC by the Aryan king Melchisidek. In addition, the reason that prompted the huge masses of people in Eurasia to move was drought.
Waves of people of “free will” appear at the mouth of the Don, and a naval base of the southern Varangians appears on the Sea of ​​Azov. These “people of the sea” receive the name Hellenes. They attack the shores of all inland seas, destroying the remnants of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization. The Dark Ages are coming. The city of Panticapaeum (the modern city of Kerch) arose in Crimea. This is a transshipment naval base from which thousands of ships disperse across the seas. At the shipyards near the modern city of Voronezh, thousands more ships are being built from ship pines. The maritime expansion of Rus' ends with the emergence of many independent cities along the shores of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. It was these settlers who became the breeding ground on which ancient culture grew.
And Garuda, having delivered his brother to the south, returned to Rus'. Dejected, he asked his mother: “Why should I serve snakes?” And his mother Vinata told him about how she fell into slavery to her sister. Garuda then asked the snakes: “What can I do to free myself and my mother from slavery?” And the snakes said to him: “Get us amrita from the gods. Then we will deliver you from slavery." Amrita is the drink of immortality. The concept of “amrita” in Aryan texts corresponds to Ayurveda - the science of the laws of life. It was the creation by the priests of the foundations of ancient medicine that made it possible to begin the less safe development of territory outside of Rus'. Man is not well suited to live away from glaciers - in the southern world he is haunted by exotic diseases. After the foundation of Ayurveda was created, people began to populate the southern countries. There they met people from primitive eras, who also somehow adapted to living in the south. But these were different people, unlike the northerners. The sun changed their appearance, and their habits, worldview, and ethical standards were from archaic eras. Their archetype of consciousness corresponded to eras long past. This is how the mechanism of evolution works on planet Earth. Evolution in the south occurs more slowly than in the north.
Garuda flew to the north, where the gods kept amrita. On the way, he passed Mount Gandhamadana, where he saw his meditating father, the wise Kashyapa. On the advice of his father, Garuda obtained an elephant and a giant tortoise for food and descended onto a tree to eat his prey. But the branch broke under his weight. Garuda picked it up with his beak and saw on it many tiny sages - Valakhilyas, hanging upside down. Valakhilya - mythical sages, numbering sixty thousand, each the size of a finger; in Aryan books they are called the sons of Kratu, the sixth son of Brahma.

With a branch in his beak and an elephant and a turtle in his claws, Garuda flew on. When he again flew past Mount Gandhamadana, Kashyapa said: “Beware of harming the Valakhilya sages! Fear their wrath! Kashyapa told Garuda how powerful these tiny creatures are. Then Garuda carefully lowered the Valakhilyas to the ground, and he himself flew to a mountain covered with snow, and, sitting on a glacier, ate an elephant and a turtle. Then he continued his flight.

One of the Sapta Rishis, Kratu, is considered to be the father of the Valakhilyas. The Russian word “mole” comes from the name of this rishi (sage). Why? You'll understand a little later. Valakhilyas drink the rays of the sun and are guardians of the solar chariot. In fact, their place of residence is Valdai and the Riphean Mountains, the Mountains of the Sages. They study the Vedas and sastras. One of the main characteristics of the Valakhylians is considered to be their purity, virtue and chastity; they constantly perform prayers. The elders usually live in dugouts and are indifferent to wealth. Sometimes in books they are called "siddhis".
These are the holy hermits of Rus'. They settled in the upper reaches of the Volga, Beloozerye and the shores of the White Sea. The hermitages of the holy elders can be found even far away on the Kola Peninsula beyond the Arctic Circle. The Mahabharata tells how the leader of the gods, Indra, together with the Valakhilyas, were responsible for lighting the fire. Indra, who had collected a whole mountain of firewood, laughed at the Valakhilyas, each of whom could barely pull a stalk of grass. The sages were offended and began to pray that another leader of the gods, Indra, would appear, much more powerful. Indra, having learned about this, became afraid and asked for help from the sage Kashyapa. The powerful priest was able to pacify the Valakhylians, but so that their efforts would not be in vain, he decided that Indra should be born in the form of an eagle.
Not far from my house near Tver in 2009, the relics of St. Savvaty, an elder who lived here at the end of the 14th century AD, were discovered. His relics were found on August 19. This is very symbolic. On this day the Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration. This concept is a reflection of the philosophical concept of “smart doing” or the vision of the Tabor light. In forest hermitages, hermit monks brought themselves to a state of religious ecstasy that they began to directly, on Earth, see the Tabor light and directly communicate with God.

The tradition of building monasteries in Rus' goes back to the era of Cancer (7-6 thousand years BC) - a sign addressed to the world of the soul, and perhaps even more ancient times. In the 4th-2nd millennium, the era of Taurus begins - the Valakhilya populate the lands that were newly freed from under the glacier. 60 thousand hermit monks “weave” the Vedas here, which still determine the consciousness of modern man. It was they who created the archetype of consciousness that underlies world culture. Valakhilyas have been preserved throughout the millennia. They still exist today. In relatively recent history, the Valakhilyas, who in the Russian Church are called the Trans-Volga Elders, became most famous. These are the monks of Belozersky, Vologda and Tver small monasteries and forest hermitages. The external, ritual side of religion did not play any role for them. Their monasteries differed sharply in their poor, simple atmosphere from the rich churches. They were not afraid to tell the truth to kings. The divorce of the Russian Tsar Vasily III from his wife and his new marriage caused condemnation from the Volga residents. In 1523, one of the Trans-Volga residents, Abbot Porfiry, was even imprisoned for standing up for Prince Vasily Shemyachich, who was summoned to Moscow and imprisoned, despite the oaths of the Grand Duke and Metropolitan Daniel. At the head of the Trans-Volga elders was Nil Sorsky...
Today, in the village of Savvatyevo near Tver, Father Andrei Egorov (the archpriest was once a famous Tver rocker) is reviving and building a small monastery on the banks of the Orsha River and preserving the forest monastery of St. Savvaty of Orsha, a hermit who, according to legend, came to Russian soil together with Metropolitan Cyprian, and who brought the teachings of the hesychasts to Rus'. This was at the end of the 14th century.
Many names of rivers, descriptions of the climate and the starry sky in the Aryan books indicate that the famous seven sages, who gave people all the knowledge, in whose honor the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major shine, lived in these very places along the banks of the rivers Medveditsa, Orsha, and Mologa. And at the end of the 14th century, Orthodox monks settled here in monasteries, guardians of the teaching about the Light of Tabor. Already at the beginning of the 15th century, in just a few decades, monasteries and small monasteries spread from Tver to the Arctic Ocean itself.
During our meeting, Father Andrei was surprised at how high speed The teachings of the hesychasts spread throughout Rus'. I think this is God's providence. This is the Tabor light of the Transfiguration - it spreads at the same speed as the Holy Fire from the Holy Sepulcher.
Many Orthodox monks settled in hermitages precisely in those places where the rishis indicated in the Vedas lived. But between these events there are at least 2500 years. It seems that history is repeating itself. The fact that the rishis from the Aryan epic and the hesychasts from relatively recent history appeared in one place on the planet is an amazing fact. It seems that events not only repeat themselves, but also happen in the same place.
The Valakhilyas and Orthodox hermit monks of northwestern Rus' and Karelia are an unbroken tradition of one phenomenon. It has been manifesting itself here for several thousand years. I know several monks who live in the forests today.
And while Garuda was approaching Valdai, the abodes of the gods and formidable signs appeared in the sky. The wind rose, thunder rumbled, ominous clouds enveloped the peaks. The gods were alarmed. But they had not yet seen who was going to attack them. Then the wise Brihaspati said to them: “A mighty bird is approaching here to steal amrita. Now the prophecy of the Valachylians is being fulfilled.”
Hearing this, the gods, led by Indra, dressed in shining armor and armed themselves with swords and spears, says the Aryan epic. Surrounding the vessel with the drink of immortality, Amrita, they prepared for battle. And then a huge bird appeared, sparkling like the sun. She fell upon the celestials and scattered them in different directions. Recovering from this onslaught, the gods, led by Indra, rushed towards Garuda, showering him with spears, darts and war disks from all sides. The bird soared up and attacked the gods from above, and killed many with blows of its claws and beak. Unable to withstand the fight with the invincible bird, the gods retreated, and Garuda penetrated to where the amrita was kept. Thus, the Proto-Slavs became the owners of the secret knowledge of the sages from Valdai.
Garuda grabbed the vessel with amrita and set off on his way back.
The leader of the Valdai gods, Indra, rushed in pursuit and, overtaking him in the air, dealt a terrible blow with his vajra. But Garuda did not flinch. He said to Indra: “My strength is great, and I can carry on my wings this whole earth with mountains and forests and you along with it. If you want, be my friend. Do not be afraid, I will not give the amrita to the snakes. You will get it back when I free myself and my mother from slavery.” Indra is, among other things, a religion that existed in Rus' 6-4 thousand years BC. This was the first appearance of monotheistic cults. Indra was the harbinger of the coming of Krishna. The Aryan Vedas believe that in the form of Krishna, the Almighty once again descended to earth around 3100 BC. At the same time, Krishna is, as it were, a harbinger of the coming of Jesus Christ, and Indra, accordingly, is the harbinger of St. Andrew the First-Called. The descendants of the second son of the slave Vinata brought the cult of monotheism to the south of Rus'. Along with the new religion, new knowledge about hygiene and healing methods spread, which made it possible to move further south.
Hearing these words, Indra said, “I accept your friendship, O mighty one. Demand from me whatever gift you want!” And Garuda said: “Let snakes be my food.” From that time on, snakes were doomed to be food for Garuda and his offspring, the suparna birds. Since then, Russia has absorbed many immigrants from the south and melted them into the Russian ethnic group.

Garuda and his mother Vinata were freed from slavery. But in the meantime Indra took the amrita and took it back to Valdai, to his kingdom. The snakes did not get the drink of immortality. Then they began to lick the kusha grass on which the vessel with amrita stood. And the grass kusha, which touched amrita, became a sacred herb from that time on. That is, some knowledge of ancient medicine did end up among the nomads - and this saved them in the process of evolution.
The great eagle Garuda - the sun bird - is one of the most popular images of Aryan mythology. In ancient books, the Almighty (Vishnu) is often depicted flying in the sky riding the eagle Garuda. That is, the Northern Slavs were the force that in ancient times spread throughout the world the faith in one God. Hence the expression among Russians - God is with us!

Gennady Klimov's story was recorded by Marina Gavrishenko

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

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

Primary ethnogenesis

So, let’s take a journey into the depths of history, or rather, at the moment when this IV-III millennium BC begins to take shape.

It was then that the ethnic division of European peoples occurred. The Slavic mass stands out from the general environment. It was also not homogeneous, despite the similarity of languages; otherwise, the Slavic peoples are quite different, this even applies to the anthropological type.

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

Initially, the Slavs and their language occupied a very limited territory. According to scientists, it was localized in the area of ​​the middle reaches of the Danube, only later did the Slavs settle in the areas of modern Poland and Ukraine. Belarus and southern Russia.

Range expansion

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

At this stage, it is still impossible to talk about any clear demarcation within the Slavic population. The greatest changes in ethnic and territorial demarcation were brought about by the Hun invasion. Already by the fifth century AD, the Slavs appeared in the forest-steppes of modern Ukraine and further south in the Don region.

Here they successfully assimilate the few Iranian tribes and establish settlements, one of which becomes Kyiv. However, numerous toponyms and hydronyms remain from the former owners of the lands, which led to the conclusion that the Slavs appeared in these places around the above period.

At this moment, there was a rapid growth of the Slavic population, which led to the emergence of a large intertribal association - the Anta Union, and it was from its midst that the Russians emerged. The history of the origin of this people is closely connected with the first prototype of the state.

The first mentions of Russians

From the fifth to the eighth centuries there was a continuous struggle between the Eastern Slavs and nomadic tribes, however, despite the enmity, these peoples in the future will be forced to coexist.

By this period, the Slavs had formed 15 large inter-tribal unions, the most developed of which were the Polyans and Slavs who lived in the area of ​​Lake Ilmen. The strengthening of the Slavs led to the fact that they appeared in the possessions of Byzantium, and it was from there that the first information about the Russians and Dews came.

That is why the Russians were called Russians, this is a derivative of the ethnonym that the Byzantines and other peoples surrounding them gave them. There were other names that were similar in transcription - Rusyns, Rus.

During this chronological period, there was an active process of formation of statehood, moreover, there were two centers of this process - one in Kyiv, the other in Novgorod. But both bore the same name - Rus'.

Why were Russians called Russians?

So why did the ethnonym “Russians” appear both in the Dnieper region and in the north-west? After the great migration of peoples, the Slavs occupied vast areas of Central and Eastern Europe.

Among these numerous tribes there are the names Russ, Rusyns, Rutens, Rugs. Suffice it to recall that Rusyn has survived to this day. But why this particular word?

The answer is very simple, in the language of the Slavs the word “blond” meant fair-haired or simply fair, and the Slavs looked exactly like that according to their anthropological type. A group of Slavs who originally lived on the Danube brought this name when moving to the Dnieper banks.

The terminology and origin of “Russian” originate from there; the Russians, over time, turn into Russians. This part of the Eastern Slavs settles in the area of ​​modern Kyiv and adjacent territories. And they brought this name here, and since they established themselves here, the ethnonym became established; over time it only changed a little.

The emergence of Russian statehood

Another part of the Russians occupied lands along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, here they pushed the Germans and Balts to the west, and they themselves gradually moved to the north-west, this group of Eastern Slavs already had princes and a squad.

And she was practically one step away from creating a state. Although there is a version about the Northern European origin of the term “Rus” and it is connected with the Norman theory, according to which the Varangians brought statehood to the Slavs, this term denoted the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but there is no evidence for this.

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

The history of the Russian people at its very beginning

As mentioned above, intense rivalry arose between Kiev and Novgorod at the end of the ninth century. The reason for this was the acceleration of socio-economic development and the need to create a unified state.

The northerners gained the upper hand in this battle. In 882, the Novgorod prince Oleg gathered a large army and went on a campaign against Kyiv, but he was unable to take the city by force. Then he resorted to cunning and passed off his boats as a merchant caravan, taking advantage of the effect of surprise, he killed the Kyiv princes and took the Kiev throne, declaring himself the Grand Duke.

This is how the ancient Russian state appears with a single supreme ruler, taxes, squad and judicial system. And Oleg becomes the founder of those who ruled in Rus'-Russia until the 16th century.

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