Slavs. modern Slavic peoples and states

The vast space between the two largest powers of the early Middle Ages - the empire of Charlemagne and Byzantium - was occupied by the barbarian tribes of the Slavs.

At the beginning of our era, the Slavs, according to most scientists, lived between the Vistula and the Dnieper, primarily in the Carpathian region (Proto-Slavic territory, or the territory of the ancient Slavs). From there they began to spread throughout Europe. One part of the Slavs headed west - to the Elbe River, another moved to the lands of present-day Russia, displacing the tribes of the Finno-Ugric peoples, and the third came close to the borders of the Byzantine Empire on the Danube.

Slavic invasions of Byzantium

At the end of the 5th century the invasion of the southern Slavs into the Byzantine Empire through its Danube border begins. Emperor Justinian managed to stop the Slavs and prevent them from entering the Balkans. To do this, he built many fortresses along the Danube border. However, the South Slavs became more and more formidable force. In subsequent centuries, they not only conquered the northern regions of the Balkan Peninsula from Byzantium, but also settled in large groups in the central and southern parts of the Balkans, in the heart of Byzantium. From these Slavic tribes came the South Slavic peoples: Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, etc.

The ancient Slavs, like all barbarians, were pagans. Franks and Greeks often argued for influence over these tribes. There was even a rivalry between Rome and Constantinople over who would convert the Slavs to Christianity first. That church, which in missionary work among the Slavs will outstrip its rival, will receive power over vast lands.

The rivalry between the West and the East for influence on the Slavic world largely determined the fate of the Slavic peoples and their states.

Principality of Samo?

Historians often call the principality of Samo on the land of present-day Czech Republic and Moravia the first Slavic state. Information about him is extremely scarce and uncertain. In sparing words, the chronicler reports that a certain man named Samo rallied the Slavic tribes and raised them to fight first with the Avars, and then with the Franks. In 627, Samo was elected prince, and he ruled for 35 years. Apparently, immediately after his death, the state he created collapsed. Most likely, it was not yet a real state, but an unstable union of tribes. It is not entirely clear whether Samo was a Slav. According to some reports, he is a Frank by birth, who for some reason left his homeland. The second major political formation among the Slavs arose in the same century, but already in the south.

The first Bulgarian kingdom of the 7th-11th centuries.

In 681, Khan Asparukh from the Turkic tribe of the Bulgarians, who had moved shortly before that from the Volga region to the Danube, united the Danubian Slavs and created a powerful state, the so-called First Bulgarian Kingdom. Very soon, the newcomer Turks dissolved among the numerous Slavs, while the name "Bulgarians" passed to the Slavic people. Neighborhood with Byzantium greatly contributed to their cultural development. In 864 Tsar Boris accepted Christianity from the Byzantines. The Patriarch of Constantinople did not insist that the language of worship and Christian literature in Bulgaria must be Greek. Therefore, all Christian literature was translated from Greek into Slavic, understandable to both noble and simple Bulgarians. Ancient Bulgarian literature flourished in the reign of Simeon, son of Boris. The tsar in every possible way encouraged theologians, poets, historians who wrote in the Slavic language.

In foreign policy Bulgarian kings competed with Byzantium for a long time. But in 1018, the Byzantine basileus from the Macedonian dynasty, Vasily II the Bulgar Slayer, won a complete victory over the Bulgarians and annexed the Bulgarian kingdom to Byzantium. Vasily II treated the captured Bulgarian soldiers very cruelly - he blinded 15 thousand soldiers, leaving one guide for every hundred blind, who could see in one eye. This was the end of the First Bulgarian Kingdom.

Saints Cyril and Methodius. Great Moravia

In the ninth century north of the Bulgarian kingdom, approximately where the legendary principality of Samo was, another Slavic power arose - Great Moravia. The Moravian prince Rostislav was very afraid of his neighbor - the East Frankish kingdom, and therefore sought support from the Byzantines. Rostislav asked to send a spiritual mentor from Byzantium to Moravia: he thought that Greek teachers would help weaken the influence of the East Frankish Church in his lands.

In response to the request of Rostislav in 865, two brothers arrived in Moravia - Constantine and Methodius. It must be said that Konstantin is better known under the name Cyril, which he took just before his death when he was tonsured a monk. Cyril (Konstantin) and Methodius came from the city of Solun (in Greek - Thessaloniki). Both received a very good education in Constantinople. Although they were Greeks, both brothers were fluent in the Slavic language from childhood. In order to more successfully spread Christianity among the Slavs, they created Slavic alphabet. Cyril and Methodius were the first to translate the Bible into Slavic, writing the translation in a new Slavic script. The first Slavic alphabet was called Glagolitic.

The brothers took part of the letters of the Glagolitic alphabet from the Greek alphabet, part from the Semitic languages, and several signs were new. Subsequently, Cyril's students created another Slavic alphabet, now exclusively based on the Greek alphabet with the addition of a few new characters. In honor of their teacher, they named it Cyrillic. We still use this alphabet. It is also common in Bulgaria, Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine and some other countries.

The activities of the brothers Cyril and Methodius are of great importance for the entire Slavic culture. The Slavic writing and translation of the Bible they brought to Moravia quickly spread throughout Slavic lands. Therefore, Cyril and Methodius are considered the enlighteners of the Slavs, who brought them Christianity, and the founders of their literature. In the Slavic countries they are revered as "equal-to-the-apostles" saints, that is, equal to the apostles themselves.

Byzantium and Rus'

Pagan Rus from the 9th century. organized robbery campaigns against Byzantium.

One of these Rus attacks on Constantinople turned out to be so sudden that the residents of the Byzantine capital, not ready for defense, no longer hoped to save the city. Desperate Romans with prayers carried around the walls of the city the main shrine of Constantinople - a cover that once belonged, as they believed, to the Mother of God. Immediately after this, the barbarian army lifted the siege from the city. The Byzantines considered the inexplicable departure of the Rus as a miracle, accomplished thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God.

The Rus not only fought, but also traded with the Romans. An important trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed through the lands of the Eastern Slavs, which connected the northern regions of Rus' and Scandinavia with Byzantium. The Varangians - immigrants from Rus', as well as the Rus themselves served as mercenaries in the Byzantine army and even once saved the basil from the rebels. However, during the reign of Emperor Basil II Bulgar-Slayers, relations between the Romans and the Rus deteriorated. In 988 Prince Vladimir of Kiev laid siege to the Byzantine fortress of Kherson in the Crimea. Although the Byzantines made concessions to the Slavs, passing off the emperor's sister Anna as Vladimir, the Byzantines also managed to achieve their goals. Vladimir accepted Christianity from them and spread the new religion in Rus'. Now the prince of Kiev became a true ally of Byzantium.

The value of Byzantium in the history of the Slavs

Byzantium had the strongest influence on the culture of the southern and eastern Slavic peoples. They adopted Christianity from Byzantium, joined the high and refined Greco-Roman culture. Architecture, fine arts, literature, many customs came to the Slavs from Byzantium. Byzantium, itself gradually fading away, seemed to give strength to the Slavic peoples. In this sense, the history of Byzantium is closely connected with the history of all the southern and eastern Slavs, in particular, with the history of the peoples of Russia.

From the "Strategikon" ("Strategikon" - instruction on military affairs) unknown author(Pseudo-Mauritius) about the Slavs

The tribes of the Slavs are similar in their way of life, in their customs, in their love of freedom; they can in no way be persuaded into slavery or submission in their own country. They are numerous, hardy, easily endure heat and cold, rain, nakedness, lack of food. Foreigners who come to them are treated kindly and, showing them signs of their location (when they move) from one place to another, guard them if necessary ...

They have a large number of different livestock and fruits of the earth lying in heaps, especially millet and wheat.

The modesty of their women exceeds all human nature, so that most of them consider the death of their husband their death and voluntarily strangle themselves, not counting being a widow for life.

They settle in forests, near impassable rivers, swamps and lakes, arrange many exits in their dwellings due to the dangers they encounter, which is natural. They bury the things they need in hiding places, do not openly own anything superfluous and lead a wandering life ...

Each is armed with two small spears, some also have shields, strong but difficult to carry. They also use wooden bows and small arrows soaked in a poison special for arrows, which is potent if the wounded person does not take an antidote first, or (does not use) other aids, known to experienced doctors, or immediately cut off the wound with a steep so that the poison does not spread throughout the body.

Byzantine chronicler about the meeting of the Byzantine basileus Roman I and the Bulgarian king Simeon

In September (924) ... Simeon with his army moved to Constantinople. He devastated Thrace and Macedonia, set fire to everything, destroyed it, cut down trees, and approaching Blachernae, he asked to send Patriarch Nicholas and some nobles to him for peace negotiations. The parties exchanged hostages, and the first to go to Simeon was Patriarch Nikolai (followed by other messengers) ... They began to talk with Simeon about the world, but he sent them away and asked for a meeting with the tsar (Roman) himself, heard about his intelligence, courage and intelligence. The king was very happy about this, for he longed for peace and wanted to stop this daily bloodshed. He sent people ashore ... to build a reliable pier in the sea, to which the royal trireme could approach. He ordered to enclose the pier on all sides with walls, in the middle to build a partition where they could talk to each other. Simeon, meanwhile, sent soldiers and burned the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, showing by this that he did not want peace, but was fooling the king empty hopes. The tsar, having arrived in Blachernae together with Patriarch Nicholas, entered the holy tomb, stretched out his hands in prayer ... asked the All-Glorious and Immaculate Mother of God to soften the unbent and inexorable heart of proud Simeon and convince him to agree to peace. And so they opened the holy kivot, ( Kivot (kiot) - a special cabinet for icons and relics) where the holy omophorion (i.e. cover) of the Holy Mother of God was kept, and, throwing it on, the king seemed to cover himself with an impenetrable shield, and instead of a helmet he set up his faith in the Immaculate Mother of God and so left the temple, defended by a reliable weapon. Having supplied his retinue with weapons and shields, he appeared at the appointed place for negotiations with Simeon ... The king was the first to appear at the mentioned pier and stopped in anticipation of Simeon. The parties exchanged hostages, and the Bulgarians. They carefully searched the pier: was there any trick or ambush, only after that Simeon jumped off his horse and entered the king. After greeting each other, they began to negotiate for peace. They say that the king said to Simeon: “I heard that you are a pious and true Christian, however, as I see, words do not agree with deeds. After all, a pious person and a Christian rejoices in peace and love... but a wicked and unfaithful person enjoys murders and unrighteously shed blood... What account will you give God, having departed to another world, for your unrighteous murders? With what face will you look at the formidable and just Judge? If you do this for the love of wealth, I will feed you your fill of it, just hold on to your right hand. Rejoice in the world, love harmony, so that you yourself live a peaceful, bloodless and calm life, and Christians will get rid of misfortunes and stop killing Christians, for it is not worth it for them to raise a sword against fellow believers. So the king said and fell silent. Simeon was ashamed of his humility and his speeches and agreed to make peace. Having greeted each other, they dispersed, and the king pleased Simeon with luxurious gifts.



The territory of modern Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania was inhabited in the period of the ancient Paleolithic, as evidenced by archeological data. The first people in this territory, about which written sources have been preserved, were the Celts, who came here in the 4th-2nd centuries.

BC. One of these tribes - the battles - occupied the northern part of Bohemia and Moravia, and subsequently penetrated to the south. Another Celtic tribe, the Kotini, settled in the southern part of Slovakia. At the dawn of our era, the Celts were driven out by the Germans, who came from the north and west. From the 1st to the 4th centuries AD Roman legions were located in the Danube region. They were constantly at war with the Germans. The Lombards passed through the Czech Republic to Italy, and the Goths through Slovakia. At the end of the 5th and in the 6th c. came to this area Slavic population. In essence, it was an agricultural colonization of almost deserted convenient lands. The main occupation of the Slavs was agriculture and cattle breeding, they occupied previously inhabited territories, and also expanded them by uprooting forests. The agricultural technique of the Slavs was sufficiently developed to ensure life and some population growth. The Slavs grew wheat and millet, as well as rye, peas, lentils, hemp, vegetables, and collected wild fruits. They bred mainly cattle, knew the processing of wood, clay, bones and horns, elementary textile production. Metal processing has reached a fairly high level. The Slavs lived mainly in rural-type settlements, but when the soil was depleted (15-20 years) they moved to other areas. As for the social system, the Slavs, apparently, were going through a period of transition from a tribal system to a military democracy. The main cell of society was a community of several families, only 50-60 people.

At the beginning of the VI century. Nomads invaded Central Europe Avars(obra in "The Tale of Bygone Years"). In the second half of the century, they occupied the Roman province of Pannonia, from where they attacked the Franks, Byzantium, and especially the Slavs, from whom they took tribute, forced them to take part in their military actions, etc. In 623-624 the Slavs revolted. They were joined by a Frankish merchant Samo with his squad. The only source about these events is the chronicle of Fredegar (c. 660) tells about the defeat of the Avars and the election of Samo as the leader of the Slavs. In 631, a conflict arose between Samo and the Frankish king Dagobert I (629-638), as a result of which the Slavs defeated the Franks and their allies, the Lombards and Alemans, invaded the Frankish kingdom and attracted the prince of the Lusatian Serbs, Drevan, to their side. State of Samo, located partly on the territory of the Czech Republic and also the Lusatian Serbs, was a tribal union, both defending itself against enemies and making predatory raids on neighbors. According to Fredegar's chronicle, Samo ruled for 35 years. At present, the opinion is expressed that the core of the territory of the state was South Moravia and parts of Lower Austria adjacent to it. The question is still open.

During the 8th and 9th centuries the area of ​​​​settlement of the Slavs is expanding. South Moravia becomes the most developed, where fortified castles and entire districts are created. The county centered in Mikulčice was probably a princely center, and the county of Nitra in Slovakia was also important. Between the territories of the Czech Republic and Slovakia there was a wide belt of uninhabited lands. Fortified castles also arose in the Czech region, in particular the Prague fortified castle in the 9th century. This testifies to the stabilization of the settlement of the territory and the further development of productive forces. Judging by the data of archeology, in the VIII-IX centuries. agriculture reached a high level, which was also ensured by the development of handicrafts, which came to European level. Archaeologists have discovered 24 furnaces for steel smelting, blacksmithing and woodworking have developed in the city, from which dwellings have already been built. Cooperage and pottery production became widespread. There was also the production of jewelry made of gold, silver, glass, concentrated in the main centers. Jewelry and small household items were made from bone and horn, fabric - from flax, hemp, wool. In the ninth century construction industry developed. 18 stone churches of that era are known.

All this implies a significant property differentiation of society, which is also evidenced by the development of internal exchange and trade. Imported items were precious metals, amber, expensive fabrics, weapons - for the rich strata of society. Salt was also imported. Money was already used, but irregularly, and the price was expressed, probably, in weight units of the precious metal (solidus). The main trade route of the Danube River connected the Arab Caliphate of Cordoba through the Frankish Empire with the lands of Asia.

There is no information about the political history of society in the indicated territory after the disappearance of the Samo tribal union. The Slavs of these regions belonged to the same ethnic group, but, having settled in different places, they developed public relations with some differences. The most favorable conditions were Moravia. In written sources of the IX century. Moravans always act under a single name and at the head of a single prince, whose power was hereditary. Ruled genus Moimirovtsy(according to prince Mojmir, c. 830-846). In 822, Moravian and Czech nobles already participated in the Frankfurt Diet, being, however, still dependent on the Frankish Empire. In Western Slovakia, the Principality of Pribina arose in Nitra. As a result of the struggle between Mojmir and Pribina, the Principality of Nitra c. 833 - 836 was annexed to the possessions of Mojmir, and Pribina was expelled from Nitra. This completed the integration of the possessions north of the middle reaches of the Danube. The crystallization of the state, named later Great Moravia.

SLAVES, Europe's largest group of kindred peoples. The total number of Slavs is about 300 million people. Modern Slavs are divided into three branches: eastern (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians), southern (Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, Slovenes, Muslim Bosnians, Macedonians) and western (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatians). They speak the languages ​​of the Slavic group of the Indo-European family. The origin of the ethnonym Slavs is not clear enough. Apparently, it goes back to the common Indo-European root, the semantic content of which is the concept of "man", "people", "speaking". In this meaning, the ethnonym Slavs is registered in a number of Slavic languages ​​(including the Old Polabian language, where "Slavak", "Tslavak" meant "man"). This ethnonym (Middle Slovenes, Slovaks, Slovenes, Slovenes of Novgorod) in various modifications is most often traced on the periphery of the settlement of the Slavs.

The question of ethnogenesis and the so-called ancestral home of the Slavs remains debatable. The ethnogenesis of the Slavs probably developed in stages (Proto-Slavs, Proto-Slavs and the early Slavic ethnolinguistic community). By the end of the 1st millennium AD, separate Slavic ethnic communities (tribes and unions of tribes) were formed. Ethnogenetic processes were accompanied by migrations, differentiation and integration of peoples, ethnic and local groups, assimilation phenomena, in which various, both Slavic and non-Slavic, ethnic groups took part as substrates or components. Contact zones arose and changed, which were characterized by ethnic processes different type at the epicenter and at the periphery. IN modern science The most recognized views were those according to which the Slavic ethnic community initially developed in the area either between the Oder (Odra) and the Vistula (Oder-Vistula theory), or between the Oder and the Middle Dnieper (Oder-Dnieper theory). Linguists believe that Proto-Slavic speakers consolidated no later than the 2nd millennium BC.

From here began the gradual advance of the Slavs in the southwestern, western and northern directions, coinciding mainly with the final phase of the Great Migration of Nations (V-VII centuries). At the same time, the Slavs interacted with Iranian, Thracian, Dacian, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric and other ethnic components. By the VI century, the Slavs occupied the Danubian territories that were part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, about 577 crossed the Danube and in the middle of the VII century settled in the Balkans (Moesia, Thrace, Macedonia, most of Greece, Dalmatia, Istria), penetrating partly into Malaya Asia. At the same time, in the VI century, the Slavs, having mastered Dacia and Pannonia, reached the Alpine regions. Between the 6th-7th centuries (mainly at the end of the 6th century), another part of the Slavs settled between the Oder and the Elbe (Labe), partially moving to the left bank of the latter (the so-called Wendland in Germany). Since the 7th-8th centuries, there has been an intensive advance of the Slavs to the central and northern zones of Eastern Europe. As a result, in the IX-X centuries. there was an extensive area of ​​Slavic settlement: from the North-East of Europe and Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and from the Volga to the Elbe. At the same time, the Proto-Slavic ethno-linguistic community was disintegrating and Slavic languages ​​were formed on the basis of local dialects. language groups and later - the languages ​​of individual Slavic ethno-social communities.

Ancient authors of the 1st-2nd centuries and Byzantine sources of the 6th-7th centuries mention the Slavs under different names, then calling them generally Wends, then singling out Antes and Slavins among them. It is possible, however, that such names (especially "Vendi", "Antes") were used to refer not only to the Slavs themselves, but also to neighboring or related to other peoples. In modern science, the location of the Ants is usually localized in the Northern Black Sea region (between the Seversky Donets and the Carpathians), and the Sklavins are interpreted as their western neighbors. In the VI century, the Antes, together with the Slavs, participated in the wars against Byzantium and partially settled in the Balkans. The ethnonym "Antes" disappears from written sources in the 7th century. It is possible that it was reflected in the later ethnonym of the East Slavic tribe "Vyatichi", in the generalized designation of Slavic groups in Germany - "Vends". Starting from the 6th century, Byzantine authors increasingly report the existence of "Slavinia" ("Slavius"). Their occurrence was recorded in different ends Slavic world- in the Balkans (“Seven Clans”, Berzitia among the Berzites, Draguvitia among the Draguvites, etc.), in Central Europe (“the state of Samo”), among the Eastern and Western (including Pomeranian and Polabian) Slavs. These were unstable formations that arose and again disintegrated, changed territories and united various tribes. So, the state of Samo, which developed in the 7th century to protect against the Avars, Bavarians, Lombards, Franks, united the Slavs of the Czech Republic, Moravia, Slovakia, Lusatia and (partially) Croatia and Slovenia. The emergence of "Slavinia" on a tribal and intertribal basis reflected the internal changes of the ancient Slavic society, in which there was a process of formation of the propertied elite, and the power of tribal princes gradually developed into hereditary.

The emergence of statehood among the Slavs dates back to the 7th-9th centuries. The date of foundation of the Bulgarian state (the First Bulgarian Kingdom) is considered to be 681. Although at the end of the 10th century Bulgaria became dependent on Byzantium, as shown further development By this time, the Bulgarian people had already acquired a stable self-consciousness. In the second half of the VIII - the first half of the IX centuries. there is a formation of statehood among the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes. In the 9th century, the Old Russian statehood was formed with centers in Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod and Kyiv (Kievan Rus). By the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. refers to the existence of the Great Moravian state, which was of great importance for the development of common Slavic culture - here in 863 the educational activities of the creators of Slavic writing Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, continued by their students (after the defeat of Orthodoxy in Great Moravia) in Bulgaria. The boundaries of the Great Moravian state at the time of its highest prosperity included Moravia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, as well as Lusatia, part of Pannonia and Slovenian lands and, apparently, Lesser Poland. In the 9th century, the Old Polish state arose. At the same time, the process of Christianization proceeded, with the majority of the southern Slavs and all the eastern Slavs found themselves in the sphere of the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Western Slavs (including Croats and Slovenes) - the Roman Catholic. Some of the Western Slavs in the XV-XVI centuries had reform movements (Husism, the community of Czech brothers, etc. in the Czech kingdom, Arianism in Poland, Calvinism among the Slovaks, Protestantism in Slovenia, etc.), largely suppressed during the counter-reformation period.

The transition to state formations reflected a qualitatively new stage in the ethno-social development of the Slavs - the beginning of the formation of nationalities.

The nature, dynamics and pace of formation of the Slavic peoples were determined by social factors (the presence of "complete" or "incomplete" ethno-social structures) and political factors (the presence or absence of their own state-legal institutions, stability or mobility of the borders of early state formations, etc.). ). Political factors in a number of cases, especially at the initial stages of ethnic history, acquired decisive importance. Thus, the further process of development of the Great Moravian ethnic community on the basis of the Moravian-Czech, Slovak, Pannonian and Lusatian tribes of the Slavs that were part of Great Moravia turned out to be impossible after the fall of this state under the blows of the Hungarians in 906. There was a break in the economic and political ties of this part of the Slavic ethnos and its administrative-territorial separation, which created a new ethnic situation. On the contrary, the emergence and consolidation of the Old Russian state in the east of Europe was the most important factor further consolidation of the East Slavic tribes into a relatively single Old Russian people.

In the 9th century, the lands inhabited by the tribes - the ancestors of the Slovenes, were captured by the Germans and from 962 became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and at the beginning of the 10th century, the ancestors of the Slovaks, after the fall of the Great Moravian state, were included in the Hungarian state. Despite the long resistance to German expansion, the bulk of the Polabian and Pomeranian Slavs lost their independence and were subjected to forced assimilation. Despite the disappearance of this group of Western Slavs of their own ethno-political base, separate groups of them in different regions of Germany remained. long time- until the 18th century, and in Brandenburg and near Lüneburg even until the 19th century. The exception was the Lusatians, as well as the Kashubians (the latter later became part of the Polish nation).

Approximately in the XIII-XIV centuries, the Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech and Polish peoples began to move to a new phase of their development. However, this process among the Bulgarians and Serbs was interrupted at the end of the 14th century by the Ottoman invasion, as a result of which they lost their independence for five centuries, and the ethno-social structures of these peoples were deformed. In 1102, Croatia recognized the power of the Hungarian kings due to outside danger, but retained autonomy and the ethnically Croatian ruling class. This had a positive impact on the further development of the Croatian people, although the territorial disunity of the Croatian lands led to the conservation of ethnic regionalism. TO early XVII century Polish and Czech nationalities have reached a high degree of consolidation. But in the Czech lands, included in 1620 into the Habsburg Austrian monarchy, as a result of the events of the Thirty Years' War and the counter-reformation policy in the 17th century, ethnic composition the ruling strata and the townspeople underwent significant changes. Although Poland maintained its independence until the partitions of the late 18th century, the general unfavorable domestic and foreign political situation and the lag in economic development hampered the process of nation formation.

Ethnic history of the Slavs in Eastern Europe had its own specific features. The consolidation of the Old Russian people was influenced not only by the closeness of culture and the similarity of the dialects used by the Eastern Slavs, but also by the similarity of their socio-economic development. The peculiarity of the process of formation of individual nationalities, and later - ethnic groups among the Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians) was that they survived the stage of ancient Russian nationality and common statehood. Their further formation was a consequence of the differentiation of the ancient Russian people into three independent closely related ethnic groups (XIV-XVI centuries). In the XVII-XVIII centuries, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians again found themselves in one state - Russia, now as three independent ethnic groups.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the East Slavic peoples develop into modern nations. This process proceeded among the Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians at a different pace (the most intense among the Russians, the slowest among the Belarusians), which was determined by the peculiar historical, ethno-political and ethno-cultural situations experienced by each of the three peoples. Thus, for Belarusians and Ukrainians, an important role was played by the need to resist Polonization and Magyarization, the incompleteness of their ethno-social structure, formed as a result of the merger of their own upper social strata with the upper social strata of Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, etc.

Among the Western and Southern Slavs, the formation of nations, with some asynchrony of the initial boundaries of this process, begins in the second half of the 18th century. With a formation commonality, in a stadial relationship, there were differences between the regions of Central and South-Eastern Europe: if for the Western Slavs this process basically ends in the 60s of the XIX century, then for the southern Slavs - after the liberation Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78.

Until 1918, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks were part of multinational empires, and the task of creating national statehood remained unresolved. At the same time, the political factor retained its significance in the process of formation of the Slavic nations. The consolidation of Montenegrin independence in 1878 created the basis for the subsequent formation of the Montenegrin nation. After the decisions of the Berlin Congress of 1878 and the change of borders in the Balkans, most of Macedonia turned out to be outside Bulgaria, which subsequently led to the formation of the Macedonian nation. At the beginning of the 20th century, and especially in the period between the first and second world wars, when the Western and Southern Slavs gained state independence, this process, however, was contradictory.

After February Revolution 1917 attempts were made to create Ukrainian and Belarusian statehood. In 1922, Ukraine and Belarus, together with other Soviet republics, were the founders of the USSR (in 1991 they declared themselves sovereign states). The totalitarian regimes that were established in the Slavic countries of Europe in the second half of the 1940s with the dominance of the administrative-command system had a deforming effect on ethnic processes (violation of the rights of ethnic minorities in Bulgaria, ignoring the autonomous status of Slovakia by the leadership of Czechoslovakia, aggravation of interethnic contradictions in Yugoslavia, etc. .). This was one of the most important reasons for the nationwide crisis in the Slavic countries of Europe, which led here, starting from 1989-1990, to significant changes in the socio-economic and ethno-political situation. Modern processes of democratization of the socio-economic, political and spiritual life of the Slavic peoples create qualitatively new opportunities for expanding interethnic contacts and cultural cooperation, which have strong traditions.

Slavic countries- these are states that have existed or still exist, having most of their population of Slavs (Slavic peoples). The Slavic countries of the world are those countries in which the Slavic population is about eighty to ninety percent.

What countries are Slavic?

Slavic countries of Europe:

But still, to the question “the population of which country belongs to the Slavic group?” The answer immediately suggests itself - Russia. The population of the Slavic countries today is about three hundred million people. But there are other countries in which Slavic peoples live (these are European states, North America, Asia) and speak Slavic languages.

The countries of the Slavic group can be divided into:

• West Slavic.
• East Slavic.
• South Slavic.

The languages ​​in these countries are descended from one common language(it is called Proto-Slavic), which once existed among the ancient Slavs. It was formed in the second half of the first millennium AD. It is not surprising that most of the words are consonant (for example, Russian and Ukrainian languages ​​are very similar). There are also similarities in grammar, sentence structure, and phonetics. This is easy to explain if we take into account the duration of contacts between the inhabitants of the Slavic states. The lion's share in the structure of the Slavic languages ​​is occupied by Russian. Its carriers are 250 million people.

Interestingly, the flags of the Slavic countries also have some similarities in color scheme, in the presence of longitudinal stripes. Does it have something to do with their common origin? More likely yes than no.

The countries where Slavic languages ​​are spoken are not so numerous. But still Slavic languages still exist and thrive. And it's been hundreds of years! This only means that the Slavic people are the most powerful, steadfast, unshakable. It is important that the Slavs do not lose the originality of their culture, respect for their ancestors, honor them and keep traditions.

Today there are many organizations (both in Russia and abroad) that revive and restore Slavic culture, Slavic holidays, even names for their children!

The first Slavs appeared in the second or third millennium BC. Of course, the birth of this mighty people took place in the region modern Russia and Europe. Over time, the tribes developed new territories, but still they could not (or did not want to) go far from their ancestral home. By the way, depending on the migration, the Slavs were divided into eastern, western, southern (each branch had its own name). They had differences in lifestyle, agriculture, some traditions. But still the Slavic "core" remained intact.

A major role in the life of the Slavic peoples was played by the emergence of statehood, war, mixing with other ethnic groups. The emergence of separate Slavic states, on the one hand, greatly reduced the migration of the Slavs. But, on the other hand, from that moment on, their mixing with other nationalities also fell sharply. This allowed the Slavic gene pool to firmly gain a foothold on the world stage. This affected both the appearance (which is unique) and the genotype (hereditary traits).

Slavic countries during World War II

Second World War brought great changes to the countries of the Slavic group. For example, in 1938 the Czechoslovak Republic lost its territorial unity. The Czech Republic ceased to be independent, and Slovakia became a German colony. IN next year The Commonwealth came to an end, and in 1940 the same thing happened with Yugoslavia. Bulgaria sided with the Nazis.

But there were also positive aspects. For example, the formation of anti-fascist trends and organizations. A common misfortune rallied the Slavic countries. They fought for independence, for peace, for freedom. Especially such movements gained popularity in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia.

The Soviet Union played a key role in World War II. Citizens of the country selflessly fought against the Hitler regime, with cruelty German soldiers with the fascists. The country has lost a huge number of its defenders.

Some Slavic countries during the Second World War were united by the All-Slavic Committee. The latter was created by the Soviet Union.

What is Pan-Slavism?

The concept of pan-Slavism is interesting. This is a direction that appeared in the Slavic states in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was aimed at uniting all the Slavs of the world on the basis of their national, cultural, everyday, linguistic community. Pan-Slavism promoted the independence of the Slavs, praised their originality.

The colors of Pan-Slavism were white, blue and red (the same colors appear on many national flags). The emergence of such a direction as pan-Slavism began after the Napoleonic wars. Weakened and "tired", the countries supported each other in Hard time. But over time, Pan-Slavism began to be forgotten. But now there is again a tendency to return to the origins, to the ancestors, to the Slavic culture. Perhaps this will lead to the formation of the Neo-Pan-Slavist movement.

Slavic countries today

The twenty-first century is a time of some kind of discord in the relations of the Slavic countries. This is especially true for Russia, Ukraine, EU countries. The reasons here are more political and economic. But despite the discord, many residents of countries (from the Slavic group) remember that all the descendants of the Slavs are brothers. Therefore, none of them wants wars and conflicts, but only warm family relations, as our ancestors once had.

The largest Slavic state in terms of area is currently Russia (Russian Federation). It covers an area of ​​17,075,400 square kilometers, which is 76% of the area of ​​the former USSR. More than a third of the country is located in Europe, the rest is in Asia. General geographical position The country is defined as the northeast of Eurasia. Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway, has access to the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian, Chukchi, Bering, Okhotsk , Japanese, Caspian, Black and Baltic seas.

The population is about 150 million people, among them 76% - urban population, 24% - rural. In addition to Russians, representatives of more than a hundred other nationalities live in Russia, including Slavic ones (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles).

The state language is Russian.

Russia is currently a federal republic. The state is headed by a president.

Moscow the capital.

Brief outline of history

On the territory of modern Russia ( Russian Federation) at different times there were various state formations. The earliest of them is, which arose at the end of the 8th century and united the Eastern Slavs for more than three centuries. By the 12th century, Kievan Rus fell into decay and disintegrated into several independent principalities at war with each other: Polotsk, Galicia-Volyn, Turov-Pinsk, Kiev, Pereyaslav, Novgorod-Seversk, Chernigov, Muromo-Ryazan, Smolensk. The strongest among them are Vladimir-Suzdal Principality And Novgorod Republic. The specific principalities are constantly waging internecine wars, very cruel and bloody. The neighbors of the Russians take advantage of these wars, and in the 13th century the Novgorod principality had to constantly repel the attacks of the Swedes and Germans (the Battle of the Neva in 1240 and Battle on the Ice 1242). The eastern principalities are subject to the Tatar-Mongol invasion and for almost two hundred and fifty years they are subject to the khans of the Golden Horde; Western principalities become dependent on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. Novgorod lands retain their independence. Feudal fragmentation leads not only to the political weakening and disintegration of the state, in terms of language it also brings an increase in dialect differences between dialects, which ultimately served as the basis for the formation of three independent East Slavic peoples and their languages.

Russian principalities in the 12th century (according to Golubtsov; borders are generalized)

Among the East Slavic lands, the importance of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality is gradually growing. Andrei Bogolyubsky, son of Yuri Dolgoruky, makes Vladimir the capital of the principality and begins to unite the Russian lands around him. Some time later, he moved the capital to Moscow, and since the 14th century there has already been a strong centralized Moscow State, whose formation actually ended in 1547, when Ivan IV the Terrible was crowned tsar. With the creation of a single centralized state, the emergence of Great Russian people. In the XVI - XVII centuries Russia expands its borders, and the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia - in the east, some territories previously captured by the Commonwealth - in the west, became part of the Russian kingdom. This turns Russia into a great multinational power vast in territory. It begins to play an important role in European affairs and attracts more and more attention from Western countries.

In the middle of the 17th century, Alexei Mikhailovich, the first of the Romanov dynasty, who ruled the state until 1917, became Tsar of Russia. At the end of the 17th century, his son, Peter I, ascended the throne of Russia, whose reign radically changed the fate of the country. Following the model of European states, factories and manufactories are being opened in Russia, a fleet is being built (Russia received access to the Baltic Sea), and a regular army is being created. The state administration also underwent fundamental changes: instead of the boyar duma and orders, the Senate and subordinate collegiums were established. In 1722, it was introduced, according to which all civil and military ranks were divided into fourteen degrees, or ranks. It was necessary to start the service from the lowest, fourteenth rank, regardless of the origin of the employee. Promotion in ranks was directly dependent on the personal success of each. A number of changes also affected the church. In 1721, the patriarchate was destroyed in the country, and it was replaced by the Holy Governing Synod, headed by a secular person - the chief prosecutor. The Church, thus, submits to the power of the civil, is made dependent on it. For a clear delineation of secular and ecclesiastical literature, civil type was introduced, after which only theological and liturgical books were printed in the old type. In 1721 Russia was proclaimed an empire.

heyday Russian Empire considered to be the reign of Catherine II the Great. At this time, huge steps are being taken along the path of enlightenment, Moscow University is opening.

Of the most significant events before 1917, the Patriotic War of 1812 should also be noted; the reform of 1861, which abolished serfdom in Russia; the revolution of 1905, which led to the creation in Russia of the first parliament - the Duma, which lasted until 1918.

By the beginning of the twentieth century (1914) Russian empire occupies about twenty-two million square kilometers. It includes Eastern Europe, the Grand Duchy of Finland, most of Poland, the Caucasus, Siberia, part Central Asia.

Among the most significant political events of the twentieth century, it is necessary to name the February and October Revolution 1917; civil war; formation of a new state Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which included Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR); collectivization; repressions of the 1930s; Great Patriotic War; the period of the "Thaw" of the early 60s and the period of stagnation that followed it. After the collapse of the USSR in December 1991 Russia (Russian Federation) became an independent state.

A Brief Outline of Culture

Russian cultural tradition originates in the culture of Kievan Rus and, deeper, in the culture of the Slavic and non-Slavic tribes that made up the Old Russian nationality. Over the centuries, it not only developed independently, but also experienced the influence (sometimes significant) of the peoples who in one way or another interacted with the Russians (Finno-Ugric, Norman, Baltic, Turkic tribes); pagan and Christian ideology, which contributed to the development of architecture, sculpture (idols carved from wood and stone), painting, and writing.

The pre-Christian architectural tradition was mostly wooden. Some forms of wooden construction later entered stone architecture and became a hallmark of Russian architecture. Few pre-Christian cultural monuments have survived to this day, but the main pagan motifs are still for a long time are present in the ornament of not only secular, but also religious buildings. For example, in stone carvings on the walls of the Christian Cathedral of the Intercession on the Nerl (Vladimir), in addition to traditional Christian symbols for places of worship, floral ornaments are intertwined with images of lions, griffins, and mythical man-beasts.

Saint Sophia Cathedral. Kyiv

After the baptism of Kievan Rus, ancient Russian culture was strongly influenced by the Byzantine artistic and literary tradition. It is no secret that when Prince Vladimir chose Orthodoxy, an important role was played by the cultural and aesthetic criterion mentioned in "Tales of Bygone Years". The envoys of the Russian prince attended a solemn service in the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople and were shocked both by the beauty of the church itself and by the splendor and harmony of the rite they saw. With the baptism of Rus', church Byzantine art was accepted and reworked under the influence of local traditions by the Russians.

The chronicles say that soon after the baptism in Kyiv, Byzantine craftsmen erected a stone Church of the Tithes. We cannot say for sure what this building was, since it was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars in 1240, but in 1037-1054 the St. Sophia Cathedral was erected in Kiev by Russian and Greek masters, the beauty of which we can admire to this day. The design of the 11th century was significantly different from the one presented now, after the reconstruction of the cathedral in the 17th - 18th centuries, when baroque motifs were introduced into the general appearance of the structure. Five apses protruded from the eastern facade, reflecting the internal five-aisled structure; open galleries surrounded the cathedral from the north, west and south.

The cathedral was crowned with thirteen hemispherical domes covered with lead. Two asymmetrically placed stair towers on the western façade led to the choir stalls. At the eastern end of the northern gallery there was a grand ducal tomb (here were the stone sarcophagi of Yaroslav the Wise, Vsevolod Yaroslavich, Vladimir Monomakh and others). politicians Ancient Rus').

The cathedral is built of dark red rubble stone, interspersed with layers of thin bricks (plinths), the masonry is based on pink cement mortar. Initially, the masonry was open, but at the turn of the 17th - 18th centuries, the walls of the cathedral were plastered and whitewashed. The first renewal of the frescoes (1) also dates back to the 17th century, which was repeated several times during the 18th – 19th centuries. Of particular value is the mosaic (2), covering about two hundred and sixty square meters of the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral. The mosaic has survived to this day almost unchanged.

From the middle of the XII century, the Byzantine influence in architecture was weakening, but in painting it continued to be preserved for a long time.

Sophia Cathedral. Veliky Novgorod

Elements of Western European culture began to penetrate into Rus' from the middle of the 11th century and especially intensified in the second half of the 12th - early 13th centuries, during the heyday of Romanesque style and the weakening of Byzantine influence in Rus'. Elements of the Romanesque style can be found in the architecture of St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod. One of the Western European elements of the temple is its location on a hill, which emphasizes the elevation of the divine above the earthly. In addition, as a Romanesque building, St. Sophia Cathedral has massive walls, narrow window openings, recessed portals, which give the building a special solemnity and power. An obligatory and important architectural element of the Romanesque style is the presence of towers. Sophia Cathedral, according to the traditions of Romanesque construction, is a system of simple stereometric volumes (cubes, parallelepipeds, prisms, cylinders), the surface of which is divided by blades, arched friezes and galleries.

The appearance of Novgorod Sophia preserved its original appearance better than other pre-Mongolian churches. Initially, according to the ancient Russian tradition, the cathedral was made of wood, later the wooden walls were replaced with brick walls made of local white stone, which were fastened with lime mortar. It must be said that the use of local building material is also a tradition of the Romanesque style.

Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral served as a model for the construction of Antoniev (1117 - 1119) and Yuriev (1119) monasteries, St. Nicholas Cathedral (1113).

New Novgorod buildings are four-pillar cubic temples with one dome and three apses. Churches of the Annunciation in Arkazhy (1179), Paraskeva Pyatnitsa at the Market (1207) and others, built in the Novgorod Republic with the money of parishioners, are small and very simple in design. This is also due to the fact that churches in the Novgorod Republic were often used as warehouses for goods, a place for storing citizens' property.

The architecture of Pskov (the Church of the Savior in the Mirozhinsky Monastery, the middle of the 12th century) is distinguished by the absence of pillars, three-domed structures. In general, the ancient Russian architecture of this time (especially the Vladimir-Suzdal school) is distinguished by the interweaving of proper Russian traditions with the traditions of the Romanesque Western European school. A distinctive feature of Russian churches is architectural plasticity, filled, in contrast to the Romanesque style, with life-affirming forces.

In the XII-XIII centuries, local schools of painting were formed. The most formed among them are Novgorod, Pskov and Vladimir-Suzdal, which differed in skill and way of transferring characters. Novgorod fresco painting is characterized by simplification of artistic techniques and expressiveness in the transfer of human faces. The images presented in the Pskov school are distinguished by their simplicity and psychological intensity. The faces of saints painted in the Rostov-Suzdal school can be said to be lyrical and warm.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion weakened the rise of Russian culture. Many cities were destroyed, monuments of writing, painting, architecture were destroyed, and along with them some artistic traditions were lost. During internecine wars, which caused no less damage to culture than the Tatar-Mongols, it was not easy to restore what was lost. A new upsurge of culture in Rus' begins only with the emergence of a new strong political center, which becomes first Vladimir, and then Moscow, that is, from the middle of the 14th century.

In the architecture of the XIV-XVI centuries, the traditions of the regional architectural schools of Rus', which had developed before the XIII century, receive a new direction of development. At the turn of the 13th-14th centuries, stone construction resumed in Novgorod and Pskov. Novgorod buildings, as before, are made at the expense of individual citizens (boyars, merchants) and collectives of "convicts". New buildings are distinguished by lightness, an abundance of light. Churches of a new type - Spas on Ilyina Street (1374) and Feodor Stratilat (1360 - 1361) - are decorated with decorative niches, which are filled with fresco paintings, sculptural inset crosses, triangular depressions (Spas on Ilyina).

Conducted in Novgorod and civil construction. Stone chambers with box vaults are being built. In 1302, a stone citadel was laid in Novgorod, which was subsequently rebuilt several times.

Pskov architecture is developing in the direction of building fortresses. So, in 1330, Izborsk, one of the largest military structures of that time, was surrounded by Pskov stone walls; A large stone Kremlin was built in Pskov. Pskov architectural structures are distinguished by their austere appearance, conciseness, and almost no decorative decoration is used in them. Pskov masters are developing a special system of overlapping the building with crossed arches, which makes it possible to abandon pillars during the construction of the temple.

Russian architects in 1367 erected a white-stone Kremlin in Moscow, and at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century, masters Pietro Antonio Solari, Aleviz Novy and Mark Ruffo, ordered from Italy, put up new red-brick walls and towers. By this time, the Assumption Cathedral (1479) had already been erected on the territory of the Kremlin by the Italian Aristotle Fioravanti, the Palace of Facets (1487–1489) was built by Novgorod builders, and the Annunciation Cathedral (1484–1489) was built next to it by Pskov craftsmen. A little later, the same Aleviz Novy completes the Cathedral Square ensemble with the Archangel Cathedral, the tomb of the Grand Dukes (1505–1509). Behind the Kremlin wall on Red Square in 1555-1560, in honor of the capture of Kazan, the nine-domed Intercession Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral) was erected, crowned with a high multifaceted pyramid - a tent. This detail gave the name "tent" architectural style, which arose in the 16th century (the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye, 1532).

Painting of the second half of the 14th-15th centuries is the time when Feofan the Greek and Andrei Rublev create. The murals of the Novgorod (Savior on Ilyin) and Moscow (Annunciation Cathedral) churches of Theophanes the Greek and Rublev’s icons (“Trinity”, “Savior”, etc.) are turned to God, but they tell about a person, his soul, moral perfection, about the search for harmony and ideal. Painting of this time in Russia in terms of themes and genres (icon painting, frescoes) remains deeply religious, but in it there is an appeal to the inner world of man, gentleness, philosophy, humanism.

In the middle of the 15th century, Byzantium, which had been a stronghold of Orthodoxy for a long time, finally fell. In this regard, in the Muscovite state, from that time on, the dogma “Moscow is the third Rome” arises, which in art is embodied in the attraction to everything magnificent, big, “great”. At the end of the 16th century, Andrei Chokhov cast the Tsar Cannon, which did not fire a single shot, a little later, under Anna Ioannovna, Motorina's father and son created the huge Tsar Bell (1733–1735).

In the 17th and especially the 18th centuries, the process of “secularization” of culture continued. The church is losing its former role in the dissemination of cultural values, which is gradually moving into secular circles. At this time, attempts are made to comprehend and systematize the accumulated scientific knowledge. Various kinds of “Herbals” and “Healers” containing descriptions of herbs and their properties, instructions for healing various diseases are widely used. Athanasius Kholmogorsky in his work "Shestodnev", based on the geocentric theory of Ptolemy, describes the structure of the world, representing the Earth as a ball. Many scholars are attempting a geographical, toponymic and historical description of various places in Russia. So, around 1640, “Painting to Siberian cities and prisons” appears; in 1667 - "Godunovsky drawing", named after the Tobolsk governor P.I. Godunov; in 1701 - "The Drawing Book of Siberia" by S.U. Remezov.

In church architecture, the traditions of tent architecture, which appeared in the 15th century, continue to develop, but churches are becoming more and more like secular buildings - palaces. Such, for example, are the Trinity Church in Murom, the Trinity Church in Nikitinki (Moscow).

Chambers of the Duma Clerk Avery Kirillov

Stone residential houses appear in the possession of nobles and wealthy merchants. A characteristic feature of these buildings is the rich decorative design of the facades. So, when decorating the chambers of the Duma clerk Averky Kirillov on Bersenevskaya Embankment, elegant tiles with a blue pattern on a white background were used. Similar residential buildings appear in Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod.

At the turn of the XVII - XVIII centuries, during the reign of Peter I, in Russian architecture appears a new style, which received the name "Naryshkin baroque", or "Moscow baroque", in which the Western European "bizarre" (3) style is intertwined with Russian decorativeness, airiness. "Moscow baroque", transforming elements of the Western European style, still remains dominant. The main decoration of sacred and secular buildings are decorative lace, which came to this style from folk craft - woodcarving. White-stone carving, baroque curvilinear lines, elements of an architectural order (4) give this style a life-affirming, bright start. In addition to the Church of the Intercession in Fili (1693), the Church of the Trinity in the Novogolutvin Monastery in Kolomna (1680s), the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (1686), the cell building with the chambers of the Naryshkins in the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery in Moscow (1690) were built in the Naryshkin style. ), the Church of the Annunciation in the Nikitsky Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky (1690), the Church of Stefan in the Mirozhsky Monastery in Pskov ( late XVII century), the bell tower of the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkovo in Yaroslavl (1700), the bell tower of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Uglich (1730) and other secular and church buildings.

Church of the Intercession in Fili (1693)

"Naryshkinsky Baroque" completes the development ancient Russian architecture and a new phase begins.

Under Peter I, Russia becomes a mighty empire, and extensive construction of cities and individual structures for various purposes is carried out throughout the territory. New types of buildings appeared: shipyards, arsenals, hospitals, theaters, museums, libraries. The architecture of the Petrine era affirms the power of Russia. Conventionally, this period is called "Peter's baroque", but it must be borne in mind that elements of classicism are often found in the works of Russian and invited foreign masters.

Significant transformations in the architecture of Russia are associated with the construction of a new capital. The first project of St. Petersburg was drawn up by the Frenchman A. Leblon, but the radial layout of the city, proposed by Russian architects P.M. Eropkin, M.G. Zemtsov and I.K. Korobov. Nevsky Prospekt became the main beam, the beams of the three main highways converged at the Admiralty (the first building of the Admiralty was built according to the project of I.K. Korobov in the early 20s of the XVIII century). In 1703, the Peter and Paul Fortress was laid in St. Petersburg, in 1704 - a shipyard, in 1708-1711 the stone Summer Palace of Peter was built (architects M.G. Zemtsov, N. Michetti, A. Schluter.

The leading types of buildings in St. Petersburg are not churches, but public buildings, urban and suburban palace and park ensembles with a symmetrical layout of objects. The buildings are built in the spirit of French classicism.

Russian architecture of the 40-50s of the 18th century is called Russian, "Elizabeth", or "Rastrelli" baroque. The Italian Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli arrived in Russia together with the famous architect Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli at the invitation of Peter I in 1715. Together with him, they created wonderful architectural ensembles and palaces during the time of Peter the Great and the reign of Anna Ioannovna, and also built two palaces on the territory of the Duchy of Courland for Biron. But the real flowering of creativity FB Rastrelli falls on the reign of Elizabeth. In the 1950s and 1960s, according to the design of the chief architect, the palace in Peterhof, the Winter Palace were built, the palace in Tsarskoye Selo and other buildings were rebuilt. The master introduced his own distinctive features into the Baroque style - he decorates all the facades of the building, and not just the main one, as was customary in Western architecture, he makes extensive use of shell-shaped decorative details. In the traditions of ancient Russian architecture, Rastrelli actively uses the possibilities of color, openwork plastic.

With the coming to power of Catherine II, the "Elizabethan" baroque was replaced by classicism - a strict style using classical order forms. Not only administrative buildings were built in this style (Academy of Arts - A. Kokorinov, V. Delamotte, Marble Palace - A. Rinaldi), but also landlord estates, merchant houses, palaces of petty nobility. V. Bazhenov (Pashkov's house, Kamennoostrovsky Palace of Catherine II), M. Kazakov (the building of the Moscow Senate in the Kremlin, Moscow University), I. Starov (Tauride Palace) create in the style of late classicism.

Distinctive features of classicism are uniformity, consistency, order, the creation of the illusion of harmony and rationality of the monarchy, the policy of enlightened absolutism. The buildings are distinguished by a clear layout, post-and-beam tectonic scale. New in the methods of architectural composition of the times after the Patriotic War of 1812 was free use the forms of the colonnade, arcade, portico and their combinations in contrast to the large field of a smooth, often lightly rusticated wall; the use of forms of the Doric order in order to create a heroic appearance of architecture; the use of light-colored facades in combination with white reliefs. Decorative sculpture was also used in a new way, reflecting the triumphal and heroic themes: molded wreaths, medallions, military paraphernalia.

Since the 40s of the 19th century, a departure from Russian classicism has been visible. The development of architecture is influenced by the need to build industrial buildings - large buildings of factories, plants - and apartment buildings, which housed a large number of apartments. In the construction of these structures, new materials are also used: cast iron, rolled iron, reinforced concrete.

TO late XIX century, a new style is created - modern, in which the pretentiousness of lines, emphasized asymmetry are combined with stylized floral ornaments (the forms of lilies, orchids, irises are used as decor) and soft colors of facades. An example of a building made in the Art Nouveau style is the Ryabushinsky mansion (1900, architect F. Shekhtel).

There are four stages in the architecture of Russia in the 20th century:

1) 1917 - 1932 - a period of innovation, attempts to move away from traditional architectural forms (the building of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station in Zaporozhye - 1929 - 1932, V. Vesnin; the mausoleum of V.I. Lenin - 1929 - 1930, A. Shchusev; four-five-story apartment buildings sectional residential type, kitchen factories, department stores, workers' clubs);

2) 1933 - 1954 - return to the classical heritage (Palace of Soviets in Moscow - 1939, V. Gelfreikh, B. Iofan, V. Shchuko; metro - from 1935; apartment buildings from large blocks; enlarged residential areas; from 1947 – construction of high-rise buildings as a symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War;

3) since the mid-1950s - architecture aimed at solving the problems of industrialization, reducing the cost of objects;

4) from the late 70s - early 80s, individual design of buildings is gradually returning, which becomes especially noticeable in the late 90s, when the country's economy begins to rise.

Literature

Bulakhov M.G., Zhovtobryuh M.A., Kodukhov V.I. East Slavic languages. M., 1987.
All countries of the world. Encyclopedic reference book / Authors-comp. I.O. Rodin, T.M. Pimenova. M., 2003.
Gromov M.N., Uzhankov A.N. Culture of Ancient Rus' / History of the cultures of the Slavic peoples. In 3 vols. T.1: Antiquity and the Middle Ages. M., 2003. S. 211-299.
Gumilyov L.N. From Rus' to Russia. M., 1995.
Janitor F. Slavs in European history and civilization. M., 2001.
Zezina M.R., Koshman L.V., Shulgin V.S. History of Russian culture. M., 1990.
Architects of St. Petersburg XIX - early XX century. SPb., 1998.
Trubetskoy N.S. Story. Culture. Language. M., 1995.
Notes

1. Fresco - a drawing made with water-based paints on wet plaster.
2. Mosaic - images typed from multi-colored smalt cubes.
3. Baroque - from Italian. barocco, fr. baroque - strange, wrong, bizarre.
4. Order - a combination of load-bearing and carried parts of a rack-and-beam structure, their structure and artistic processing. The order includes a column with a capital, a base, a pedestal, as well as carried parts: archi-grass, frieze and cornice. The classical order system developed in Ancient Greece (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian).