The best people were so called in ancient Rus'. Man of ancient Rus', population of ancient Rus'

Today, the word "people" is nothing more than a simple designation for the concept of "man" in the plural. However, once "people" in the singular had the form "people". And not every person was considered a “human”.

rope

Until the XIV century, the word "peasant" in the sense in which it is familiar to us now, was not in the Russian language. The first mention of a peasant as a farmer appears in chronicles dating back to the 1390s.

Most of the population of ancient Rus' were "people" (or "people"). So until the XIII century they called free citizens, mainly farmers, who were not in the service of the prince, but were obliged to pay taxes to him.

People formed communities - ropes. Philologist E.F. Karsky identified the word "rope" with "rope", that is, a rope is a certain territory marked (limited) by a rope. The fact is that at that time ropes of a certain length were actually used to measure the distance. Yes, and the community really had its own site with clear boundaries of the area.

At first, the Vervi people were blood relatives, that is, members of the same family. But gradually, people began to be united not by kinship, but only by close proximity. This is also mentioned in an ancient collection of legal norms called "Russian Truth".

This fact was also noted by the professor of history O.F. Miller. He wrote that the rope was divided into houses, plows, taxes, and so on, which, according to the scientist, does not indicate family relations between members of the community, but the role, the feasible participation of one or another person in the life of the rope.

Mutual responsibility

According to Russkaya Pravda, all members of the vervi were bound by collective responsibility. So if a dead person was found within the borders of the vervi, then the community was obliged to incur a monetary punishment - vira. In other words, the people of this vervi paid a certain amount to the family of the victim. Or if the traces of the escaping thief led to the community, then the people had to independently find the criminal in their ranks or pay the prince a fine.

Position in society

Above the people on the social ladder were other free citizens - "princely men". Their superiority is especially noticeable in the same Russkaya Pravda. For example, for the murder of a lyudin, the usual vira was relied upon, and for the murder of the prince's husband, it was already double.

Rus' has always attracted foreign invaders with its wealth, and our ancestors also did not miss the opportunity to seize new lands. The whole history of Rus' is continuous wars with close and distant neighbors.

Russian warriors were distinguished by high military skill and extraordinary courage. But even among them, super warriors stood out.

In our time, such fighters would be called special forces. There are many books, films and documentaries that extol the martial arts and unique abilities of Japanese ninjas, samurai, China's Shaolin monks, and other magical warriors. Possessing magical combat capabilities, they were considered invincible.

Unfortunately, very little is known about the ancient Russian special forces to a wide range of readers. Although there were many such elite fighters in the Russian squads.

One of the tasks assigned to modern special forces is military intelligence. The first reconnaissance military operation, which has been preserved in Russian chronicles, was carried out in 881 during the campaign of the Prophetic Oleg's army against Kyiv.

The name of the first Russian intelligence officer remained unknown. He, under the guise of a wanderer, made his way to Kyiv and learned everything that Oleg needed.

Leaving the army on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, Oleg with a small group of his best fighters (read - "special forces") moored to the shore near the city. Kyiv at that time was under the rule of two Varangian brothers - Dir and Askold. Messengers were sent to the brothers, who assured them that the boats that landed on the shore belonged to wealthy merchants passing by.

Under the pretext of offering gifts, Oleg deceived the princes on the pier. Both Kyiv rulers, together with their few guards, were killed by Russian warriors who were hiding in the boats.

Practically in Kyiv, a coup d'état was carried out, in which military intelligence officers played the main role.

The first sabotage operation, described in detail in the ancient Russian chronicles, was carried out by Grand Duchess Olga. After the murder of Prince Igor by the Drevlyans in 945, Olga vowed to take revenge on the murderers of her husband. The culprits for this death, in her opinion, were the entire Drevlyan nobility.

Faithful scouts sent to the Drevlyans began to spread rumors that Olga would like to remarry a noble prince. Arriving matchmakers were greeted with great honors. As a sign of the greatest respect, they were taken right in the boat to the courtyard of the prince's chamber, and then buried alive together with the boat in a prepared pit.

But this was not yet the end of the operation. So that the Drevlyans could not find out what really happened, by order of the princess, numerous posts were set up on the border with the possessions of the Drevlyans, not allowing anyone to cross the border. Then a response embassy was sent to the Drevlyans.

The scouts-ambassadors told that the previously sent matchmakers remained to feast in Kyiv. And in order for the people of Kiev to let go of their beloved princess, it is necessary to send the most noble Drevlyans as matchmakers.

The Drevlyans believed what was said and sent their most dignitaries to Kyiv. Arriving matchmakers were invited to wash themselves from the road in the bath, and only then to appear before Olga. The bath, after all the arrived nobles entered it, was tightly locked and set on fire. All the Drevlyans burned alive.

A modern good special forces fighter, in addition to excellent command of hand-to-hand combat techniques, cold and small arms, must also have a number of specific qualities.

There were such fighters in Ancient Rus'. There was a whole caste of mysterious sorcerers. People believed that they could turn into wolves and bears. The bear, in the language of the ancient Prussians, was called “dlak”. Therefore, these werewolf warriors were nicknamed werewolves.

They were not equal in military affairs. It was believed that the wolves were endowed with magical power by their patron, the ancient Slavic god Veles, whose sacred main animal was the bear. That explains the second part of the nickname of these supermen.

The most famous werewolf was Svyatoslav the Great. Svyatoslav, who spent his whole life in battles and military campaigns, mastered the art of wolves to perfection. Always fighting in the forefront of his warriors, he was truly invulnerable.

None of the opponents managed to defeat him in single combat. Svyatoslav organized military campaigns in the Balkans and the Caucasus, fought with the Khazars, Polovtsians and Byzantines. According to the testimonies of ancient chroniclers, this man of medium height was unrecognizably transformed in battles. Entire mountains of defeated enemies grew around him, and their arrows and swords simply did not take him.

After 988 (the date of the christening of Rus'), the unique combat skill of the wolf-ducks began to be forgotten. However, these warriors did not disappear at all, but continued to live on the Don, Dnieper and Kuban.

Later, they were joined by the Novgorodians, who fled from the city devastated by Ivan the Terrible. Among the residents of Veliky Novgorod there was a special caste of fighters - Kharakterniki or Spasovites, who possessed “witchcraft” knowledge and skillfully applied it in combat battles. They developed such complexes of martial arts as "Perun's Fist", "Skobar", "Buza", which were in no way inferior in skill to the Volkodlan ones.

Of course, Kharakterniki and werewolves weren't werewolves. Possessing the ability of mass hypnosis, they could suggest to the enemies that in front of them was not a person, but a bear or a wolf.

By creating their astral counterparts, they could force the enemy to fight a non-existent enemy or turn themselves into enemy fighters. Cases are described when such a super warrior appeared in front of the enemy, having many hands, each of which had a sword or saber.

The inability to predict from which side the blow would be struck led the enemies into confusion. Such various methods of mass hypnosis in the combat complexes of the kharacterniks received the name - "send a dream."

Invulnerability from an enemy sword, arrow and even a bullet was achieved by the magical ability to put a Spasov man into a special state - a multiple acceleration of his own time. The time of the onset of such a state was determined by the characterist according to the following sign - the back of his head began to get cold. The actions of the enemies began to take place in slow motion, which allowed these super warriors to easily evade sword strikes or flying arrows.

Although many researchers do not rule out that with the help of internal energy (“healthy”), such sorcerer warriors had the ability to surround themselves with an invisible field that deflected arrows and cold weapons from them.

Many chroniclers talk about the extraordinary abilities of clairvoyant characters. With special exercises, they brought these abilities to magical perfection, seeing what was happening in the camp of the enemy a thousand miles away.

Super warriors (ancient special forces) were not subject to any diseases, and after the battle, the enemies never found them dead. The healing power, perceived from the outside and enhanced by constant special exercises, allowed them to quickly heal the most severe wounds received in battles.

One of the famous characterists was the Russian General Baklanov (a hero of the Caucasian war of the 19th century). Eyewitnesses say that not a single shooter could hit even a motionless general.

It is impossible not to recall the legendary earpieces. Their daring sorties terrified the Golden Horde. During the siege of Bulgar, they blew up powder magazines, which forced the defenders of the city to surrender. During the time of Dmitry Donskoy, earplugs became the executors of all his secret plans. It is impossible to overestimate the role of the reconnaissance operations of the ushkuins in preparing for the invasion of Rus' by Mamai's troops. And the participation of these heroes in the Battle of Kulikovo forever covered them with unfading military glory.

Traditions about the Russian Janians have been preserved. These legendary warriors already in the 4th century BC became famous for their military operations as part of the army of Alexander the Great.

Chroniclers talk about their most important role in the battles of Gaugamela, Issa and Granicus. Groups of Janis consisting of five people cut through the dense ranks of the advancing huge Persian army, then turned around, cut through back and disappeared without a trace.

The Persian warriors of Darius, unable to understand what was happening, could not resist the invisible enemies. All this inspired panic fear in their ranks. Between battles, the Janais made constant daring raids on the Persian camp, while kidnapping military leaders and sentries.

There is also evidence that a detachment of Janais on thirty boats came to the aid of the legendary Troy.

Many of the techniques and tactics of the military operations of the ancient Russian miracle fighters are successfully used today by modern special forces. Specific information about this is under the strictest secrecy.

Initially, the word "freak" was also used to refer to a consecrated person who is patronized by the gods. Over many centuries, the unambiguously positive coloring of this concept gradually changed to a negative one. At first, the initiates were called "freak". Then so they began to call holy people not of this world, all who were marked with the seal of holiness. Even later, those who were a little out of their minds, that is, “holy fools,” began to rank among them.

Our ancestors considered the holy fools to be the people of God, those who, after death, will go to heaven and inherit the kingdom of heaven. But the further the Russians moved away from their pagan beliefs and joined Christianity, the more, contrary to expectations, the concept of “holy fool” became more blackened. Gradually, it acquired the meaning of "fool, crazy, crazy."

A similar change in emotional and semantic coloring from positive to negative occurred with some other words of the Russian language. For example, with the word "witch": earlier it was a knowledgeable, wise woman; now this is an evil, quarrelsome old woman who is known with evil spirits.

In ancient Rus', people lived in tribes, the tribe was one big family. All property owned by the tribe was common and indivisible. The father of a clan or family headed the tribe and was its ancestor. The younger ones were obliged to honor and respect the elders, as well as to follow their instructions. The Slavs were in good health, their bodies were muscular, they easily endured heat and cold, and also managed with a minimum of food and clothing. The ancient Slavs were outwardly very similar in height, fair skin and long dark brown hair. The main value of the Slavs was considered freedom and independence.

“All Russians are similar in their way of life, in their love of freedom; they cannot be persuaded into slavery or submission in their own country,” wrote their ancient Byzantine chronicler.

According to him, the Slavs were friendly to all foreign guests arriving in their lands, if they came with friendly intentions. Another advantage of the Slavs was that they did not take revenge on their enemies, but let them go home for a ransom. There were cases when the enemy was even left to live in the society of the Slavs in the position of a free man.

The Russians did not strengthen their settlements, but built them in hard-to-reach places - on the high banks of lakes and rivers, as well as in swampy areas. The Slavic tribes were engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, fishing and hunting, they also collected roots, mushrooms and berries for the winter. During the excavations of the settlements of the Slavs, archaeologists found grains of wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, buckwheat, peas, hemp - these were the crops that the Slavs of those times were able to domesticate. Some tribes raised horses, goats, sheep and cows. There were entire artisan settlements that made pottery and iron tools. In the ancient Slavic society, trade was well developed, they traded in furs, wax, honey, weapons, utensils, as well as various decorations. The Slavs mastered not only rivers and lakes, but also learned how to go to sea.

The Old Russian state arose in the 9th century on the territory of Eastern Europe. Under the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, the Fino-Ugric and East Slavic tribes were united. According to historians, in those days, about 7,000,000 people lived on the territory of the ancient Russian state. 1,000,000 lived in cities, there were about 300 such small towns.

The population of ancient Rus' was divided into several groups.

Prominent Slavic clans and tribes became the nobility, its main part was the representatives of the Rurik dynasty.

They were helped by squads, it was from such squads that the boyars were formed. The squads were divided into senior and junior. Prosperous people appeared, such as merchants, land owners, as well as some artisans.

What was the name of the Baltic Sea in ancient Rus'? (Varangian Sea.)
The obsolete Russian word "detinets" from the 14th century was replaced by the word "kremlin" or "fair"? (Kremlin.)
How many cases were there in Old Russian? (Seven. The additional case is vocative. The name makes it clear why this case is needed: to call. In this case, an appeal is made. “What do you need, old man?”)
Now we say “she”, but in Ancient Rus' how? (“I.” “He” - “and”, “it” - “e”.)
And how did they say in Ancient Rus' about themselves? (“Az”. The personal pronoun of the first person coincided with the name of the first letter of the alphabet. And our pronoun “I” is the last letter of the alphabet.)
What did the number "seven" mean in old Russian proverbs? (A lot. “For seven miles of jelly to slurp.”)
The number "1" in Rus' was denoted by the letter "az". What is the letter for the number "2"? (The letter "lead", the third letter of the alphabet.)
What was the name of the old Russian counting unit, equal to the number 12? (Dozen.)
What was called broken numbers in Rus'? (Fractions.)
What is the Russian measure of the score "half the second ten"? (15.)
What did the ancient Slavs do in January, if they called it “cut”? (It was the time of cutting trees to clear the land for arable land.)
What did the ancient Slavs do in April, if they called it “berezozol”? (It was a time of burning trees and fertilizing the earth.)
What is the main occupation of the ancient Slavs in August, if they called this month "serpen". (It was the time of the harvest and the removal of the sheaves from the field.)
In the old days, a strip of arable land two sazhens wide was marked with stakes. How then spoke about those who were deprived of even this means of subsistence? ("No stake, no yard.")
In many Russian fairy tales, the expression “through the cities and villages” is used, for example, and rumors swept through the cities and villages. What does the word "all" mean? (The Old Russian word "all" means "village".)
What in Rus' was called the word "scary"? (A pointed stake. “Climb on the rampage”, “Shove against the rampage”, etc.)
What science was called “love of wisdom” in Rus'? (Philosophy.)
Was the interpreter or basmach in Rus' an interpreter during the conversation and negotiations? (Tolmach.)
How was a written complaint or a written denunciation called before in Rus'? (Sneak.)
So the Russian people in the past centuries called the ruby for sure. (Yakhont.)
Who in Rus' were called representatives? (Actors.)
What was the theatrical mask called in the old days? (mask.)
Protorgash - that's what they called in Rus' ... Whom? (Bankrupt.)
What was the name of the library in Rus'? (Bookman.)
Translate into modern language the old Russian word of lottery? (Lottery.)
Who was called "ofen" in the old days: merchants or suitors? (Merchants selling haberdashery, books, popular prints.)
What does the old Russian word zhiloboy mean? (Pulse.)
What was rye called in the old days? (Zhito, from the word "to live".)
What would our ancestors 100-200 years ago call a black person? (Arap.)
Where did the first monks of the Kiev Caves and Pskov Caves monasteries live? (The first monks lived in dugouts - caves. The Old Slavonic word "cave" in Russian sounds like "pechera".)
The surname of the poet Sergei Yesenin is formed from the Old Slavonic word "Yesen". And how would his surname sound in Russian? (Osenin, "Esen" - "Autumn".)
Earlier in Rus', people walked in collars. Is it so? (Yes, ties were called collars.)
What do we call that part of the body that used to be called "vya"? (Neck.)
Who in Rus' spoke the true truth, and who laid out all the ins and outs? (Those who were tortured with long whips told the real truth, and those who were driven under the nails with needles told the inside story.)
Once in Rus', this was the name of the centaurs, and later it became a very common dog name. What is this name? (Polkan. "Half-horse" sounded - polkan.)
A “jar” samovar looks like a cylinder, a “glass” samovar also looks like a cylinder, but narrowed at the bottom. And the samovar "duley" resembles a fruit. Which? (Pear.)
In a wealthy Russian house there were several samovars. What “ordinary” and “holiday” served for is quite understandable. But what was the "linen" intended for? (Boil water for washing clothes.)
What patronymic name did the Russian people call the samovar? (Samovar Ivan Ivanovich.)

What was the name of the royal hunt in Rus'? (State's fun.)
What was the name of the lining of a men's peasant shirt, if now the hidden reason for any events is called that? (Insight.)
What was the name given to peasant clothes made of coarse, undyed homespun cloth, which gave the playful name to the artless, coming from the very essence of truth? (Sermyaga, which has become widespread since the 16th century. Sermjazhnaya truth. Sermjazhnaya Rus - poor, peasant.)
In the old days in Rus', women wore a kokoshnik - the crown of a married woman, the name of which comes from the word "kokosh". Listening to the sound of this word, guess what it meant? (Chicken. Remember what she says when she rushes.)
Who will tell you the oldest ink recipe known to us in Rus'? (Soot with cherry glue, diluted with water.)
What was the horizon called in ancient Rus'? (Horizon.)
"Evening" - is it yesterday or today? (Last night.)
Translate the word “white-haired” from Old Russian, if in Old Russian “kry” is blood, and “carrots” is carrots. (White-browed, "bra" is an eyebrow.)
Guess how in the old days in Rus' they called “pepper cookies”, if the word “pepper” at that time sounded like “ppier”. (Gingerbread.)
Say in Old Russian “sitting next to you”, if now we also call “living nearby” with this word. (Neighbour.)
In ancient times, our verb "eat" corresponded to another verb - "eat". What was the name of what they eat? (Poison. Compare our adjectives: omnivore, herbivore, carnivore.)
In the process of processing flax, it is teased. As in Rus' they called the worthless waste of this operation. (Scum.)
What part of the body is called the same as before in Rus' a large lump of sugar? (Head.)
Who was called a sworn attorney in Russia in the 19th century: a lawyer or a prosecutor? (Lawyer.)
On which side of you is a person standing if he is standing at the right? (On the right, the right hand in the old days was called the right hand. On the left hand of you - left, from the word shuy - left.)
The name of this sleigh is reminiscent of the harsh Russian winters. What is this sled? (Drovni - a sleigh without a body, on which firewood was brought from the forest.)
The quality of roads in Rus' has become a byword. Therefore, the hospitable host could not wish anything better to the departing guests than ... What? (Good riddance.)
How many buckets were, according to the old Russian system of measures, a barrel? (40.)
What did the expression “ordinary way” mean in 19th-century Russia? (A journey made in one day.)
Is the main sign of the Malanya Wedding in Rus' a sea of food or a bunch of guests? (Sea of food.)
What does the old expression “without hesitation” mean: “without hesitation” or “without resentment”? (With no doubt.)
Pickpockets as specialist thieves appeared only in the 17th century, after the appearance of pockets on clothes. Who was the professional forerunner of pickpockets in Russia? (Scammers. They cut off the wallet - moshnu.)
Was a rasstriga in Rus' called a former military man or a priest? (A former clergyman who voluntarily renounced his church rank or was deprived of it for any misconduct.)
What did the lawyer do in Rus': jurisprudence, military affairs or cooking? (Jurisprudence.)
In Rus', clerks who were in charge of "tsifir" also served in the Ambassadorial order. What, in modern terms, were they doing? (Cryptography, encrypted correspondence.)
Who in the old days was called the word "thief"? (Thieves, robbers.)
Among Russians, relations between people based on joint drunkenness have received their specific name. How did they begin to call those who jointly “fill in the Adam's apple”? (Bosom friends. But now they are old and close friends.)
In Rus', it was believed that a feudal lord, who did not know how to physically assault, was not suitable for landowners. How were they called? ("Not in the tooth with a foot.")
Our ancestors cast this spell in extreme cases, calling for help from their ancestor. (Church me!)
A coin with a denomination of half a ruble in Rus' was called a half or a half? (A half, and a half is a quarter of a penny.)
There is an expression in Russian "seven spans in the forehead" - this is how they say about a very smart person. A span is an old measure of length, equal to 19 cm. Can there be a forehead of this size? (You can hardly find a person who would have a forehead 133 cm wide.)
How many times more than a pound is Berkovets? (Ten times. This is an old Russian measure of weight, equal to ten pounds.)
The proverb has long been known in Rus': “Kaluzhan will have dinner, but Tula ...” And what about Tula? (And the tula will fall like that.)
Earlier in Russia, the appeal "sir" was adopted, which in common parlance, before disappearing, was reduced to one letter. With what sign was it used? (With a hyphen, for example: yes, hello, sir.)
In old Russia, who had more jurisdictional territory: a police officer or a quarterly warden? (At the police station.)
What was the name of railwaymen in Russia in the century before last? (Travelers.)
What was Alaska called before: Russian America or American Russia? (Russian America.)
What was the name of any document in Ancient Rus', and in the USSR and Russia - only a document issued for success in any business? (Diploma.)
What was the name of a court servant in medieval Russia, who was under the Grand Duke or Tsar for personal services, if tourists now call this word a sleeping bag? (Sleeping bag.)
For us, the calendar is a tear-off calendar. And what did the numeralists do in Rus' in the 13th century? (Taxes to the Golden Horde on subject lands were called the Number. The numerals copied the Horde tributaries.)
What building made of stone and brick served in Russian huts for space heating and cooking? (Bake.)