Old Russian people

The Old Russian people ( Russian Древнерусская народность , Ukrainian Давньоруська народність ) is, according to a conception, viewed as a unified ethnic group that emerged from East Slavic tribes in the Kievan Rus . After the Mongol invasion of the Rus in the 13th century and the subsequent sustained political separation of the postulated Old Russian people into the spheres of power of different states, there was a cultural divergence and the formation of the Russians , Belarusians and Ukrainians ( Little Russians ).

The foundations for this theory were laid by Sergei Tokarew and further developed by Boris Rybakov and Pyotr Tretyakov .

The use of a common Old Russian language , close regional political and economic ties, a common spiritual and material culture, a common Russian Orthodox religion, equal rights, customs, traditions and warfare, a common struggle against external enemies as well as characteristics of ethnic togetherness were used as characteristics of ethnic togetherness the awareness of the togetherness of the Rus as shown in the sources. As early as the middle of the 12th century, the old tribal names disappeared completely from the sources, only the “Russian people” were mentioned. This is particularly noteworthy against the background of the feudal division that set in at the time, as well as the vast distances that made integration difficult. A differentiation of the Eastern Slavs is made in the sources of this time only in relation to the changing political landscape and does not express any ethnic awareness. Certain regional differences can be observed in the material culture, but these are not sufficient, since the bearers apparently did not perceive them as characteristics of a particular ethnic group. Last but not least, the representatives of the conception of the old Russian people refer to comparative studies with other countries and regions of Europe (Germany, France, Scandinavia, Poland), which demonstrate a greater common ethnic awareness in the Rus in this epoch.

See also

• Old Russian language

literature

• Третьяков, П.Н. У истоков древнерусской народности, “Наука”, 1970
• Лебединский, М.Ю. К вопросу об истории древнерусской народности. Москва, 1997
• Седов, В.В. Древнерусская народность. М .: Языки русской культуры, 1999
• Толочко, П.П. Древнерусская народность: воображаемая или реальная. - СПб .: Алетейя, 2005