If you pay attention to the map of the Russian Federation, you can find in the Volga and Kama basins the names of the rivers where the syllables “ha” and “wa” are found. This confirms that Finno-Ugric tribes lived here. In their language, such syllables mean "river." Despite the fact that they had a fairly wide distribution area, many historians still can not say exactly what their lifestyle was.
Description of the Finno-Ugric tribes
Since Finno-Ugric tribes lived in a significant part of Russia, their names are very diverse. They can be divided into five main groups:
- Karelians living in the Republic of Karelia. They communicate in several dialects, but the main language is Finnish. They also know Russian.
- Lopari or Sami living in Northern Scandinavia. Previously, their numbers were much larger, but over time they were pushed to the north, as a result of which poor living conditions began to steadily reduce the number of people.
- Mordovians and Maris living in the territory of Mordovia, as well as in many Russian regions. Of all the groups, this particular one is considered to be quickly Russified; nationalities immediately adopted the Christian faith and the corresponding language.
- Komi and Udmurts inhabiting the Komi Republic. This group is the most educated, in terms of literacy they were not equal until the revolution.
- Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi living in the Northern Urals and the lower reaches of the Ob. But initially, the banks of the Danube were considered the capital of this nation.
Thus, the Finno-Ugric tribes throughout their history went in line with the Russians. And that means that their cultures were intertwined, they learned new things from each other.
Where did the Finno-Ugric come from?
Speaking about where the Finno-Ugric tribes settled, let's delve into the question of the origin of the nationality. The fact is that their place of residence covers large areas, but there is no exact data on where it all began.
It is believed that they are the original inhabitants of Eurasia. In the IV-III millennium BC. e. they occupied not only the Russian territories completely, but also spread to Europe. There is a double opinion on why the tribes went west. Firstly, it could be regular migration. Secondly, the possibility of their exclusion from the conquerors is allowed.
Historians consider the second option more likely, since in the II millennium BC. e. tribes from Turkey, India, Asia Minor and so on began to penetrate the territory of Russia. However, one can say for sure that the Finno-Ugric peoples played by no means the last role in the formation of the Slavic nation.
Slavonic population
The indigenous population of the Russian land before the Slavs are considered Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. They began to develop these territories VI thousand years ago. Gradually moved to the west of the Ural Mountains, then to the East European Plain, and then reached the coast of the Baltic Sea. However, the Urals has always been considered the birthplace of these nationalities.
Unfortunately, most of the Finno-Ugric tribes have not survived to this day. Their current numbers are minimal. But we can say for sure that the descendants of such a vast and numerous in the past nationality live on the territory of the entire planet.
Habitat
The settlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes cannot be called unambiguous. This is due to the fact that the process began on the border of Asia and Europe, but subsequently captured other territories. To a greater extent, they were attracted to the north and west.
By the 1st millennium, almost the entire territory of the Baltic states was occupied by Finno-Ugric tribes. The place of resettlement is not the only one, since some groups of the nationality went towards Northern Scandinavia.
But excavations show that all these peoples had much in common with the Slavs, from farming, religion to appearance. Consequently, although most of the tribes went north, some of them remained on the territory of modern Russia.
First meetings with Russians
In the XVI-XVIII centuries, Russian immigrants began to rush to those territories where Finno-Ugric tribes lived. The list of military clashes was minimal, since for the most part the settlement was carried out in a completely peaceful way. Only occasionally did the accession of new lands to the Russian state meet resistance. The most aggressive were the Mari.
Religion, writing, and the Russian language pretty quickly began to supplant the local culture. But from the Finno-Ugric side, some words and dialects entered the language. For example, part of Russian surnames, such as Shukshin, Piyashev and others, have nothing to do with our culture. They go back to the name of the tribe “shuksha”, and the name “Piyash” is generally pre-Christian. Thus, the connection of the two cultures is harmonious, complementing each other.
Colonization
The ancient Finno-Ugric tribes lived in large territories, which was the reason for their crowding out. It should be noted that not all of them could defend themselves from armed colonialists. But this did not need to be done, since many lands joined Russia quickly and without resistance.
However, the places where the Finno-Ugric tribes inhabited attracted not only Russians. The Türks were also interested in expanding their territories. Therefore, part of the nationality did not accept the Christian, but the Muslim faith.
It should be noted that, despite the fact that the Finno-Ugrians literally dissolved in those cultures that appeared on their lands, they retained their anthropological type. These are blue eyes, fair hair and a wide face. Also, many words, for example, tundra or sprat, were borrowed from their language.
Household
In fact, it is impossible to distinguish any features of the economic activity conducted by the Finno-Ugric tribes. Their classes for the most part were reindeer herding, fishing, and hunting. Only some of the tribal subgroups had differences.
For example, the Mari, who reacted negatively to joining the Russian state, resisted until the revolution. This negatively affected their occupation. They could not trade, and also few of them could carry out artisan activities. Living in villages and villages forced to earn a living only through cattle breeding and farming.
The Komi subgroup, which is distinguished by education, could make money differently. Among them there were many merchants and entrepreneurs, which allowed to abandon hard work.
Religion
Orthodoxy was the religion of most of the nationalities that made up the Finno-Ugric tribes. The religion of some of them differs quite strongly due to the fact that during the colonization of territories part was conquered by the Turks. Therefore, individual settlements were forced to turn to Islam and Islam.
But not all Finno-Ugric tribes profess Orthodoxy. The list of nationalities that have converted to other faiths is minimal, but still it does.
The Udmurts adopted Orthodoxy, but this did not become a reason for following Christian traditions. Many of them were baptized only so that the Russian nobility left them alone. Their main religion is paganism. They worship deities and spirits. Many of the Komi people retained their old faith and remained Old Believers.
Khanty and Mansi also did not perceive Christianity as their main religion. They turned to the old faith, and did not even try to hide it, baptism was alien to them. But due to the fact that they lived far from the Russian princes, no one could force them to accept Orthodoxy. Probably, for this reason, the old faith was the only one for the Khanty and Mansi that they knew about. They simply had nothing to compare.
Writing
Unfortunately, the Finno-Ugric tribes include those groups of people who considered the transmission of written information sinful. As a result, any literary sources are simply excluded. Written information is prohibited.
However, the use of hieroglyphs was available. It began in the IV millennium BC. e. and lasted until the fourteenth century. Only then did the Metropolitan of Perm appropriate his own letter to the Komi tribe. It is likely that this is why they became more educated than their blood brothers.
Finno-Ugric tribes, unlike the Slavs, did not have a specific language. Each settlement used its own dialect. Often within the same nationality, people could not understand each other. Probably, this also caused a lack of writing.
Literature and languages
All Finno-Ugric tribes, whose names cannot be counted due to their large numbers, spoke their dialects. Moreover, even one nationality often could not understand its blood neighbor without an interpreter. But, contrary to popular belief, the most common languages did not disappear.
On the territory of modern Russia, you can find rural settlements, where schools teach in two languages - Russian and native - the one that ancestors spoke many thousands of years ago. So, for example, in Mordovia there is a study of Russian and Mordovian languages.
Before the reign of Peter I, modern Russia was not distinguished by forcing the entire population to speak exclusively Russian. It was used only in large cities or large administrative institutions (tax and so on). The Russian language penetrated into villages and small towns gradually, at first with its help they were explained only with landowners and bailiffs.
The main literature was considered Moksha, Merian and Mari languages. Moreover, they even talked with cabbies, traders in the market, and so on. That is, it was simply unprofitable for various people involved in entrepreneurial activity not to know the dialects of their customers.
