Siegmund (Sigismund)
Freiherr von Herberstein
(1486-1566)
diplomat,
writer, historian
and member of
the Holy Roman
Empire Imperial
Council.
He was twice in
Muscovy:
1517, 1526.
Issues:
 Problem
of origin of east Slavs;
 Establishment of Russian
state
system;
 “Norman” and
“Slavonic”
conceptions of Kiev Rus
establishment;
 Social and political system of Old
Russian
state;
 Christianization of Kiev Rus.
Problem of origin of
east Slavs
Slavs
First mentioned in VI AD (Procopius of
Caesarea)
Etymology :
Slav <- *slovo (word)
Slavs – people, who speak our
language
Niemcy (Germans, foreigners) –
people, who can not speak (niemec dumb)
Studies on the origin of th Slavs are
based on:
- Archeological data
- Linguistic data (buzina* - effect i.e.
elder, Sambucus)
- Narrative data
Slavs are Indo-European, which
became an unique group in V BC
Slavs’ settlement
 VI
AD invasion of Ancient Avars
 A part of the Slavs went to the West
 VI-VII the Slavs went to the North
and the East
 Rus-
Русь (Halych-Volyn Rus;
Vladimir-Suzdal Rus)
 Russia – Русь, Россия
 Muscovy - Московия
Etymology of “Rus”
First mentioned in 839 in Annales Bertiniani
From the name of the river Ros
(Rossiya) [Lomonosov M. Tatishchev V.]
2) From “Roxolani” (Sarmatian people)
[Vernadsky G., Trubachyov O.]
(*ruksi «light» )
3) Prussian version
4) From finish word “routsi” –
“rowers”, which meant ‘Swede’
routsi=Varyags (Normans)
1)
Etymology of “Moscow”
1)
2)
From Slavic *mozg- и *moskswamp, marsh, dampness [Fasmer
M.]
From Baltic *mask-/mazg- swamp,
marsh, dampness [Toporov V.]
“Norman” and “Slavonic”
conceptions of Kiev Rus
establishment;
Povest Vremennykh Let
(The Chronicles of the Contemporary Years/
Tale of Bygone Years ) XII AD
The Povest tells that the Normans often acted as mediators in the
intertribal Slavic wars and laid them under tribute. In the middle
of the ninth century, for example, they took “a squirrel and a
silver coin per a smoke (i.e. house) of the Chud”, and “of the
Slovene, the Merya and all Krivichi”. « Povest... » describes the
event of the year 862 when the Slavs had driven the Varangians
away over the sea and «began to be owned by themselves».
However, very soon the quarrels arose again, with new force,
and «a kin fought another kin». This is the way the Chronicles
explain the reason of Gostomysl’s, the Slavic elder’s, “appeal”
upon a Varangian conung Rurick to reign in Novgorod in 862,
which has played a decisive role in the future unification of the
tribes.
 882
Prince Oleg
went down the river
up to Kiev and
conquered it
Tale of Bygone Years
in Radzivill Chronicle
Normans conception
XVIII AD
Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer
 Gerhard Friedrich Müller
 August Ludwig von Schlözer
Based on:
1)Archeology
2) Written sources
3) Linguistics data (Ingvar-Igor, Helgi-Olga
etc.)

Slavs conception
Tatishchev V.N.
Lomonosov M.V.
No! They could!
Based on:
1) Interpretation of
written sources
2) Topography
3) Genetic data
Lomonosov M. V.
1711-1765
Social and political
system of
Old Russian state
 State
establishing is a long complex
process demanding
a) Social change;
b) Economical change;
c) Mental change.
 The term “state” appeared only in 1415 centuries: State; Staat <-status;
государство<-государь
Social changes
 Neighborhood
community (verv’):
a) tribal community decay;
b) different ethnic groups assimilation.
 Community control emergence –
veche
 Social classes
 Marginal person isolation
 Chiefdom emergence
Князь (kъnęzь) <= *kun-ing- (König,
king)
 chieftain

Дружина (Druzhina, literally a
"fellowship") in the medieval history of
Slavic Europe was a retinue in service of a
chieftain (Князь)
 Полюдье (the poliudie) process of
gathering tribute by the rulers of Kievan
Rus' from vassal East Slavic tribes.

Economical changes
 The
Ancient Rus was called by
Scandinavians as Garðaríki, i.e.
country of cities
 The Trade route from the Varangians
to the Greeks played consolidating
role
 Tribute payments before Ruriks
invitation
Chiefdom concept
 Chief
with his own armed force
exercises control over peasant
communities through the collection
of tribute
 First tax system derives from tribute
payments.
 Kievan Rus is an unstable state
formation, consisted of several
principalities held by a single prince’s
Rurik-dynasty with its head - the
Christianization
of Kiev Rus
988 AD
Vasnetsov V. Prince Oleg meets wizard (volkhv).
Khors (Red
Sun)/Dazhb
og (Giving
God)
Хорс/
Даждьбог)
Lada
(Лада)
deity of
harmony,
merriment,
youth, love
and beauty
Veles
(Велес)
God of
cattle
Mokosh
(Макошь)
connected
with female
activities
such as
shearing,
spinning
and
weaving
Perun
(Перун)
the god
of
thunder
and
lightning
Zbruch Idol (X AD)
Causes
 Byzantine
influence
 Forming of the
state
 Trade ties
Consequences of Christianization
 moral
revolution in Russian life
 refuse from painful punishments
 appearance and spread of written
language
 Base for the state structure
Comparison between
Cyrillic and Greek alphabet