Earliest Settlers
Eastern Slavs
The earliest records have the Eastern Slavs, a nomadic people, traveling up into eastern Europe from around the Black Sea area, in accordance with the diffusion theory model mentioned in Guns, Germs, and Steel. These nomads began wandering the steppes and forests of modern day Russia and Ukraine starting around 1700 BCE. Not much is known about their culture from this period until around 800 CE. What is known is that these early settlers favored small settlements around the major rivers in the region, Dniester, Dnieper, and Volga.
These areas were heavily forested and the Eastern Slavs hunted and gathered resources in the forest in addition to performing slash and burn style agriculture. One researcher pointed out that while this area was perfect for fishing, trapping, hunting, and husbandry; agriculture was very difficult, to nearly impossible. Other researchers noted that the forest in these areas was so aggressive, and the soil so poor that slash and burn agriculture was the only form of crop farming available. Once the soil became exhausted, the early settlers were forced to either move, or clear out more forest (Ioffe, Nefedova, & Zaslavsky, 2006, p. 46). Essentially, each bit of land could only support so many people, which led to the the rapid expansion of many small Eastern Slavic settlements throughout the region.
Rus
In the late 700s CE, explorers from other civilizations began incursions into the area these Eastern Slavs called their territory, now known as the Rus. The people of the Rus offered no resistance to these explorers and there wasn’t any real local authority to negotiate trade agreements. There had always been a loose affiliation between the many different settlements in the Rus, but these newcomers brought trade opportunities they did not have before. The Rus was abundant with amber, honey, wax, fur, wood, and slaves and they found themselves being approached by the Germanic people from the north and east, and trade organizations from Iran and Northern Africa to the south and east. The Rus was a direct intersection between northern and southern Europe, with major north-south running rivers right through it. The Rus began unifying and by 830 CE, texts start mentioning an official ruling body of the Rus. They wanted to develop a trade route through their territory from the Baltic Sea, to the Black Sea and Constantinople (Russia, 2016).
Vikings
At the same time, Vikings were looking to expand their domain as well. The Vikings were looking to establish trade with the far south. They establish a foothold by settling Novgorod in the northern part of the Rus, alongside the Dvina, Dnieper, and Volga rivers. These three rivers flow to the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea (respectively), making this a major hub for trade in the region. The Rus and the Scandinavian Vikings started raiding and taking control of more area down the Dnieper River towards Kiev and the Black Sea (Gascoigne, 2001). Eventually, the Rus and the Vikings had complete control of Kiev and the entire trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea and Constantinople. There, they founded the capital of the Rus in Kiev (Russia, 2016).
Resources:
Gascoigne, B. (2001). History of Russia. Retrieved from: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac14
Ioffe, G., Nefedova, T., & Zaslavsky, I., (2006) The End of Peasantry: The Disintegration of Rural Russia. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Russia. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/History
The earliest records have the Eastern Slavs, a nomadic people, traveling up into eastern Europe from around the Black Sea area, in accordance with the diffusion theory model mentioned in Guns, Germs, and Steel. These nomads began wandering the steppes and forests of modern day Russia and Ukraine starting around 1700 BCE. Not much is known about their culture from this period until around 800 CE. What is known is that these early settlers favored small settlements around the major rivers in the region, Dniester, Dnieper, and Volga.
These areas were heavily forested and the Eastern Slavs hunted and gathered resources in the forest in addition to performing slash and burn style agriculture. One researcher pointed out that while this area was perfect for fishing, trapping, hunting, and husbandry; agriculture was very difficult, to nearly impossible. Other researchers noted that the forest in these areas was so aggressive, and the soil so poor that slash and burn agriculture was the only form of crop farming available. Once the soil became exhausted, the early settlers were forced to either move, or clear out more forest (Ioffe, Nefedova, & Zaslavsky, 2006, p. 46). Essentially, each bit of land could only support so many people, which led to the the rapid expansion of many small Eastern Slavic settlements throughout the region.
Rus
In the late 700s CE, explorers from other civilizations began incursions into the area these Eastern Slavs called their territory, now known as the Rus. The people of the Rus offered no resistance to these explorers and there wasn’t any real local authority to negotiate trade agreements. There had always been a loose affiliation between the many different settlements in the Rus, but these newcomers brought trade opportunities they did not have before. The Rus was abundant with amber, honey, wax, fur, wood, and slaves and they found themselves being approached by the Germanic people from the north and east, and trade organizations from Iran and Northern Africa to the south and east. The Rus was a direct intersection between northern and southern Europe, with major north-south running rivers right through it. The Rus began unifying and by 830 CE, texts start mentioning an official ruling body of the Rus. They wanted to develop a trade route through their territory from the Baltic Sea, to the Black Sea and Constantinople (Russia, 2016).
Vikings
At the same time, Vikings were looking to expand their domain as well. The Vikings were looking to establish trade with the far south. They establish a foothold by settling Novgorod in the northern part of the Rus, alongside the Dvina, Dnieper, and Volga rivers. These three rivers flow to the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea (respectively), making this a major hub for trade in the region. The Rus and the Scandinavian Vikings started raiding and taking control of more area down the Dnieper River towards Kiev and the Black Sea (Gascoigne, 2001). Eventually, the Rus and the Vikings had complete control of Kiev and the entire trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea and Constantinople. There, they founded the capital of the Rus in Kiev (Russia, 2016).
Resources:
Gascoigne, B. (2001). History of Russia. Retrieved from: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac14
Ioffe, G., Nefedova, T., & Zaslavsky, I., (2006) The End of Peasantry: The Disintegration of Rural Russia. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Russia. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/History
Maps
This is a map of the earliest known territory of the Eastern Slavic tribes, known at the Rus, who eventually became modern Russians. Retrieved January 29, 2016 from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Slavic_tribes_peoples_8th_9th_century.jpg
This is a dated map which details the Viking expansion into early Russian territory on their way to establishing trading routes with the south. Retrieved February 1, 2016 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viking_Expansion.svg
Additional Resources
The CrashCourse series of YouTube videos by noted author John Green, focuses on giving quick, humorous summaries of various history topics. In this video, John Green focuses on early Russian history and how Russia unified from a collection of small cities, into a growing empire.
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This is a link to the Flow of History's entry on early Russian history. This is an academic look at the Eastern Slavs' original settlements to the rise of Kiev, and the invasion of the Mongols.
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Population Pyramids
This population pyramid shows the massive gap between the male and female populations after World War II. Any male of proper age would have seen military action, and the huge amount of casualties that the Russians faced is evident when comparing the male to female populations of any age group over 24. You can see the population start to even out with those that would have been too young to see military action six or more years prior (the 20-24 range and younger). You can also see the staggeringly low amount of births in the 5-9 age range, which would have been at the height of the German invasion of Russia and subsequent Russian advance. You can also see a huge post-war spike in births, much like the American "baby boomer" phenomena. This time period shows how much of the older population was killed, and how a significant percentage of the population of Russia was under 30 and/or female. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from https://populationpyramid.net/russian-federation/1950/ |
Fifty years later, we can see that without any major military conflicts, the population has stabilized and become more evenly distributed. You can still see the same population dip in the 55-59 age group, along with the female dominated population of ages older than that. As this map expands, you can see the same "baby boomer" trend continue and reach it's zenith at the 40-44 age range, which would have been 10 years after World War II ended. You can also see a bit of an echo boomer period in the 10-19 year age ranges. Russia is going through a fertility decline, as seen in the lower part of the graph, the cause of which is still up for debate. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from https://populationpyramid.net/russian-federation/2000/ |