The Slavs are one of the most numerous groups of peoples, similar in common genesis and language kinship. Today they inhabit the lands of Central and Eastern Europe, occupy the territories of Siberia and the Far East. Along with all the similarities, the Slavic peoples have fundamental differences in some ways.
Slavs.
Genetically opposite groups
A team of scientists headed by Balanovsky and Willems conducted a study of the Eastern, Western, Southern Slavs and Baltic peoples at the genetic level. In the course of the work, it was possible to find out why the groups differ significantly. 
Russian girls.
For a thorough analysis, about eight thousand DNA samples from fifty Balto-Slavic peoples were presented. Among them were the brightest representatives of the population - Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians, Kashubians, Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians, Bosnians and Latvians with Lithuanians. Several genetic systems helped to create a reliable picture: mitochondrial DNA (maternal), Y-chromosome (paternal), and autosomal DNA (genome-wide analysis). 
East Slavs.
The results of the study confirmed the similarities between the Eastern Slavs. The Russians of the central and southern regions form a single group with the Ukrainians and Belarusians. However, the northern Russians stand out noticeably from the rest of the eastern Slavs. In genetic terms, they are much closer to the Finno-Ugric peoples. 
Ukrainian at the holiday.
From the western group, the Poles are more similar to the eastern Slavs. But the Czechs and Slovaks are genetically biased towards Western European populations, in particular, the Germans. The southern and eastern regions - Croats, Bosnians, Macedonians and Bulgarians - are close to their non-Slavic neighbors in the Balkans. Research has shown that they are more related to Greeks, Hungarians and Romanians. 
Poles.
Baltic peoples, including Latvians and Lithuanians, are similar not only to Belarusians, but also to Estonians, who speak the language of the Finno-Ugric group. At the same time, a genetic affinity was found for the Mordovians and other Volga peoples. 
Belarusian feast.
The populations were compared in three aspects - geography, genetics, language. As it turned out, the closest relationship is observed between territorial position and genetic characteristics. Scientists agreed that when they were located in European lands, the Slavic peoples assimilated the local populations that occupied these territories even before their appearance. They brought language with them, at the same time absorbing someone else's gene pool. Thus, the eastern and western Slavs formed a single community, and the southern group acquired greater resemblance to the representatives of the Balkans.
Language differences of the Slavs
The Indo-European family of languages includes the Slavic group, according to scientists, close to the Baltic. It is conditionally subdivided into three branches: East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian), South Slavic (Bulgarian, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian) and West Slavic (Polish, Czech, Slovak). 
Balto-Slavic languages.
The spoken languages are more similar to each other than Germanic and Romance. But in the presence of common features in grammatical and phonetic aspects, they are strikingly different.
The difference between the Slavic languages is mainly in the writing. In Czech, Polish and Slovak, it is based on the Latin alphabet. This is based on Catholic influence. The use of the Cyrillic alphabet in Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian is due to the influence of the Orthodox Church. And only the Serbo-Croatian language is based on two alphabets. 
Serbian alphabet.
In some Slavic languages, there is a variety of stress positions. In Czech it falls on the first syllable, in Polish it falls on the next after the last. In Bulgarian and Russian, the striking position is variable.
In the grammatical aspect, Bulgarian and Macedonian stand out among the Slavic languages due to the differences in the noun inflection system. In addition, only they actively use the article.
Religious differences
Slavic tribes kept apart for a long period and often fought among themselves. Therefore, the fragmentation of religious ideas is clearly expressed between them.
Before the adoption of Christianity, the main deity among the Eastern Slavs was Perun. Many scientists agree that he was often called Svarog. It was believed that God persecutes evil spirits that may hide in human dwellings. Perun was spiced up with the sacrifice of animals and people.
Perun is the god of the Eastern Slavs.
Instead of pagan temples, the Eastern Slavs built temples and temples, where all the rituals were performed. At the same time, the ancestors worshiped Veles, had a clear idea of "heaven" and "hell". The Eastern Slavs have a pronounced cult of the land. Instead of priests, the rites were performed by the oldest men in the family.
Today, about 80% of Russians and Belarusians are Orthodox. More than 76% of Ukrainians adhere to this confession.
The Western Slavs worshiped Perkunas. According to legend, the horseman Vytis, depicted on the Lithuanian coat of arms, personified a deity. In ancient times, it was believed that each tribe has its own progenitor in the form of an animal. For example, lutichi worshiped wolves, considering them sacred.
Unlike the Eastern peoples, they did not erect sanctuaries. All idols for worship were placed in pagan temples. Only the priests had access to the temple. While the Eastern Slavs could freely approach the shrine.
Among the modern Western Slavic peoples, Orthodoxy has taken root to a lesser extent. On the territory of Poland, up to 95% are Catholics. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this figure exceeds 60%. 
Slavic temple.
In religious preferences, the South Slavs differ from the West and East as much as in the genetic aspect. The ancestors believed that snakes rule over nature. Human images are represented among the southern Slavs in the form of female warlike deities. The tribes believed that people who sinned during life turned into animals. Therefore, the animals fully understood human speech.
The South Slavs in different historical periods depended on the influence of Byzantium and the Ottoman ports. Therefore, at present, Islam and Orthodoxy are widespread in many states. Macedonia is 68% inhabited by Christians, while in Croatia and Slovenia up to 80% are Catholics. Residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Muslims.
Slavic peoples occupy more place on earth than in history. The Italian historian Mavro Orbini in his book "Slavic Kingdom", published back in 1601, wrote: " The Slavic clan is older than the pyramids and is so numerous that it inhabited half the world».
The written history of the Slavs before our era does not say anything. Traces of ancient civilizations in the Russian North are a scientific question that has not been resolved by historians. The country of utopia, described by the ancient Greek philosopher scientist Plato Hyperborea - presumably the arctic ancestral home of our civilization.
Hyperborea, she is Daariya or Arctida, is the ancient name of the North. Judging by the chronicles, legends, myths and traditions that existed among different peoples of the world in antiquity, Hyperborea was located in the north of today's Russia. It is possible that it also affected Greenland, Scandinavia, or, as shown on medieval maps, generally spread over the islands around the North Pole. That land was inhabited by people who have a genetic relationship with us. The real existence of the continent is evidenced by a map copied by the greatest cartographer of the 16th century G. Mercator in one of the Egyptian pyramids in Giza.
Gerhard Mercator's map published by his son Rudolph in 1535. The legendary Arctida is depicted in the center of the map. Before the flood, cartographic materials of this kind could be obtained only with the use of aircraft, highly developed technologies and with the presence of a powerful mathematical apparatus necessary to create specific projections.
In the calendars of the Egyptians, Assyrians and Mayans, the catastrophe that destroyed Hyperborea dates back to 11542 BC. e. Climate change and the Flood 112 thousand years ago forced our Ancestors to leave their ancestral home Daaria and migrate across the only isthmus of the now Arctic Ocean (Ural Mountains).
“… The whole world turned upside down, and the stars fell from the sky. This happened because a huge planet fell to Earth ... at that moment "the heart of Leo reached the first minute of the head of Cancer." The great Arctic civilization was destroyed by a planetary catastrophe.
As a result of the impact of an asteroid 13659 years ago, the Earth made a "jump in time". The jump influenced not only the astrological clock, which began to show a different time, but also the planetary energy clock, which sets the life-giving rhythm to all life on Earth.
The ancestral home of the peoples of the White race of clans did not completely sink.
From the vast territory of the north of the Eurasian plateau, which was once land, today only Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands are visible above the water.
Astronomers and astrophysicists studying the problems of asteroid safety argue that every hundred years, the Earth collides with cosmic bodies less than a hundred meters in size. More than one hundred meters - every 5000 years. Impacts of asteroids with a diameter of a kilometer are possible once every 300 thousand years. Once in a million years, collisions with bodies more than five kilometers in diameter are possible.
Preserved ancient historical records and research conducted show that over the past 16,000 years, large asteroids, which were tens of kilometers across, hit the Earth twice: 13,659 years ago and 2,500 years earlier.
If there are no scientific texts, material monuments are hidden under the Arctic ice or not recognized, the reconstruction of the language comes to the rescue. Tribes, settling, turned into peoples, and marks remained on their chromosome sets. Such marks remained on Aryan words, and they can be recognized in any Western European language. Word mutations match chromosome mutations! Daariya or Arctida, called by the Greeks Hyperborea, is the ancestral home of all Aryan peoples and representatives of the racial type of white people in Europe and Asia.
Two branches of the Aryan peoples are evident. Approximately 10 thousand years BC. one spread to the east, while the other moved from the territory of the Russian Plain to Europe. DNA genealogy shows that these two branches sprouted from the same root from the depths of millennia, from ten to twenty thousand years BC, it is much older than the one that today's scientists write about, suggesting that the Aryans spread from the south. Indeed, there was a movement of the Aryans in the south, but it was much later. In the beginning, there was a migration of people from north to south and to the center of the mainland, where the future Europeans, that is, representatives of the white race, appeared. Even before the migration to the south, these tribes lived together in the territories adjacent to the Southern Urals.
The fact that the predecessors of the Aryans lived on the territory of Russia in ancient times and there was a developed civilization is confirmed by one of the most ancient cities discovered in the Urals in 1987, an observatory city that existed already at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e ... It was named after the nearby village of Arkaim. Arkaim (XVIII-XVI centuries BC) is a contemporary of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, the Cretan-Mycenaean culture and Babylon. Calculations show that Arkaim is older than the Egyptian pyramids, his age is at least five thousand years, like Stonehenge.
By the type of burials in Arkaim, it can be argued that the protoaries lived in the city. Our ancestors, who lived on the land of Russia, already 18 thousand years ago had the most accurate lunisolar calendar, solar-stellar observatories of amazing accuracy, ancient city-temples; they gave mankind perfect tools of labor and laid the foundation for animal husbandry.
Today, the Aryans can be distinguished
- by language - Indo-Iranian, Dardic, Nuristan groups
- Y-chromosome - carriers of some R1a subclades in Eurasia
- 3) anthropologically - the Proto-Indo-Iranians (Aryans) were carriers of the Cro-Magnoid ancient Eurasian type, which is not represented in the modern population.
The search for modern "Aryans" runs into a number of similar difficulties - it is impossible to reduce these 3 points to one meaning.
In Russia, interest in the search for Hyperborea has been around for a long time, starting with Catherine II and her envoys to the north. With the help of Lomonosov, she organized two expeditions. On May 4, 1764, the empress signed a secret decree.
The Cheka and personally Dzerzhinsky also showed interest in the search for Hyperborea. Everyone was interested in the secret of the Absolute Weapon, similar in strength to a nuclear one. Expedition of the twentieth century
under the leadership of Alexander Barchenko, she was looking for him. Even the Nazi expedition, consisting of members of the Ahnenerbe organization, visited the territories of the Russian North.
Doctor of Philosophy Valery Demin, defending the concept of the polar ancestral home of mankind, gives versatile arguments in favor of the theory, according to which a highly developed Hyperborean civilization existed in the North in the distant past: the roots of Slavic culture go back to it.
The Slavs, like all modern peoples, arose as a result of complex ethnic processes and are a mixture of previous heterogeneous ethnic groups. The history of the Slavs is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence and settlement of Indo-European tribes. Four thousand years ago, a single Indo-European community begins to disintegrate. The formation of the Slavic tribes took place in the process of separating them from the numerous tribes of a large Indo-European family. In Central and Eastern Europe, a language group is separated, which, as shown by genetic data, included the ancestors of the Germans, Balts and Slavs. They occupied a vast territory: from the Vistula to the Dnieper, individual tribes reached the Volga, crowding the Finno-Ugrians. In the 2nd millennium BC. The Germanic-Balto-Slavic language group also experienced fragmentation processes: the Germanic tribes went to the West, beyond the Elbe, while the Balts and Slavs remained in Eastern Europe.
From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. in large areas from the Alps to the Dnieper, Slavic or understandable to the Slavs speech predominates. But other tribes continue to be located in this territory, and some of them leave these territories, others appear from non-contiguous regions. Several waves from the south, and then the Celtic invasion, prompted the Slavs and tribes related to them to leave to the north and northeast. Apparently, this was often accompanied by a certain decline in the level of culture, and slowed down development. So the Balto-Slavs and the separated Slavic tribes were excluded from the cultural and historical community, which was formed at that time on the basis of the synthesis of the Mediterranean civilization and the cultures of the alien barbarian tribes.
In modern science, the views that the Slavic ethnic community originally developed in the area either between the Oder (Oder) and the Vistula (Oder-Vistula theory), or between the Oder and the Middle Dnieper (Oder-Dnieper theory) have received the greatest recognition. The ethnogenesis of the Slavs developed in stages: the Proto-Slavs, the Proto-Slavs and the early Slavic ethnolinguistic community, which later split into several groups:
- Romanesque - from it come the French, Italians, Spaniards, Romanians, Moldovans;
- Germanic - Germans, British, Swedes, Danes, Norwegians; Iranian - Tajiks, Afghans, Ossetians;
- Baltic - Latvians, Lithuanians;
- Greek - Greeks;
- Slavic - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians.
The assumption of the existence of the ancestral home of the Slavs, Balts, Celts, Germans is rather controversial. Craniological materials do not contradict the hypothesis that the ancestral home of the Proto-Slavs was in the interfluve of the Vistula and Danube, Western Dvina and Dniester. Nestor considered the Danube lowlands to be the ancestral home of the Slavs. Anthropology could provide a lot for the study of ethnogenesis. The Slavs burned the dead during the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD, so there is no such material at the disposal of researchers. And genetic and other research is a matter of the future. Taken separately, various information about the Slavs in the most ancient period - both historical data, and archaeological data, and toponymy data, and data of linguistic contacts - cannot provide reliable grounds for determining the ancestral home of the Slavs.
Hypothetical ethnogenesis of proton peoples around 1000 BC e. (Proto-Slavs are highlighted in yellow)
Ethnogenetic processes were accompanied by migrations, differentiation and integration of peoples, assimilation phenomena, in which various, both Slavic and non-Slavic ethnic groups took part. Contact zones arose and changed. Further settlement of the Slavs, especially intensive in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, took place in three main directions: to the south (to the Balkan Peninsula), to the west (to the Middle Danube region and the interfluve of the Oder and Elbe) and to the northeast along the East European Plain. Written sources did not help scientists to determine the boundaries of the spread of the Slavs. Archaeologists came to the rescue. But when studying possible archaeological cultures, it was impossible to single out exactly the Slavic one. Cultures overlapped each other, which spoke of their parallel existence, constant movement, wars and cooperation, mixing.
The Indo-European linguistic community developed among the population, whose individual groups were in direct communication with each other. Such communication was possible only in a relatively limited and compact area. There were quite extensive zones within the boundaries of which related languages were formed. In many areas, there were tribes of different languages, and this situation could also persist for centuries. Their languages converged, but the addition of a relatively common language could be realized only under the conditions of the state. Tribal migrations were seen as the natural cause of the collapse of the community. So once the closest "relatives" - the Germans became for the Slavs Germans, literally "dumb", "speaking in an incomprehensible language." The migration wave threw out this or that people, crowding, destroying, assimilating other peoples. As for the ancestors of the modern Slavs and the ancestors of the modern Baltic peoples (Lithuanians and Latvians), they constituted a single nationality for one and a half thousand years. During this period, the northeastern (mainly Baltic) components increased in the composition of the Slavs, which brought changes in the anthropological appearance and in certain elements of culture.
Byzantine writer of the 6th century Procopius of Caesarea described the Slavs as people of very tall stature and great strength, with white skin and hair. Entering the battle, they went to the enemies with shields and darts in their hands, but they never put on shells. The Slavs used wooden bows and small arrows dipped in a special poison. Having no head over them and being at enmity with each other, they did not recognize the military system, were unable to fight in a proper battle and never showed up in open and level places. If it happened that they dared to go into battle, then with a cry they all together slowly moved forward, and if the enemy could not withstand their cry and onslaught, then they actively attacked; otherwise, they fled, slowly measuring their strength with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. Using the forests as a shelter, they rushed to them, because only among the narrows they knew how to fight perfectly. Often the Slavs threw the captured prey, allegedly under the influence of confusion, and fled into the forests, and then, when the enemies tried to take possession of it, they unexpectedly struck. Some of them did not wear shirts or raincoats, but only pants, pulled up by a wide belt at the hips, and in this form they went to fight the enemy. They preferred to fight the enemy in places overgrown with dense forests, in gorges, on precipices; They suddenly attacked both day and night, taking advantage of ambushes and cunning for themselves, inventing many ingenious ways to surprise the enemy. They easily crossed the rivers, bravely enduring being in the water.
The Slavs did not keep the captives in slavery for an unlimited time, like other tribes, but after a certain time they offered them a choice: to return home for the ransom or stay where they were, in the position of free people and friends.
The Indo-European language family is one of the largest. The language of the Slavs retained the archaic forms of the once common Indo-European language and began to take shape in the middle of the 1st millennium. By this time, the group of tribes had already formed. the Slavic dialectal features proper, which quite distinguished them from the Balts, formed that linguistic formation, which is usually called Proto-Slavic. The resettlement of the Slavs in the vast areas of Europe, their interaction and cross-breeding (mixed pedigree) with other ethnic groups violated the common Slavic processes and laid the foundations for the formation of individual Slavic languages and ethnic groups. Slavic languages fall into a number of dialects.
The word "Slavs" did not exist in those ancient times. There were people, but differently named. One of the names - Wends, comes from the Celtic vindos, which means "white. This word is still preserved in the Estonian language. Ptolemy and Jordan believe that the Wends are the oldest collective name of all Slavs who lived between the Elbe and the Don at that time." the news about the Slavs under the name of Wends dates back to the 1st-3rd centuries AD and belongs to the Roman and Greek writers - Pliny the Elder, Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Ptolemy Claudius. Odra, and the Danzing Bay, where the Vistula flows; along the Vistula from its upper reaches in the Carpathian Mountains to the coast of the Baltic Sea. Their neighbors were the Germans-Ingevons, who, perhaps, gave them such a name. Such Latin authors as Pliny the Elder and Tacitus they are also singled out as a special ethnic community with the name “Wends.” Half a century later, Tacitus, noting the ethnic difference between the Germanic, Slavic and Sarmatian worlds, assigned the Wends a vast ter rhetoric between the Baltic coast and the Carpathian region.
The Veneds inhabited Europe as early as the 3rd millennium BC.
Wends withVcenturies occupied part of the territory of modern Germany between the Elbe and the Oder. VViicentury the Wends invaded Thuringia and Bavaria, where they defeated the Franks. The raids on Germany continued until the startXcentury, when Emperor Henry I launched an offensive on the Wends, setting the adoption of Christianity as one of the conditions for the conclusion of peace. The conquered Vendians often rebelled, but each time they were defeated, after which an increasing part of their lands passed to the victors. The campaign against the Wends in 1147 was accompanied by the mass destruction of the Slavic population, and henceforth the Wends did not offer any stubborn resistance to the German conquerors. German settlers came to the once Slavic lands, and the founded new cities began to play an important role in the economic development of northern Germany. From about 1500, the area of distribution of the Slavic language was reduced almost exclusively to the Luzhitsky margraves - Upper and Lower, which later entered Saxony and Prussia, respectively, and adjacent territories. Here, in the area of the cities of Cottbus and Bautzen, the modern descendants of the Wends live, of which approx. 60,000 (mostly Catholic). In Russian literature, it is customary to call them the Lusatians (the name of one of the tribes that were part of the Wendian group) or Lusatian Serbs, although they themselves call themselves Serbja or serbski Lud, and their modern German name is Sorben (formerly also Wenden). Since 1991, the issues of preserving the language and culture of this people in Germany are in charge of the Foundation for the Affairs of the Lusatians.
In the IV century, the ancient Slavs finally become isolated and appear on the historical arena as a separate ethnic group. And under two names. This is “Slovene” and the second name is “Anty”. In the VI century. the historian Jordan, who wrote in Latin, in his essay "On the Origin and Deeds of the Getae", reports reliable information about the Slavs: "Starting from the birthplace of the Vistula River, a large tribe of Venets settled in immense spaces. Although their names now change according to different clans and localities, however, they are predominantly called Sklavens and Antas.The Sklavens live from the city of Novietun and the lake called Mursiansky, to Danastr, and to the north - to Viskla; instead of cities, they have swamps and forests. The Antes, the strongest of both (tribes), spread from Danastra to Danapre, where the Pontic Sea forms a bend. "These groups spoke the same language. At the beginning of the 7th century, the name" anta "ceased to be used. in ancient (Roman and Byzantine) literary monuments, the name of the Slavs looks like "Sklavins", in Arabic sources as "with Akaliba ", sometimes with the Slavs the self-designation of one of the Scythian groups" chipped "is brought together.
The Slavs finally stood out as an independent people not earlier than the 4th century A.D. when the “Great Migration of Peoples”, “tore apart” the Balto-Slavic community. The Slavs appeared under their own name in the chronicles in the 6th century. From the VI century. information about the Slavs appears in many sources, which undoubtedly testifies to their considerable strength by this time, about the entry of the Slavs into the historical arena in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, about their clashes and alliances with the Byzantines, Germans and other peoples who inhabited at that time Eastern and Central Europe. By this time, they occupied vast territories, their language retained the archaic forms of the once common Indo-European language. Linguistic science has determined the boundaries of the origin of the Slavs from the 18th century BC. until the VI century. AD The first news about the Slavic tribal world appears already on the eve of the Great Migration of Nations.
Recent events in Ukraine have sparked a lively discussion on the relationship between the Slavs. Voices are heard from all sides that the Russians will never come to terms with the loss of these territories, since it was in Kiev that their civilization was born. Calls for Slav solidarity were also made during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Is it true that common ethnic roots leave an imprint on modern relations between states and peoples? “God will love the Slavs because they will keep true faith in the Lord to the end. He will reward them with a great blessing - the Russian-Slavic kingdom. Russia will merge into a single sea with other lands and Slavic tribes and create a huge ocean of peoples. " Will this prediction of an Orthodox saint at the beginning of the 20th century come true, or does the complex past and strife of the Slavs (there are now 280 million) make it incredible? Pan-Slavism is not a new phenomenon. This idea was born in the 19th century in Bohemia, which was then part of the Habsburg Empire. The Czechs saw in the unification of the Slavs a chance for the development of their own culture and traditions, which were strangled by the German element. The same period saw the heyday of Illyrism - the idea of uniting the southern Slavs. Since the concept of Pan-Slavism found support in Russia, the Poles resisted it: in Poland, the union of the Slavs under the leadership of the tsar was perceived as the end of hopes for their own independent state. The hostile attitude of the Poles towards Pan-Slavism was also intensified by the fear of Orthodoxy. This, of course, does not mean that Poland did not have its own supporters of Pan-Slavism. Among the enthusiasts of the unification of the Slavs, for example, Prince Adam Czartoryski considered himself. Another Pole, Julian Lubliński, headed the Society of the United Slavs, the first organization to openly proclaim the ideas of Pan-Slavism. Conservatives from the patriotic camp, atheists and even neo-pagans spoke out for the Slavic community. Family Disagreements The theoretical principles of Pan-Slavism were tested by reality. It all started optimistically: in October 1912, a broad coalition of the southern Slavs formed against the Ottoman Empire, embracing Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia with the support of Greece. The conflict, which lasted less than a year, ended with the ousting of the Turks from the Balkan Peninsula, but it did not seal the Slavic unity. Just a few months later, the Second Balkan War broke out, in which Bulgaria and Serbia with their allies opposed each other. Left alone, the Bulgarians quickly asked for a peace, giving the Serbs part of Macedonia. On different sides of the front were the Slavs in the First World War. The Slavic inhabitants of Austria-Hungary and the German Empire had to fight as their non-Slavic rulers decided for them. There was no agreement in the countries under the control of the Slavs. Russia and Serbia ended up in the Entente along with Great Britain and France, and Bulgaria chose to conclude an alliance with the Habsburgs and Hohenzollerns. The rift in the "big Slavic family" became even more noticeable during the Second World War. The Soviet Union occupied the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic under the pretext of ensuring the security of their Slavic population. Poland itself, too, without much hesitation occupied the eastern part of Cieszyn Silesia, when "fraternal" Czechoslovakia fell victim to Hitler's policies. The Second World War awakened latent antipathies among the Slavs. The Volyn genocide remains a thorn in Polish-Ukrainian relations, since it is difficult to be neutral about the murder of tens of thousands of people, including women and children. No less monstrous crimes were committed by the Croatian Ustashi, implementing the policy of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. Their victims were mostly Orthodox Slavs, and the scale and methods of the murder shocked even German soldiers. Ukrainians and Poles, Croats and Serbs are just two examples of how national trauma prevailed over Slavic unity. Nationalism put an end to the idea of Pan-Slavism, as we were able to see not only during the Second World War, but also in the very recent past. In the early 1990s, there was enough spark for the peoples of Yugoslavia to once again get involved in a bloody conflict. By that time, Slavic solidarity had become an empty slogan, although all parties referred to it. It is curious that even Polish publicists, who were usually hostile to all references to Slavic roots, wrote about the civil or even fratricidal war in Yugoslavia. Mild dislike There is nothing surprising in the disagreements within the Slavic family. In the end, the last time a common Proto-Slavic language was used at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. As one historian noted, "the Slavs used national languages more for division than for unification." Differences between Slavs are not limited to language or history. “The Slavs are people who call themselves Slavs, but from a biological point of view, different groups can be attributed to the Slavs that originally inhabited South, Central and Eastern Europe. In terms of genetic and morphological traits, they differ more from neighboring groups than from each other, ”explains anthropologist and bioarchaeologist Janusz Piontek. Fortunately, today's enmity does not take on such harsh forms as it did 20 years ago. But this does not mean that we suddenly began to love and respect each other. Every Pole who has visited the Czech Republic must have felt the arrogance with which its inhabitants treat their northern neighbors. The idea of enlightened Czechs and backward Slovaks could not be erased even by living together in communist authoritarian Czechoslovakia. The gene of quarrelsomeness is present among the southern Slavs. If it seems to someone that it is difficult to find a more pugnacious people than the Serbs, he should take a closer look at little Slovenia. This inconspicuous country, which we associate mainly with the Mediterranean climate and beautiful beaches, has been building its identity on a complete rejection of its Yugoslav history for many years. This position is reflected in the relations of Slovenia with the rest of the states of the region. Until 2009, Ljubljana vetoed Croatia's aspirations to become a member of the EU, trying to get her to agree to change borders. And Serbs and Bosnians have always remained a "dark people" for the Slovenes. Russians and Belarusians show more sympathy for their neighbors. Back in 2012, the attitude of the majority of the inhabitants of these countries towards the Poles was positive. The Poles were also in good standing among the inhabitants of Ukraine, despite the fact that a year ago only one in four of us spoke of their sympathies for the Ukrainians. Recent events have somewhat changed the mutual perception of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians, although official contacts are not always directly transferred to interpersonal relations. Modern Slavic sentiments find a response mainly in Russia. The idea of the superiority of the Russians over the rest of the Slavic peoples is instilled in the next generations. And although the history of Russia began in Kiev, it was able to develop in full force thanks to the efforts of the Russian tsars. Their mission was the creation of the "Third Rome" and endowing civilization not only for Ukrainians and Belarusians, but also for all other Slavs. However, in modern Russia, Pan-Slavism is popular only in narrow circles, and the elites use it at most as a reinforcement for current politics. The weakness of this movement is evidenced, for example, by the fact that only niche media reported about the Council of Slavic Peoples organized in January 2014 in Pereyaslavl-Khmelnitsky. Perhaps because this meeting did not bring any turning points. Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian participants (with minimal participation of representatives of other countries) adopted a statement in which they called to declare January 18 as the Day of Unity of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in these three countries. Not enough to celebrate the 360th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, as a result of which Ukraine came under Russian rule. After the collapse of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, Slavic unity can already be called a pipe dream. Since 1989, Poland and other countries in the region have focused more on ties with Western civilization, which were designed to reinforce our aspirations to become part of NATO and the EU. “Slavs and Poles have a lot in common. Poles with Slavs - nothing. They are uncomfortable in their Slavism, uncomfortable to realize that they are from the same family as the Ukrainians and Russians. The fact that we turned out to be Slavs is an accident, ”Mariusz Szczygieł wrote not without reason. Something similar could be said for certain about Czechs, Slovaks or Croats. A blow to Pan-Slavism Some considered the creation of the Visegrad Triangle (now the Visegrad Group) in 1991 as an attempt to restore Slavic unity. This was a direct reference to the concepts of the confederation of Poland and Czechoslovakia, which were especially actively discussed during the Second World War. In July 1943, Polish prime minister-in-exile Stanisław Mikołajczyk argued that cooperation between the two émigré governments "should be the seed for organizing the entire territory of Eastern and Central Europe." Then nothing came of these plans, there was no unanimity even after 1989. Another blow to the idea of Pan-Slavism was the support of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary for the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999. As freshly baked members of the Alliance, these countries wanted to establish themselves and stood at the forefront of the anti-Serb coalition, thereby breaking off traditionally friendly relations with Belgrade. Warsaw's decision was influenced by the opportunity to "wipe its nose" with Russia, one of Serbia's main allies at the time. Poland's recognition of Kosovo's independence in February 2008 (here we were again at the forefront) only consolidated the rift in the already divided Slavic world. They try to replace the lack of agreement in politics with religious unity. The Russian Orthodox Church has been using Pan-Slavist slogans for several years now, trying to spread its influence over its historical territories. “Unfortunately, the West does not understand either the Russians or the Slavs in general. He cannot be called a friend of the Slavs. Against their background, the West feels its spiritual bankruptcy and fears Slavic unity, ”said one Orthodox bishop in 2008. The Russian Church is already using the Ukrainian crisis for demands (so far unspoken) to subordinate the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church to the Moscow Patriarchate. However, the church is unlikely to be able to achieve more success in uniting the Slavs than the politicians. The reason is prosaic: the secularization of the population, which has reached, among other things, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Balkans. Even in traditionally Orthodox countries like Serbia or Bulgaria, the church plays an increasingly less important role. What can we say about one of the most atheistic states in Europe - the Czech Republic. The Catholic Church is waging its own partisan war with the Orthodox Church. It is characteristic that it was the Vatican who was the first in the world to recognize the independence of Croatia in January 1992, when the fate of Yugoslavia (dominated by Orthodoxy) was still rather vague. Dead community According to the polls, we love the Czechs and Slovaks the most (without reciprocity). We have a little less sympathy for the British, Italians and Spaniards. At the opposite pole are Roma, Romanians and Russians. Thus, it is difficult to talk about some kind of Slavic community at the level of interpersonal relations. Emigration in search of work leads Poles to feel more in common with the people of Great Britain and Germany than with Bulgarians or Serbs. The first years of the transformation also had an impact, when we tried at any cost to become like the West, dissociating ourselves from everything that bore the imprint of the East. So we tried to find theories about common horses with the Germanic peoples or the Vikings, treating with disgust the words of Gallus Anonymous that "Poland is part of the Slavic world." Similar processes have taken place and are taking place in other countries of the region. Their intensity is as different as the peoples and their cultures are different. Czechs are trying to prove their belonging to Western Europe by becoming more German than the Germans themselves. Croats and Slovenes, despite the rich tradition of Illyrianism, would gladly forget about Yugoslavia, both pre-war and post-1945. The feeling of being part of the Slavic community is widespread only in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, although in the case of the latter this is no longer as obvious as it was several years ago. Has the unity of the Slavs become a dead concept? Really his only sign remained the national colors - blue, white and red, which were adopted at the Slavic Congress in 1848? If this is so, then, perhaps, the only chance for revival remained with him in spurring interest (not only in Poland) in the Slavic heritage, forgotten as a result of the Christianization of the West. But this takes a lot of time and effort, mainly on the part of the elites. Usually a Pole does not need to be persuaded particularly strongly that no one will understand him better than a Czech or Russian “brother”. The legend of Lech, Chech and Ruse comes to life especially well over a glass.
One of the largest cultural, linguistic and national communities of almost all the peoples of Europe are the Slavs. If we consider the origin of the name, then it is worth clarifying that scientists divide its origin into several options. In the first, the word "Slavs" comes from "word", that is, from a nation that speaks one understandable language, accessible to them, and others for them were dumb, inaccessible, incomprehensible, strangers.
Another existing variant of the origin of the name speaks of "cleansing or ablution", which implies descent from the people living near the river.
An equally popular theory says that the "Slavs" originated from the name of the first community of the people, which gave the spread of this word to other territories in the process of emigration, especially during the Great Migration.
Today there are about 350 million Slavs in all territories of various states in the Western, Southern and Eastern regions of Europe, which gave them a division into varieties. Also, Slavic communities are partly located in the territory of modern Central Europe, some parts of America and in small areas throughout.
The largest number of Slavs are Russians and the value of this figure is about 146 million people, the second place in number is occupied by the Poles, which today specialists number about 57 and a half million people, and the third place was taken by the Ukrainians with a figure of about 57 million people.
Today, the Slavs are characterized only as a single linguistic family, which are partially united by religion, some cultural values and the past unity of the entire Slavic people. Unfortunately, obvious antiquities, references and relics have not survived. One can only feel all the unity in folklore, chronicles and epics, which are still relevant for many peoples today.
East Slavs
Russians
Russians - as an independent people of the entire Slavic community, they appeared in the 14-18 century. The main center of education for the entire Russian people is the Moscow state, which since its inception has united the territories of the Don, Oka, and Dnieper lands. After, expanding the borders and conquering new territories, it expanded and settled down to the coast of the White Sea.
Going deeper into the history of everyday life, it is important to note the location of Russian settlements. More often than not, this affected the standard of living and their way of life. Mostly people were engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, collecting gifts of nature, especially medicinal herbs, and fishing. Early peoples processed metal and wood, which helped in construction and everyday life. They also engaged in trade, expanding the path.
Ukrainians
Ukrainians - The first mention of the word "Ukrainians" appeared around the end of the 12th century. Until the 17th century, the nationality was located mainly on the steppe territory of the outskirts of Rus, in the Zaporozhye Sich, but due to the intensified onslaught of Catholic Poland, the Ukrainians had to flee to the territory of Sloboda Ukraine. Around 1655-1656, the Left-Bank Ukraine united with the Russian territories, and only in the 18th century did the Right-Bank Ukraine, which determined the liquidation of the Zaporizhzhya Sich and the resettlement of Ukrainians up to the mouth of the Danube.
The traditional life of Ukrainians was often determined by the clay stucco molding of houses, a variety of household decorations. A rich spiritual culture is defined and maintained to this day in national clothes, songs and adornments;
Belarusians
Belarusians - a nationality formed in the Polotsk-Minsk and Smolensk lands. During the main formation of the people, the life of culture was especially influenced by the Lithuanians, Poles and Russian nationalities, making the language, history and culture close to many in spirit.
According to some legends, the nation got its name from the hair color of the indigenous population - "Belaya Rus" and only in 1850 they officially began to use "Belorussia".
Life and basic occupations of the population did not differ from the Russian peoples, therefore agriculture was predominantly. Today, Belarusians have preserved a rich cultural heritage expressed in festive songs, famous national cuisine and jewelry for traditional dresses of men and women.
Western Slavs
Poles
Poles are the indigenous population of modern Poland, belonging to the group of Western Slavs. The closest to the Poles in the history of development and formation are the Czechs and Slovaks.
Until the 19th century, a single Polish nation did not exist, there were only nationalities that were divided according to ethnic characteristics, varieties of dialect and territorial characteristics of residence. So the nationality was subdivided into Velikopolyans, Krakowians, Mazurs, Pomors and others.
The main occupation of the Poles was hunting to provide themselves with food and good commercial raw materials. Falconry was especially appreciated. In addition to hunting, pottery, bark weaving and chariots were used in everyday life.
Chronicles with descriptions of richly decorated houses, finds in the form of painted earthenware and, of course, bright outfits made of natural fabrics with painted ornaments, which are actively used to celebrate national holidays, have survived to this day;
Czechs
Bohemians - the territory of modern Bohemia as early as the 4th century was occupied by small Slavic tribes up to the 10th century. After the accession of these lands to the then strong and powerful Roman Empire, the Czech peoples were reunited into a single whole on fertile lands and began their intensive development, consisting in agriculture and pottery. A wide culture of the Czechs has survived to this day, expressed in legends, famous folklore and applied art;
Slovaks
Slovaks - as early as the beginning of the 4th century, disunited tribes of Slavs appeared on the territory of modern Slovakia, beginning the gradual development of these lands. Already in the 5th century, the tribes united and created the Nitran principality, which saved them from ruin from the constant attacks of the Arabs. This unification gave rise to the future Czechoslovak Republic, in the division of which into independent states Slovenia appeared.
The life and occupations of the population were completely varied, since they were subdivided depending on the location of the people. These included the usual agriculture and construction, whose confirmation of existence is still found by archaeologists throughout the country. Small-scale livestock raising was also popular;
Luzhich residents
The Luzhichians are the remaining Polabian-Baltic Slavs, which got their name from the location of their territories of residence, namely from the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Elbe River to the Luzhitsky Mountains. A certain number of Slavs emigrated to the territory of these lands in an amount of only 8 thousand people.
In the new territory, the Lusatians quickly and effectively developed, engaging in handicrafts, fishing, agriculture and the development of trade in many areas. This good development was facilitated by the territorial location. Trade routes ran to the East and to Scandinavia through these fertile lands, which helped to maintain trade links and a decent standard of living for the population.
South Slavs
Bulgarians
Bulgarians - the first Slavic tribes on the territory of modern Bulgaria appeared in the 5-6th century. The unification and expansion began only in the 7th century thanks to the Bulgars who came from Central Asia. The unification of the then ruling khan of the two peoples allowed in the future to create a strong state with a rich and eventful history.
The life and cultural heritage of the Bulgarians was influenced by the Roman, Greek and Ottoman cultures, which left a visible mark on the history of the country, each in its own era. Today you can see architectural monuments of different time frames, enjoy folklore, where several varieties of cultures are mixed, which makes it unique and different from others;
Serbs
Serbs are the indigenous people of the South Slavs. It is the Serbs who are considered the closest to the Croats in origin, development, cultural values, since for a long time they were considered one common Serbo-Croatian tribe. The division of history began in the choice of faith - the Serbs converted to Orthodoxy, and the Croats to the Catholic faith.
The cultural heritage and development of Serbia as a whole is rich and multifaceted. In addition to folk, world-famous dances, impressive outfits, distinguished by bright colors and embroidery, in Serbia today they honor some linguistic rituals, which took the basis even during the development of the people before the arrival of the main faith - Orthodoxy;
Croats
Croats - a massive resettlement in the 6-8th century on the Adriatic coast made it possible for the Slavic peoples not only to expand the number of the first settlers inhabiting the territory of the future Croatia, but also to strengthen their position by uniting with local communities. The ancient Croatian tribes who came from the Vistula conquered the coast, bringing their own language, a different faith and radically changing the local life. The Adriatic Sea was considered a good opportunity for trade in expanding ties between peoples, therefore the area on the coast has always attracted various settlers.
In Croatia, ancient traditions and modern rhythm of life are still wonderfully combined. A rich culture makes its own rules in modern life, decorations, traditional holidays and festivities;
Slovenes
Slovenes - the 6th century, as a time of active resettlement, became the basis for the peoples of Slovenia. The Slavs who resettled in the territory founded practically the first Slavic state - Carantania. Later, the state had to give the reins of government to the Franks who conquered them, but despite this they retained their history and independence, which undoubtedly influenced the further development and religion. Another important step in the development of Slovenia was the writing of the first chronicle around 1000 in the Slovenian language.
Despite periodic wars and periodic economic losses, the country was again and again able to resume its usual way of life and way of life thanks to the widely developed agriculture and applied arts, which made it possible to establish trade with neighboring communities and states.
Today Slovenia is a country with a complex but rich history, maximum security and wide hospitality for every visitor who wants to get acquainted with beautiful views in the spirit of ancient Europe;
Bosniaks
Bosnians - despite the fact that the territory of the future country of Bosnia was inhabited by the Slavs also in the 6-7th century, she was the last to form an integral and unified state, rule and adopted Christianity as an almost unified religion. Historians argue that isolation from neighboring countries - Byzantium, Italy, Germany, was a hindrance. But despite this, the country flourished thanks to the widest agriculture, which was facilitated by the location of its central part on the Bosna River.
Despite a rather difficult history, the country is distinguished by a vibrant cultural heritage and its maintenance for its descendants. After visiting the country, anyone can familiarize themselves with it and immerse themselves in an interesting history.
Disputes about the Slavic peoples and the unity of the Slavs.
Being the largest nationality in all of Europe, scientists from different fields still argue about the true origin of the Slavic people. Someone suggests their origin began from the Aryans and Germans, some scientists even suggest the ancient Celtic origin of the Slavs. One way or another, the Slavs are today an Indo-European people, which, due to resettlement, spread over a vast territory and unites many countries and peoples with their cultural heritage, despite their difference in mentality, nationality and multifaceted development of history.
Customs and traditions have helped to form entire states, uniting and strengthening over the centuries, which has given us cultural diversity in the modern world.