There is such a group of peoples - Finno-Ugric. My roots- from there (I come from Udmurtia, my father and his parents are from Komi), although I am considered Russian, and the nationality in my passport is Russian. Today I will tell you about my discoveries and research of these peoples.
The Finno-Ugric peoples are usually classified as:
1) Finns, Estonians, Hungarians.
2) In Russia - Udmurts, Komi, Mari, Mordovians and other Volga peoples.
How can all these peoples belong to one group? Why do the Hungarians and Finns and Udmurts have almost mutual language, although between them there are completely alien peoples of other language groups- Poles, Lithuanians, Russians..?
I did not plan to conduct such a study, it just happened. It all started with the fact that I went on a business trip to the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug of Ugra for work. Do you feel the similarity of the name? Ugra - Finno-Ugric peoples.
Then I visited the Kaluga region, where there is a very large and long river, the Ugra, the main tributary of the Oka.
Then, quite by accident, I learned other things, until it all came together in my head into a single picture. I will introduce it to you now. Which of you is a historian, you can write a dissertation on this. I don’t need this, I already wrote and defended it at one time, albeit on a different topic and a different subject - economics (I am a Ph.D. in Economics). I’ll say right away that official versions this is not supported, and the peoples of Ugra are not classified as Finno-Ugric.
It was the 3rd-4th centuries AD. These centuries are usually called the Epoch of the Great Migration of Peoples. Peoples moved from the East (Asia) to the West (Europe). Other peoples were forced out and driven out from their homes, and they were also forced to go to the West.
While V Western Siberia, at the confluence of the Ob and Irtysh rivers the people of Ugra lived. Then the peoples of Khanty and Mansi came to them from the East, drove them out of their lands, and the Yugra peoples had to go to the West in search of new lands. Part of the Ugra peoples, of course, remained. Until now, this district is called the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Ugra. However, in museums and among local historians of Khanty-Mansiysk, I heard a version that the peoples of Ugra are also not local and before they were forced out by the Khanty and Mansi, they also came from somewhere in the East - from Siberia.
So, the people of Ugra crossed Ural Mountains and went out to the banks of the Kama River. Some went against the flow to the North (this is how the Komi appeared), some crossed the river and remained in the area of the Kama River (this is how the Udmurts appeared, another name for the Votyaks), and most boarded boats and sailed down the river. At that time, the easiest way for people to move was along rivers.
During their movement, first along the Kama, and then along the Volga (to the West), the peoples of Ugra settled on the banks. So all the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia today live along the banks of the Volga - these are the Mari, the Mordovians and others. And now the people of Ugra reach a fork in the road (marked on the map with a Red flag). This is the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers (now this is a city Nizhny Novgorod).
Some people walk along the Volga to the North-West, where it reaches Finland and then Estonia, and settles there.
Some go along the Oka to the South-West. Now in the Kaluga region there is a very large river Ugra (a tributary of the Oka) and evidence of the Vyatichi tribes (aka Votyaks). The peoples of Ugra lived there for a while and, carried by the general current from the East, moved on until they reached Hungary, where all the remnants of these peoples finally settled.
In the end, peoples from the East came to Europe, to Germany, where there were barbarians, there was an overabundance of peoples in Western Europe and all this spilled out into the fact that in search of free land, the most Western peoples during this migration - the barbarian Huns led by Attila - invaded the Roman Empire, captured and burned Rome and Rome fell. Thus ended the 1200-year history of the Great Roman Empire and the Dark Middle Ages began.
And in all this, the Finno-Ugric peoples also contributed their share.
When everything settled down by the 5th century, it turned out that a tribe of Russians lived on the banks of the Dnieper, who founded the city of Kyiv and Kievan Rus. God knows where these Russians came from, they came from somewhere in the East, they followed the Huns. They certainly did not live in this place before, because several million people passed through modern Ukraine (towards Western Europe) - hundreds different nations and tribes.
What was the reason, the impetus for the start of this Great Migration of Peoples, which lasted at least 2 centuries, scientists still do not know; they are only building hypotheses and guesses.
Finno-Ugric peoples are one of the largest ethno-linguistic communities in Europe. In Russia alone there live 17 peoples of Finno-Ugric origin. The Finnish Kalevala inspired Tolkien, and Izhora fairy tales inspired Alexander Pushkin.
Who are the Finno-Ugrians?
Finno-Ugrians are one of the largest ethno-linguistic communities in Europe. It includes 24 nations, 17 of which live in Russia. The Sami, Ingrian Finns and Seto live both in Russia and abroad.
Finno-Ugric peoples are divided into two groups: Finnish and Ugric. Their total number today is estimated at 25 million people. Of these, there are about 19 million Hungarians, 5 million Finns, about a million Estonians, 843 thousand Mordovians, 647 thousand Udmurts and 604 thousand Mari.
Where do Finno-Ugric people live in Russia?
Given the current labor migration, we can say that everywhere, but the most numerous Finno-Ugric peoples have their own republics in Russia. These are peoples such as Mordovians, Udmurts, Karelians and Mari. There are also autonomous okrugs Khanty, Mansi and Nenets.
Komi-Permyatsky autonomous region, where Komi-Permyaks were in the majority, merged with the Perm region in Perm region. The Finno-Ugric Vepsians in Karelia have their own national volost. Ingria Finns, Izhoras and Selkups autonomous territory Dont Have.
Is Moscow a Finno-Ugric name?
According to one hypothesis, the oikonym Moscow is of Finno-Ugric origin. From the Komi language “mosk”, “moska” is translated into Russian as “cow, heifer”, and “va” is translated as “water”, “river”. Moscow in this case is translated as “cow river”. The popularity of this hypothesis was brought by its support by Klyuchevsky.
Russian historian of the 19th-20th centuries Stefan Kuznetsov also believed that the word “Moscow” was of Finno-Ugric origin, but assumed that it came from the Meryan words “mask” (bear) and “ava” (mother, female). According to this version, the word “Moscow” is translated as “bear”.
Today, these versions, however, are refuted, since they do not take into account the ancient form of the oikonym “Moscow”. Stefan Kuznetsov used data from the Erzya and Mari languages; the word “mask” appeared in the Mari language only in the 14th-15th centuries.
Such different Finno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples are far from homogeneous, either linguistically or anthropologically. Based on language, they are divided into several subgroups. The Permian-Finnish subgroup includes the Komi, Udmurts and Besermyans. The Volga-Finnish group is the Mordovians (Erzyans and Mokshans) and the Mari. The Balto-Finns include: Finns, Ingrian Finns, Estonians, Setos, Kvens in Norway, Vods, Izhorians, Karelians, Vepsians and descendants of the Meri. Also to a separate Ugric group belong to the Khanty, Mansi and Hungarians. The descendants of the medieval Meshchera and Murom most likely belong to the Volga Finns.
The peoples of the Finno-Ugric group have both Caucasian and Mongoloid characteristics. The Ob Ugrians (Khanty and Mansi), part of the Mari, and the Mordovians have more pronounced Mongoloid features. The rest of these traits are either equally divided, or the Caucasoid component dominates.
What do haplogroups say?
Genetic studies show that every second Russian Y chromosome belongs to haplogroup R1a. It is characteristic of all Baltic and Slavic peoples(except for the southern Slavs and northern Russians).
However, among the inhabitants of the North of Russia, haplogroup N3, characteristic of the Finnish group of peoples, is clearly represented. In the very north of Russia, its percentage reaches 35 (the Finns have an average of 40 percent), but the further south you go, the lower this percentage is. In Western Siberia, the related N3 haplogroup N2 is also common. This suggests that in the Russian North there was not a mixing of peoples, but a transition of the local Finno-Ugric population to the Russian language and Orthodox culture.
What fairy tales were read to us?
The famous Arina Rodionovna, Pushkin’s nanny, is known to have had a strong influence on the poet. It is noteworthy that she was of Finno-Ugric origin. She was born in the village of Lampovo in Ingria.
This explains a lot in understanding Pushkin's fairy tales. We have known them since childhood and believe that they are originally Russian, but their analysis suggests that storylines some Pushkin's fairy tales go back to Finno-Ugric folklore. For example, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” is based on the fairy tale “Wonderful Children” from the Vepsian tradition (Vepsians are a small Finno-Ugric people).
First great work Pushkin, poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila". One of its main characters is Elder Finn, a wizard and sorcerer. The name, as they say, speaks volumes. Philologist Tatyana Tikhmeneva, compiler of the book “The Finnish Album,” also noted that the connection of the Finns with witchcraft and clairvoyance was recognized by all nations. The Finns themselves recognized the ability for magic as superior to strength and courage and revered it as wisdom. It is no coincidence that main character“Kalevals” Väinemöinen is not a warrior, but a prophet and poet.
Naina, another character in the poem, also bears traces of Finno-Ugric influence. In Finnish, woman is "nainen".
Another interesting fact. Pushkin, in a letter to Delvig in 1828, wrote: “By the new year, I will probably return to you in Chukhlyandia.” This is what Pushkin called St. Petersburg, obviously recognizing the primordial Finno-Ugric peoples on this land.
In the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. known development Finno-Ugric tribes living in the Oka and Kama basins are also experiencing this. Ancient authors mention the Finno-Ugric tribes under the name of Fenians (Tacitus) or Finns (Ptolemy), and possibly also Estii (Tacitus), although the name “Estii” could also refer to the Baltic tribes at that time. The first mention of individual Finno-Ugric tribes of Eastern Europe found in the Gothic historian Jordan, who attributes the “King of the Goths” Hermanaric with victories over the Mordvins (“Mordens”), Mers (“Merens”) and other tribes. Archaeological data allows us to trace the fate of the Finno-Ugric tribes and more early stages their development. Thus, they show that in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Among the Finno-Ugric tribes, iron finally replaced bronze, from which only jewelry was now made - buckles, breast plates, brooches, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, characteristic women's headdresses with rims and pendants in the form of bells, ending in a spiral of earrings. Weapons, of which the most common were spears, javelins, axes and swords similar to Roman ones, were made of iron or equipped with iron parts: tips, etc. At the same time, many objects, in particular arrows, were still made of bone. As before, big role There was a hunt for fur-bearing animals, the fur of which was exported.
By the end of the first half of the 1st millennium, trade ties between the Kama tribes and Iran and the Eastern Roman Empire were strengthening. In the Kama region, especially in the region of Solikamsk and Kungur, one can often find silver Late Antique and Sasanian dishes decorated with highly artistic images, which came here in exchange for furs and, apparently, were used for the needs of the cult. In the Oka basin, the role of horse breeding continues to increase. In the graves of men, and sometimes women, horse harnesses are found, from which we can conclude that horses were now also used for riding. At the same time, the remains of woolen fabrics preserved in the graves indicate the development of sheep breeding, and the remains of linen fabrics, finds of sickles and hoes indicate that the Finno-Ugric tribes were also familiar with agriculture.
Wealth inequality was already quite significant. Along with poor graves, where only knives were found or no things were found at all, there are rich burials with big amount jewelry, weapons, etc. Especially a lot of jewelry is found in women's graves. However, property inequality, apparently, has not yet led to the disintegration of the clan system, since only personal items accumulated in the hands of individuals. The long-term preservation of former forms of life is evidenced by the similarity of the Finno-Ugric settlements of the first centuries of our era with earlier ones. Thus, the Pyanobor culture on the Kama, which replaced the Ananino culture, differs from it only in the style of bronze items and the predominance of iron.
Religious monuments and works of art are of significant interest. The latter is characterized by bronze relief pendants depicting deer, eagles with human face on the chest, lizards, seven-headed elk, people, as well as small bronze and lead idols in the form of birds, animals and people. About 2 thousand of these figurines were found 20 km from the city of Molotov, down the Kama, where, apparently, there was a sanctuary of the god to whom they were sacrificed. A huge number of bones of various sacrificial animals, about 2 thousand bone and iron arrowheads and about 15 thousand gilded glass beads were also discovered there. Another cult monument is a cave on the Chusovaya River, where several thousand bone and iron arrowheads were found. Archaeologists believe that archery competitions took place in this place in connection with some religious rituals.
Excellent definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Finno-Ugric tribes
History of the tribes that inhabited the Volga-Oka and Kama basins in the 1st millennium Don. e., is distinguished by significant originality. According to Herodotus, the Boudins, Tissagets and Irki lived in this part of the forest line. Noting the difference between these tribes from the Scythians and Sauromatians, he points out that their main occupation was hunting, which supplied not only food, but also furs for clothing. Herodotus especially notes the horse hunting of the hirks with the help of dogs. The information of the ancient historian is confirmed by archaeological sources indicating that in the life of the studied tribes, hunting really occupied great place. However, the population of the Volga-Oka and Kama basins was not limited only to those tribes mentioned by Herodotus. The names he gives can only be attributed to southern tribes this group - the immediate neighbors of the Scythians and Sauromatians. More detailed information about these tribes began to penetrate into ancient historiography only at the turn of our era. Tacitus probably relied on them when he described the life of the tribes in question, calling them Fenians (Finns). The main occupation of the Finno-Ugric tribes in the vast territory of their settlement should be considered cattle breeding and hunting. Swidden farming played minor role. Characteristic feature production among these tribes was that, along with iron tools, which came into use around the 7th century. BC e., bone tools were used here for a very long time. These features are typical of the so-called Dyakovo (interfluve of the Oka and Volga), Gorodets (southeast of the Oka) and Ananyin (Prikamye) archaeological cultures.
The southwestern neighbors of the Finno-Ugric tribes, the Slavs, throughout the 1st millennium AD. e. significantly advanced into the area of settlement of Finnish tribes. This movement caused the displacement of part of the Finno-Ugric tribes, as an analysis of numerous Finnish names of rivers in the central part of European Russia shows. The processes in question occurred slowly and did not disrupt cultural traditions Finnish tribes. This makes it possible to connect a number of local archaeological cultures with Finno-Ugric tribes, already known from Russian chronicles and others. written sources. The descendants of the tribes of the Dyakovo archaeological culture were probably the Merya and Muroma tribes, the descendants of the tribes of the Gorodets culture - the Mordovians, and the origin of the chronicled Cheremis and Chuds goes back to the tribes that created the Ananyin archaeological culture.
Many interesting features The life of the Finnish tribes was studied in detail by archaeologists. The most ancient method of obtaining iron in the Volga-Oka basin is indicative: iron ore was smelted in clay vessels standing in the middle of open fires. This process, noted in settlements of the 9th-8th centuries, is characteristic of the initial stage of the development of metallurgy; later ovens appeared. Numerous bronze and iron products and the quality of their manufacture suggest that already in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. among the Finno-Ugric tribes of Eastern Europe, the transformation of domestic production industries into crafts, such as foundry and blacksmithing, began. Among other industries, the high development of weaving should be noted. The development of cattle breeding and the beginning emphasis on crafts, primarily metallurgy and metalworking, led to an increase in labor productivity, which in turn contributed to the emergence of property inequality. Yet the accumulation of property within tribal communities in the Volga-Oka basin occurred rather slowly; because of this, until the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. the ancestral villages were relatively weakly fortified. Only in subsequent centuries did the settlements of the Dyakovo culture become fortified with powerful ramparts and ditches.
The picture of the social structure of the inhabitants of the Kama region is more complex. The burial inventory clearly indicates the presence of property stratification among local residents. Some burials dating back to the end of the 1st millennium allowed archaeologists to suggest the emergence of some kind of disadvantaged category of the population, possibly slaves from among prisoners of war. On the position of the tribal aristocracy in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. evidenced by one of the striking monuments of the Ananyinsky burial ground (near Yelabuga) - a stone tombstone with a relief image of a warrior armed with a dagger and a war hammer and decorated with a mane. The rich grave goods in the grave under this slab contained a dagger and a hammer made of iron, and a silver hryvnia. The buried warrior was undoubtedly one of the clan leaders. The isolation of the clan nobility especially intensified by the 2nd-1st centuries. BC e. It should be noted, however, that at this time the clan nobility was probably relatively few in number, since low labor productivity still greatly limited the number of members of society who lived off the labor of others.
—Incomplete definition ↓
Finno-Ugric languages are related to modern Finnish and Hungarian. The peoples who speak them make up the Finno-Ugric ethnolinguistic group. Their origin, territory of settlement, commonality and differences in external features, culture, religion and traditions are the subjects of global research in the field of history, anthropology, geography, linguistics and a number of other sciences. This review article will try to briefly cover this topic.
Peoples included in the Finno-Ugric ethnolinguistic group
Based on the degree of similarity of languages, researchers divide the Finno-Ugric peoples into five subgroups.
The basis of the first, Baltic-Finnish, are Finns and Estonians - peoples with their own states. They also live in Russia. Setu - a small group of Estonians - settled in the Pskov region. The most numerous of the Baltic-Finnish peoples of Russia are the Karelians. In everyday life they use three autochthonous dialects, while Finnish is considered their literary language. In addition, the same subgroup includes the Vepsians and Izhorians - small peoples who have preserved their languages, as well as the Vod (there are less than a hundred people left, their own language has been lost) and the Livs.
The second is the Sami (or Lapp) subgroup. The main part of the peoples who gave it its name are settled in Scandinavia. In Russia, the Sami live on Kola Peninsula. Researchers suggest that in ancient times these peoples occupied a larger territory, but were subsequently pushed further north. At the same time, their own language was replaced by one of the Finnish dialects.
The third subgroup that makes up the Finno-Ugric peoples - the Volga-Finnish - includes the Mari and Mordovians. The Mari are the main part of Mari El, they also live in Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Udmurtia and a number of others Russian regions. They have two literary language(with which, however, not all researchers agree). Mordva - autochthonous population of the Republic of Mordovia; at the same time, a significant part of the Mordvins are settled throughout Russia. This people consists of two ethnographic groups, each with its own literary written language.
The fourth subgroup is called Permian. It also includes the Udmurts. Even before October 1917, in terms of literacy level (though in Russian), the Komi were approaching the very best. educated peoples Russia - Jews and Russian Germans. As for the Udmurts, their dialect has been preserved mostly in villages Udmurt Republic. Residents of cities, as a rule, forget both the indigenous language and customs.
The fifth, Ugric, subgroup includes the Hungarians, Khanty and Mansi. Although the lower reaches of the Ob northern Urals separated from the Hungarian state on the Danube by many kilometers, these peoples are actually the closest relatives. The Khanty and Mansi belong to the small peoples of the North.
Disappeared Finno-Ugric tribes
The Finno-Ugric peoples also included tribes, mentions of which are currently preserved only in chronicles. Thus, the Merya people lived between the Volga and Oka rivers in the first millennium AD - there is a theory that they subsequently merged with the Eastern Slavs.
The same thing happened with Muroma. This is even more ancient people Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group, which once inhabited the Oka basin.
Long gone Finnish tribes, who lived along the Northern Dvina, are called Chudya by researchers (according to one hypothesis, they were the ancestors of modern Estonians).
Commonality of languages and culture
Having declared the Finno-Ugric languages as a single group, researchers emphasize this commonality as the main factor uniting the peoples who speak them. However, the Ural ethnic groups, despite the similarity in the structure of their languages, still do not always understand each other. Thus, a Finn will certainly be able to communicate with an Estonian, an Erzyan with a Moksha, and an Udmurt with a Komi. However, the peoples of this group, geographically distant from each other, must make quite a lot of effort to identify in their languages common features that would help them carry on the conversation.
The linguistic kinship of the Finno-Ugric peoples is primarily traced in the similarity of linguistic constructions. This significantly influences the formation of the thinking and worldview of peoples. Despite the differences in cultures, this circumstance contributes to the emergence of mutual understanding between these ethnic groups.
At the same time, the peculiar psychology determined by the thought process in these languages enriches universal human culture with their unique vision of the world. Thus, unlike the Indo-Europeans, the representative of the Finno-Ugric people is inclined to treat nature with exceptional respect. Finno-Ugric culture also largely contributed to the desire of these peoples to peacefully adapt to their neighbors - as a rule, they preferred not to fight, but to migrate, preserving their identity.
Also characteristic peoples of this group - openness to ethnocultural exchange. Looking for ways to strengthen relationships with related peoples they maintain cultural contacts with all those around them. Basically, the Finno-Ugric people managed to preserve their languages and basic cultural elements. The connection with ethnic traditions in this area can be seen in their national songs, dances, music, traditional dishes, and clothing. Also, many elements of their ancient rituals have survived to this day: wedding, funeral, memorial.
Brief history of the Finno-Ugric peoples
Origin and early history Finno-Ugric peoples remain the subject of scientific debate to this day. The most common opinion among researchers is that in ancient times there was a single group of people who spoke a common Finno-Ugric proto-language. The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugrians until the end of the third millennium BC. e. maintained relative unity. They were settled in the Urals and the western Urals, and possibly also in some adjacent areas.
In that era, called Finno-Ugric, their tribes came into contact with the Indo-Iranians, which was reflected in myths and languages. Between the third and second millennia BC. e. The Ugric and Finno-Permian branches separated from each other. Among the peoples of the latter, who settled in a western direction, independent subgroups of languages gradually emerged and became distinct (Baltic-Finnish, Volga-Finnish, Permian). As a result of the transition of the autochthonous population of the Far North to one of the Finno-Ugric dialects, the Sami were formed.
The Ugric group of languages disintegrated by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. The Baltic-Finnish division occurred at the beginning of our era. Perm lasted a little longer - until the eighth century. Contacts of Finno-Ugric tribes with Baltic, Iranian, Slavic, Turkic, and Germanic peoples played a major role in the separate development of these languages.
Territory of settlement
Finno-Ugric peoples today mainly live in Northwestern Europe. Geographically, they are settled over a vast territory from Scandinavia to the Urals, Volga-Kama, lower and middle Tobol region. Hungarians - the only people Finno-Ugric ethno-linguistic group, who formed their own state away from other related tribes - in the Carpathian-Danube region.
Number of Finno-Ugric peoples
The total number of peoples speaking Uralic languages (these include Finno-Ugric and Samoyed) is 23-24 million people. The most numerous representatives are Hungarians. There are more than 15 million of them in the world. They are followed by Finns and Estonians (5 and 1 million people, respectively). Most other Finno-Ugric ethnic groups live in modern Russia.
Finno-Ugric ethnic groups in Russia
Russian settlers flocked en masse to the lands of the Finno-Ugrians in the 16th-18th centuries. Most often, the process of their settlement in these areas occurred peacefully, but some indigenous peoples (for example, the Mari) for a long time and fiercely resisted the annexation of their region to the Russian state.
The Christian religion, writing, and urban culture, introduced by the Russians, over time began to displace local beliefs and dialects. People moved to cities, moved to Siberian and Altai lands - where Russian was the main and common language. However, he (especially his northern dialect) absorbed many Finno-Ugric words - this is most noticeable in the field of toponyms and names of natural phenomena.
In some places, the Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia mixed with the Turks, converting to Islam. However, a significant part of them were still assimilated by the Russians. Therefore, these peoples do not constitute a majority anywhere - even in those republics that bear their name.
However, according to the 2002 population census, there are very significant Finno-Ugric groups in Russia. These are the Mordovians (843 thousand people), Udmurts (almost 637 thousand), Mari (604 thousand), Komi-Zyryans (293 thousand), Komi-Permyaks (125 thousand), Karelians (93 thousand). The number of some peoples does not exceed thirty thousand people: Khanty, Mansi, Vepsians. The Izhorians number 327 people, and the Vod people number only 73 people. Hungarians, Finns, Estonians, and Sami also live in Russia.
Development of Finno-Ugric culture in Russia
In total, sixteen Finno-Ugric peoples live in Russia. Five of them have their own national-state entities, and two have national-territorial ones. Others are dispersed throughout the country.
In Russia, considerable attention is paid to the preservation of the original cultural traditions of those inhabiting it. At the national and local level, programs are being developed with the support of which the culture of the Finno-Ugric peoples, their customs and dialects is being studied.
So, Sami, Khanty, Mansi are taught in primary school, and Komi, Mari, Udmurt, Mordovian languages - in secondary schools in the regions where they live large groups corresponding ethnic groups. There are special laws on culture and languages (Mari El, Komi). Thus, in the Republic of Karelia there is a law on education that enshrines the right of Vepsians and Karelians to study in their own language. native language. The priority for the development of the cultural traditions of these peoples is determined by the Law on Culture.
Also, the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Komi, Mordovia, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug have their own concepts and programs national development. The Foundation for the Development of Cultures of Finno-Ugric Peoples has been created and operates (on the territory of the Mari El Republic).
Finno-Ugric peoples: appearance
The ancestors of the current Finno-Ugrians were the result of a mixture of Paleo-European and Paleo-Asian tribes. Therefore, the appearance of all the peoples of this group contains both Caucasoid and Mongoloid features. Some scientists even put forward a theory about the existence of an independent race - the Ural, which is “intermediate” between Europeans and Asians, but this version has few supporters.
Finno-Ugrians are heterogeneous in anthropological terms. However, any representative of the Finno-Ugric people possesses characteristic “Ural” features to one degree or another. This is usually average height, Very light color hair, wide face, thin beard. But these features manifest themselves in different ways. Thus, the Erzya Mordvins are tall, have blond hair and blue eyes. Mordvins-Moksha - on the contrary, are shorter, with wide cheekbones, and darker hair. The Udmurts and Mari often have characteristic “Mongolian” eyes with a special fold internal corner eyes - epicanthus, very wide faces, thin beard. But at the same time, their hair, as a rule, is blond and red, and their eyes are blue or gray, which is typical for Europeans, but not Mongoloids. The “Mongolian fold” is also found among the Izhorians, Vodians, Karelians and even Estonians. Komi people look different. Where they are mixed marriages with the Nenets, representatives of this people have braids and black hair. Other Komi, on the contrary, are more like Scandinavians, but have wider faces.
Finno-Ugric traditional cuisine in Russia
Most of the dishes of traditional Finno-Ugric and Trans-Ural cuisines, in fact, have not been preserved or have been significantly distorted. However, ethnographers manage to trace some general patterns.
The main food product of the Finno-Ugrians was fish. It was not only processed in different ways (fried, dried, boiled, fermented, dried, eaten raw), but each type was also prepared in its own way, which would better convey the taste.
Before the advent of firearms, the main method of hunting in the forest was snares. They caught mainly forest birds (grouse, wood grouse) and small animals, mainly hares. Meat and poultry were stewed, boiled and baked, and much less often, fried.
For vegetables they used turnips and radishes, and for herbs - watercress, hogweed, horseradish, onions, and young mushrooms growing in the forest. Western Finno-Ugric peoples practically did not consume mushrooms; at the same time, for the eastern ones they constituted a significant part of the diet. Oldest species grains known to these peoples are barley and wheat (spelt). They were used to prepare porridges, hot jelly, and also as a filling for homemade sausages.
The modern culinary repertoire of the Finno-Ugric peoples contains very little national traits, because it was strongly influenced by Russian, Bashkir, Tatar, Chuvash and other cuisines. However, almost every nation has preserved one or two traditional, ritual or festive dishes that have survived to this day. In total they allow us to make general idea about Finno-Ugric cooking.
Finno-Ugric peoples: religion
Most Finno-Ugrians profess Christian faith. Finns, Estonians and Western Sami are Lutherans. Catholics predominate among Hungarians, although you can also meet Calvinists and Lutherans.
Finno-Ugrians living in are predominantly Orthodox Christians. However, the Udmurts and Mari in some places managed to preserve the ancient (animistic) religion, and the Samoyed peoples and inhabitants of Siberia - shamanism.
In the third quarter of the 1st millennium AD. The Slavic population, settled in the Upper Dnieper region and mixed with local East Baltic groups, with its further advancement to the north and east, reached the borders of regions that had anciently belonged to Finno-Ugric tribes. These were the Estonians, Vodians and Izhoras in the South-Eastern Baltic, all on White Lake and the tributaries of the Volga - Sheksna and Mologa, Merya in the eastern part of the Volga-Oka interfluve, Mordovians and Muroms on the Middle and Lower Oka. If the eastern Balts were neighbors of the Finno-Ugrians since ancient times, then the Slavic
The Russian population encountered them closely for the first time. The subsequent colonization of some Finno-Ugric lands and the assimilation of their indigenous population represented a special chapter in the history of the formation of the Old Russian people. The economy of the Finno-Ugric tribes was complex. Agriculture was relatively poorly developed; Cattle breeding played a major role in the economy; it was accompanied by hunting, fishing and forestry. Various Finno-Ugric groups had their own characteristics and differed from each other in the level of socio-economic development and in the nature of culture. The most advanced among them were the Chud tribes of the South-Eastern Baltic - the Ests, Vods and Izhoras. By the end of the 1st millennium AD. the ancient Estonian tribes stood on the threshold of feudalism, crafts developed among them, the first urban-type settlements arose, maritime trade connected the ancient Estonian tribes with each other and with their neighbors, contributing to the development of the economy, culture and social inequality. Tribal associations were replaced at this time by unions of territorial communities. The local features that distinguished individual groups of ancient Estonians in the past began to gradually disappear, indicating the beginning of the formation of the Estonian nation. The pastoral aspect of the economy was, to one degree or another, preserved among the Finno-Ugric population of the Volga region during the period of Ancient Russia. Most of them, for a long time, home crafts were common, in particular the production of numerous and varied metal jewelry, which abounded in women's costumes. The technical equipment of the home craft at that time differed little from the equipment of a professional artisan - these were the same casting molds, dolls, crucibles, etc.
Findings of these things during archaeological excavations, as a rule, do not allow us to determine whether there was a domestic or specialized craft, a product of the social division of labor. In the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Finno-Ugric tribes living in the Oka and Kama basins also experienced a certain development. Ancient authors mention the Finno-Ugric tribes under the name of Fenians (Tacitus) or Finns (Ptolemy), and possibly also Estii (Tacitus), although the name “Estii” could also refer to the Baltic tribes at that time. The first mention of individual Finno-Ugric tribes in Eastern Europe is found in the Gothic historian Jordanes, who attributes the “King of the Goths” Hermanaric with victories over the Mordovians (“Mordens”), Mers (“Merens”) and other tribes. Archaeological data allows us to trace the fate of the Finno-Ugric tribes and at earlier stages of their development. Thus, they show that in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Among the Finno-Ugric tribes, iron finally replaced bronze, from which only jewelry was now made - buckles, breast plates, brooches, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, characteristic women's headdresses with rims and pendants in the form of bells, ending in a spiral of earrings. Weapons, of which the most common were spears, javelins, axes and swords similar to Roman ones, were made of iron or equipped with iron parts: tips, etc. At the same time, many objects, in particular arrows, were still made of bone. As before, hunting for fur-bearing animals played an important role, the fur of which was exported.
By the end of the first half of the 1st millennium, trade ties between the Kama tribes and Iran and the Eastern Roman Empire were strengthening. In the Kama region, especially in the region of Solikamsk and Kungur, one can often find silver Late Antique and Sasanian dishes decorated with highly artistic images, which came here in exchange for furs and, apparently, were used for the needs of the cult. In the Oka basin, the role of horse breeding continues to increase. In the graves of men, and sometimes women, horse harnesses are found, from which we can conclude that horses were now also used for riding. At the same time, the remains of woolen fabrics preserved in the graves indicate the development of sheep breeding, and the remains of linen fabrics, finds of sickles and hoes indicate that the Finno-Ugric tribes were also familiar with agriculture. Wealth inequality was already quite significant. Along with poor graves, where only knives were found or no things were found at all, there are rich burials with a lot of jewelry, weapons, etc. Especially a lot of jewelry is found in women's graves. However, property inequality, apparently, has not yet led to the disintegration of the clan system, since only personal items accumulated in the hands of individuals. The long-term preservation of former forms of life is evidenced by the similarity of the Finno-Ugric settlements of the first centuries of our era with earlier ones. Thus, the Pyanobor culture on the Kama, which replaced the Ananino culture, differs from it only in the style of bronze items and the predominance of iron. Religious monuments and works of art are of significant interest. The latter is characterized by bronze relief pendants depicting deer, eagles with a human face on the chest, lizards, seven-headed elk, people, as well as small bronze and lead idols in the form of birds, animals and people. About 2 thousand of these figurines were found 20 km from the city of Molotov, down the Kama, where, apparently, there was a sanctuary of the god to whom they were sacrificed. A huge number of bones of various sacrificial animals, about 2 thousand bone and iron arrowheads and about 15 thousand gilded glass beads were also discovered there. Another cult monument is a cave on the Chusovaya River, where several thousand bone and iron arrowheads were found. Archaeologists believe that archery competitions took place in this place in connection with some religious rituals.
