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Genetic research: Why is there so much controversy over whether the Russians are Slavs?
Genetic research: Why is there so much controversy over whether the Russians are Slavs?

Video: Genetic research: Why is there so much controversy over whether the Russians are Slavs?

Video: Genetic research: Why is there so much controversy over whether the Russians are Slavs?
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Genetic research: why there is so much controversy, are the Russians Slavs?
Genetic research: why there is so much controversy, are the Russians Slavs?

At various times, the Russians were assigned a diametrically opposite genetic past. Some anthropologists and geneticists advocated the predominance of Finnish roots in the gene pool of the Russian people, others defended their Slavic origin. Literally everything was used as an evidence base: from the external similarity of Russians with other peoples to their historical past, languages and genes.

Research by Oleg Balanovsky

The largest study on the topic of a genetic comparative portrait was carried out by Oleg Balanovsky, Doctor of Biological Sciences and Head of the Laboratory of Genomic Geography at the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For several years, he, together with linguists, anthropologists and archaeologists, studied the history of the Russian gene pool and examined in detail the representatives of the indigenous population. In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, scientists avoided the places of the latest crossbreeding (places where the likelihood of a recent mixing of genes is high).

Geneticists found rural settlements far from the railroad and other crossroads of major routes, in which it was highly likely to meet the indigenous population, and not who had moved several decades ago. The sample was conducted among people whose grandparents on both sides lived in the required regions. Only they, according to Balanovsky, can be considered indigenous Russians. In total, over 8,000 DNA samples were collected.

Correlations between matrices of genetic, linguistic and geographic distances for Balto-Slavic populations. Column on the right - color designations of correlation coefficient intervals / Source genofond.ru
Correlations between matrices of genetic, linguistic and geographic distances for Balto-Slavic populations. Column on the right - color designations of correlation coefficient intervals / Source genofond.ru

Only men were allowed to participate in the study. As carriers of the Y chromosome, they allow for a more informative gene portrait. If several members of a large family fit the requirements, only one man was examined, since the genetic code of close relatives is largely similar. In addition to blood samples, volunteers were also required to provide the most accurate data on at least three generations of their ancestors.

Forefathers of the Russian gene pool

The study yielded interesting results: in the genetic past of Russians, there are Baltic, Tatar and even Finnish roots. And, of course, there is a significant proportion of Slavic.

Interestingly, the Mongol conquests did not have a significant impact on the Russian gene pool, and it remained almost completely European. Therefore, Central Asian genes were extremely rare in the studied groups. But if we talk about Tatars, the differences between Tatars and Russians really turned out to be not so great. Apparently, the matter is in the Russian principalities, which for the most part dealt not with the Mongols, but with the Tatars.

Schematic representation of groups of populations used in the analysis of IBD (counting the number of common fragments of the genome) / Source genofond.ru
Schematic representation of groups of populations used in the analysis of IBD (counting the number of common fragments of the genome) / Source genofond.ru

It is easier to understand the genetic variability of the Russian people by remembering the main differences in the southern and northern populations. The difference in territorial settlement naturally led to significant differences not only in the way of life and languages, but also in the gene pool. As a result, the southern Russian population in the genetic code received great similarity with the neighboring eastern and western populations, and the northern ones with the Baltic ones.

Systematically studying the Russian gene pool, Balanovsky revealed clear boundaries of differences. The northerners, namely the population of the Arkhangelsk, Kostroma and Vologda regions, differ significantly from the people who live in the central and southern zone. Genetically, they are much closer to the Balts and Tatars, the peoples living in the north of Europe (from the Baltic Sea to the Komi Republic).

At the same time, in the southern strip, Russians are very similar to Belarusians, a little less to Poles and Ukrainians. They are joined by territorially distant non-Slavic peoples: Chuvash, Moksha and Erzya. The geographical spread of populations close in genotype to the South Russian peoples is so great that it stretches, in fact, from Germany and Poland to Kazan itself.

Are the Russians Slavs?

Conclusions about the Slavic roots of Russians would be incomplete without linguists, since the very concept of "Slavs" refers more to linguistics than to genetics. Therefore, a whole group of qualified linguists was involved in Balanovsky's research. They made their own interesting conclusions: regardless of the region of residence, the majority of Russians undoubtedly belong to the Slavs.

Reconstructed phylogenetic tree of the Balto-Slavic languages. The timeline shows the time of separation of different language branches / Source genofond.ru
Reconstructed phylogenetic tree of the Balto-Slavic languages. The timeline shows the time of separation of different language branches / Source genofond.ru

Slavs are one of the most extensive linguistic groups, which includes many peoples: Russians, Ukrainians, Slovenes, Macedonians, Serbs, Lithuanians. Assessing the geographical and linguistic factor, Balanovsky studied all the Balto-Slavs. Since for another 4000 years they spoke the same language, and only later divided into modern Slavic and Baltic populations, most of these peoples today have a common linguistic and cultural past.

The genetic structure of the Balto-Slavic populations in comparison with other peoples of Europe for three genetic systems: A) for autosomal SNP markers, B) for the Y chromosome, C) for mitochondrial DNA / Source genofond.ru
The genetic structure of the Balto-Slavic populations in comparison with other peoples of Europe for three genetic systems: A) for autosomal SNP markers, B) for the Y chromosome, C) for mitochondrial DNA / Source genofond.ru

At the same time, the linguistic and genetic maps often do not coincide. Slavic features are found among peoples living at a considerable distance from each other. Studying Russians, Balanovsky obtained an unprecedented coefficient of correlation of languages and genotypes in the range from 0.7 to 0.8. The connection turned out to be so great that even the geographical distance did not prevent it.

It seems incredible, and therefore even more interesting, the story of how Russians and Norwegians began to speak the same language.

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