Hot historical dozen myths about ancient Russia

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Contemporary Western mass culture traditionally feeds the public with myths about Russia. There are bears, and eternal winter, and Lenin, the KGB, AK-47 and vodka, which have become an integral part of the image. For the sake of fairness, it should be said that the myths about Rusyns were formed by foreigners even during the formation of the Old Russian state. And often these myths were born not from an evil intent, but from a misunderstanding of another's world. So, the "hot ten" myths about our ancestors.

Russians live in an "underground burrow paved with logs"

Arab merchants traveling through the lands of the Slavs along the trade routes "From the Varangians to the Greeks" and back, wrote down in their diaries various subtleties of life and culture of other peoples. True, such records were quite often subjective, which became the basis for the emergence of myths. One of the most famous errors of the Arab chronicles that have survived to this day is the record of the dwelling of the Slavs. The Arabs believed that the Slavs lived all year round in an "underground burrow paved with logs." In this hole there is one room and lava, and in the center there is a heap of stones that are heated by fire. The Arabs claimed that people poured water on the stones, and in this hole it became so hot and stuffy that they had to sleep completely naked.

If a Slav, then necessarily a pagan

For many centuries after 988, when Prince Vladimir baptized Russia and ordered to "chop down churches by city," many inhabitants of Europe believed that the lands of the Slavs were the land of the pagans. However, it is possible that the Western European elite covered up with this myth their attempts to “catholicize” their brothers in faith.

Beard is a sign of uncleanliness

In Russia, they really wore beards. The beard was considered a fundamental virtue of the Orthodox Russian person. But in the West, this gave rise to the myth that the Slavs are by nature unscrupulous. In fact, they washed in Russian baths much more often than in the Louvre, where, to interrupt the "shameful smell" they used perfume, and the ladies chased fleas in their high hairstyles with special long wooden sticks.

Slav wars are fighting in the trees

This very ridiculous myth was born after the Slavs made several raids on Byzantium. "These wars do not wear either armor or an iron sword, and in case of danger they climb trees", - remained in the chronicles. In fact, the Russian warriors never "hid" in the trees, they knew how to perfectly fight in the forest. This myth appeared, perhaps, due to the difference in the tactics of fighting. The Russian wars retreated into the forest not at all out of fear, but from the fact that in a direct battle they could not cope with the heavy Byzantine cavalry. In the forest, the Byzantine cataphracts were losing their advantage.

Slavs go to battle naked

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, the Byzantine emperor, in his work "On the management of the empire" wrote that Slavic soldiers go into battle naked. This gave birth to myths about the barbarity and fury of the Slavic army. In fact, the Rusyns went into battle not in negligee, but only with a bare torso. True, only the commanders of the detachment, as a rule, removed the chain mail from the body in order to show the intention to fight the enemy to death. This also meant giving up the opportunity to negotiate, which the Byzantines loved so much. Entering the battle in this form did not at all mean that the Slavs did not have the means of protection and archaeological finds confirm this.

Bears walk in Russian settlements

The myth of bears, which is still popular today, has very ancient roots. He was born before the baptism of Rus. Back in the 9th century Byzantine historians mentioned that "in the barbaric, foreign land of the Slavs, people worship bears as gods, and bears live among people and walk around their settlements." The myth was born because of the Slavic god Veles, one of the incarnations of which was a bear. So the myth of the Russian bear came from Ancient Russia to the modern Red Square. For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that bears did sometimes walk in Russian villages, however, it happened at fair performances.

Slavs are intolerant of other religions

In the Western world, there was a myth that the Slavs did not recognize any faith other than Orthodoxy. Although the Baptism of Rus was a very painful process for local residents, with the advent of Christianity, religious tolerance was established in the lands of the Slavs. Already in Kievan Rus, there were synagogues and Catholic churches founded by German merchants who came to Russia to trade. And although paganism was taboo, the temples of the ancient gods still remained.

Russians' tolerance persists today. Only on the territory of Moscow (as of 2011), in addition to 670 temples and 26 chapels of the Russian Orthodox Church, there are 9 Old Believer temples, 6 mosques and an unknown number of Muslim prayer houses, 7 synagogues and 38 Jewish cultural centers, 2 temples of the Armenian Apostolic Church, 5 Buddhist temples, 3 Lutheran and 37 houses of prayer of Protestant denominations.

Slavs are inhospitable recluses

For a long time, the Europeans did not dare to travel to the Slavic lands. Many believed that the Slavs were a closed and aggressive people. The first religious mission to the lands of the Slavs during the reign of Princess Olga ended in failure for the missionaries, which only fueled the belief about the inhospitality of local residents. In fact, the Slavs even had a pagan god of hospitality. And the myths about the bloodthirstiness of the local population were born on that soil, the Slavs did not know mercy to those who encroached them on their land, wealth or faith.

It is worth noting that Russians are distinguished by hospitality today. If, in America, traditionally the hero of the occasion awaits gifts from colleagues, then in Russia the opposite is true: as soon as a person has the slightest reason to note something, he immediately sets the table. Fair amusements, popular in Russia today, are also well known.

Slavs "live between trees"

Today it is generally accepted that the ancient Slavs were predominantly agriculturalists. However, it is not. Even at the time of the formation and prosperity of Kievan Rus, most of the land was covered with forests. The well-known slash-and-burn method of farming looks questionable for widespread use, since it required significant effort and time. Agriculture developed very slowly and had a local character. The Slavs were mainly engaged in hunting, fishing and gathering. Many neighbors believed that the Slavs, like the barbarians, "live among the trees." Our ancestors really often settled in the forests, however, there they built huts and even fortifications. Gradually, the forest around was destroyed, and a settlement arose on the spot.

Slavs do not exist

Perhaps the most "offensive" myth about the ancient Slavs is that their neighbors identified them with the Scythians who once lived in these lands. Some believed that the Slavic tribes were very small in number. True, some time passed, and the world was able to make sure that this was not at all the case.