How our distant ancestors lived. Settlement of the Slavs

Let's remember how our ancestors lived, what they ate and what they dressed in.
If anyone thinks that life was sweet at that time, they are greatly mistaken.

Before this, the life of a simple Russian peasant was completely different.
Usually a person lived to be 40-45 years old and died as an old man. He was considered a grown man with a family and children at the age of 14-15, and she even earlier. They did not marry for love; it was the father who went to marry his son.
People had no time for idle rest at all. In the summer, absolutely all the time was occupied by work in the field, in the winter, collecting firewood and homework making tools and household utensils, and hunting.
Let's look at a Russian village of the 10th century, which, however, is not much different from the village of both the 5th century and the 17th century...
We came to the Lyubytino historical and cultural complex as part of a motor rally dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Avtomir group of companies. It is not for nothing that it is called “One-Storey Russia” - it was very interesting and educational to see how our ancestors lived.
In Lyubytino, at the place where the ancient Slavs lived, among the mounds and burials, a real village of the 10th century was recreated, with all the outbuildings and necessary utensils.

We will start with an ordinary Slavic hut. The hut is made of logs and covered with birch bark and turf. In some regions, the roofs of the same huts were covered with straw, and in some places with wood chips. Surprisingly, the service life of such a roof is only slightly less than the service life of the entire house, 25-30 years, and the house itself lasted about 40 years. Considering the time of life at that time, the house was just enough for a person’s life.

By the way, in front of the entrance to the house there is a covered area - this is the same canopy from the song about the “new, maple canopy.”

The hut is heated black, that is, the stove does not have a chimney; the smoke comes out through a small window under the roof and through the door. There are no normal windows either, and the door is only about a meter high. This is done in order not to release heat from the hut.

When the stove is fired, soot settles on the walls and roof. There is one big plus in a “black” firebox - there are no rodents or insects in such a house.

Of course, the house stands on the ground without any foundation; the lower crowns are simply supported by several large stones.

This is how the roof is made

And here is the oven. A stone hearth mounted on a pedestal made of clay-coated logs. The stove was heated early in the morning. When the stove is on fire, it is impossible to be in the hut, only the housewife remained there to prepare the food, everyone else went outside to do business, in any weather. After the stove was heated, the stones gave off heat until the next morning. The food was cooked in the oven.

This is what the hut looks like from the inside. They slept on benches placed along the walls, and sat on them while eating. The children slept on the beds, they are not visible in this photograph, they are on top, above their heads. In winter, young livestock were taken into the hut so that they would not die from frost. They also washed in the hut. You can imagine what kind of air there was, how warm and comfortable it was there. It immediately becomes clear why life expectancy was so short.

In order not to heat the hut in the summer, when it was not necessary, the village had a separate small building - a bread oven. They baked bread and cooked there.

Grain was stored in a barn - a building raised on poles from the surface of the ground to protect the products from rodents.

There were bottom pits built in the barn, remember - “I scraped the bottom pipes...”? These are special wooden boxes into which grain was poured from above and taken from below. So the grain did not sit stale.

Also in the village there was a triple glacier - a cellar in which ice was placed in the spring, filled with hay and lay there almost until the next winter.

Clothing, skins, utensils and weapons not needed at the moment were stored in a cage. The cage was also used when the husband and wife needed privacy.

Barn - this building served for drying sheaves and threshing grain. The heated stones were piled into a fireplace, sheaves were placed on poles, and the peasant dried them, constantly turning them over. Then the grains were threshed and winnowed.

Cooking food in an oven requires a special temperature regime - simmering. This is how, for example, gray cabbage soup is prepared. They are called gray because of their gray color. How to cook them?

To begin with, take green cabbage leaves, those that are not included in the head of cabbage are finely split, salted and placed under pressure for a week for fermentation. For cabbage soup you also need pearl barley, meat, onions, and carrots. The ingredients are placed in a pot, and it is placed in the oven, where it will spend several hours. By evening, a very satisfying and thick dish will be ready.

How did our ancestors, the Slavs, live? The life of any person greatly depends on his environment, natural conditions, and climate. The life of the ancient Slavs was no exception. Overall it was very simple and original. Life went on as usual, measuredly and naturally. But, on the other hand, we had to survive and look for food for ourselves and our children every day. So how did our ancestors, the Slavs, live? Agriculture They lived near rivers and other bodies of water. The reason for this is the need for a large amount of water, and the lands there are very fertile. The southern Slavs especially could boast of such lands. Therefore, one of their main occupations was agriculture. The main crops grown were millet, buckwheat, and flax. There were special tools for cultivating land: hoes, harrows, plows and others. The Slavs had several types of agriculture (for example, slash-and-burn). It differed in different regions of residence. Most often they burned trees in the forest. The resulting ash was used for fertilizer. After the land “tired” (usually after three years), they moved to new territories. Housing The Slavs tried to settle in such a way that there were steep slopes around them. This could save them from enemy attacks. For the same purpose, a palisade was placed around the dwellings. It was made from logs. As you know, there are frosty winters in the territory of modern Russia and Europe. Therefore, during this period the Slavs insulated their homes (huts) with clay. A fire was lit inside, and special holes were provided for the smoke. Later they began to build real huts with a stove. But initially, such a resource as logs was available only to the Slavs living near the forest. As for household items, they were also made from different types of trees (these were dishes, tables, benches, and even children’s toys). And clothes were made from flax and cotton, which they grew themselves. Lifestyle The Slavs over time developed a tribal system, tribal relations. The unit or cell was the genus. This is a collection of people united by family ties. Today it can be imagined as if all the children of parents and their families live together. In general, the life of the Slavs was characterized by unity; they did everything together and together. When difficulties or disputes arose, they gathered at a special meeting (veche), where the elders of the clan solved the problems. Food If the Slavs mainly eat what they grew and caught themselves. They prepared soups (cabbage soup), porridges (buckwheat, millet and others). Drinks included jelly and kvass. Vegetables used were cabbage and turnips. Of course, there were no potatoes yet. The Slavs also prepared various pastries. The most popular were pies and pancakes. They brought berries and mushrooms from the forest. In general, the forest was a source of life for the Slavs. From there they took wood, animals, and plants. Leisure of the Slavs You also need to be able to relax! How did our ancestors have fun? First, they carved various pictures from wood, then gave them bright colors. Secondly, the Slavs also loved music. They had harps and pipes. All musical instruments, of course, were also made of wood. Thirdly, women weaved and embroidered. After all, all the clothes of the Slavs were always decorated with fancy ornaments and patterns. In conclusion This was the life of the ancient Slavs. Although it was not filled with simple everyday amenities, it was there. And it was no worse than that of other tribes that developed in parallel with the Slavs and often had better conditions. The Slavs were able to get used to it and were able to move to the next level. It is unlikely that modern man could survive at that time without all his amenities, which he no longer notices. Therefore, let's respect and honor the memory of our ancestors. They did something that you and I couldn't do. We owe them what we have today. Special report - Alone in the past. Our ancestors, the Slavs, came to Europe from Asia in ancient times. The Slavs settled along the lower reaches of the great Danube. Here the climate is good and the lands are fertile. Our ancestors would not have left those places, but other peoples began to crowd them out. Our ancestors divided into several territories: Some of the Slavs remained to live on the Danube. From them came the beginning of the Serbs and Bulgarians. The other part of the tribe went north. The Moravians, Poles and Slovaks found their beginning here. Another part of the people went to the tributaries of the Dnieper and gave rise to the Russian people, who are our ancestors. Those Slavs who lived in the fields near the middle reaches of the Dnieper began to be called Polyans. The Drevlyans also appeared and settled in the forests near the mighty Pripyat River. Other various tribes of Slavs appeared. For example, Rodimichi, Polotsk, Northerners. Economy of the Slavs How did our ancestors, the Slavs, live when they came to different territories of Europe? When the cold set in, our ancestors thought about how to make themselves a stronger and warmer shelter. Tables and various utensils were made of wood. Bad weather and low temperatures forced the Slavs to make warm clothes for themselves. . Activities of our ancestors What did the Slavs do, how did our ancestors live in order to have food and culture? The Slavs loved agriculture. Our ancestors grew millet, buckwheat, and flax. They cultivated the fertile southern lands. To sow them, the Slavs spent three years cultivating new soil: 1 year: cutting down trees; Year 2: all trees were burned, and the ash was left to increase the fertility of the land; Year 3: sowing and harvesting. After three years, this land lost its fertility, so new areas were taken for cultivation. In his right hand he held a bow, and in his left hand a quiver of sharp arrows. According to ancient beliefs, Perun raced across the sky in his chariot and shot fiery arrows. The ancestors of our Slavs had many revered gods: Stribog - the god of the wind; Dazhbog – sun deity; Veles is the patron of herds; Svarog is the god of the sky and the father of all deities. Their beliefs in a future afterlife can also tell us how our distant ancestors lived. The Slavs buried their dead in the ground, but there were cases when they were burned.

The life of the peasants consisted not only of righteous labors. The village knew how to relax. They prepared for the holidays ahead of time; not only adults, but also children were waiting for it. Children - even especially. And not only for the sake of gifts or plentiful treats, although here it is probably appropriate to say that any holiday table was very desirable for everyone because of the frequent and long-term exhausting fasts. For the peasant, many, if not all, folk and church customs, traditions, and rituals naturally and naturally fit into the circle of his economic activity and spiritual life, serving as a kind of reward for the difficult, sometimes exhausting everyday life.

How our ancestors rested

Girls came to parties with spinning wheels, but they did it, as they say, to divert attention: how much can you strain if the accordion is so flooded that your legs ask to dance. Most often they danced a four-legged quadrille. During breaks, they sang songs and ditties, had conversations, cracking nuts (later seeds appeared). Guys sometimes indulged in wine at parties, but they indulged, not got drunk. Having thus walked for an evening or two, they moved to another village, got acquainted, looked closely at their neighbors and neighbors, lingering where they found personal interest.

Festive, and any ordinary parties usually dragged on until well after midnight.

Visit the Malye Karely open-air museum on a weekend or a holiday, and you will see with your own eyes how our ancestors rested.

However, the youth were not bored during the day. They set up ice slides and rode down them in special sleds. The slides were built on the high bank of the river, the sleds flew off them along the ice for 300-400 meters. Every guy, if he started getting married, had to give his girlfriend a ride down such a hill. It was such a game - with squeals and laughter if the couple flew into a snowdrift, which was sometimes done deliberately.

Celebrations on Maslenitsa

And on Maslenitsa, in addition to chunka rides, there were sleigh rides around the village, and not alone, in whole trains. It was a wonderful sight. In the village there was a real amateur holiday, your own performance, in which you were both a spectator and an artist, you yourself had fun and amused others. Their owners wove bright ribbons into the mane of each horse, attached a ringing Valdai bell to the arch, and the sleigh was decorated - whoever was so inclined. Such a train rushes through the village - thirty to forty sleighs at a time - it takes your breath away! Even frail old people came out to see this fun. And the train flew through the village, stopping for a while at the ice slide, where they again rode in chunks, and rushed to the next village of the society. And so on - until he travels around the entire district, galloping around with noise, ringing, din, songs and cheerful music. An unforgettable sight...

Patronal holidays

The old village celebrated holidays in the summer, even on the days of suffering. These were mainly patronal feasts - in honor of one or another saint to whom the village church was dedicated. So every village, if it had a temple of God, also had its own patronal holiday.

On throne days, beer was brewed in every house, snacks were prepared and feasted for two or three days. Adults usually spent holidays at home, and young people chose a place in a meadow near the river. As a rule, boys and girls from four or five surrounding villages gathered for such parties. They danced the same quadrille to the sound of discordant harmonies, sang songs, in groups, in a row, and walked through the meadow. The party began at noon and ended late in the evening, but it often continued the next day. Older people also came to the meadow in the evening, but not to sing and dance, but, above all, to look for a bride for their son.

Christmas holidays

But the main holidays - the joy and decoration of village life - fell in the winter. And first among them in seniority and veneration was Christmas. It was some kind of bright and joyful holiday, expected by the whole family. Of course, the religious element gave it an unusually strong, leading, one might say, color: after all, the date of the birth of Christ is still the starting point of our chronology. But at the same time, the popular consciousness, guided by the echoes of some vague, even more ancient ritual customs, associated with this day the completion of the peasant’s eternal cycle of difficult work on the land, and the desire to predict whether the next year would be favorable for the farmer or not.

On this day (or the eve of it), the peasant took note of many natural phenomena: is there frost on the trees, is it a clear day or a blizzard, is the sky starry, is the sled path good, believing that thick frost promises abundant grain, a blizzard means swarming of bees , and the stars are the harvest for peas. This whole system of customs and beliefs endowed Christmas with a special meaning - mysterious, enigmatic, going back to unspeakably hoary antiquity and full of vague hopes.

But the universal desire to finally have a tasty meal and take a walk after a dull, boring and exhausting fast completely deprived him of all mysticism, made him close and understandable in an earthly way, and how close and understandable it was.

Try it, sit week after week on jelly and butter, you won’t want it, but you’ll remember how your grandmother told you: “Wait, fasting, it will put your tail between your legs!”

What is true is true, the post had its tail between its legs, although both the barn and the cage were not empty. But with the onset of the holiday, both yesterday’s bread on the table and boring potatoes in the pot came to an end. The meat plot permitted everything: the long-awaited cabbage soup with meat, and lush, oiled pies, shangi. But before sitting down to the table, it was necessary to go to church and take communion.

Weddings in the village

Weddings in the countryside most often took place in the spring or autumn. In order to ensure the happiness of the newlyweds, resistance was shown throughout the wedding. Until the wedding day, the bride resisted what was happening, even if she wanted to get married. Hence her lamentations, which were always improvisation, not violating strict traditional forms. Lamenting, the betrothed girl “screamed loudly,” slapping her hands on the bench and the floor.” And everyone took it for granted, they told her: “If you don’t cry at the table, you’ll cry at the post.”

Resistance to the wedding came not only from the bride, but also from the “comers” - fellow villagers who saw off the bride from her native village on the wedding day. They blocked the way for the wedding train, sang so-called reproach songs, in which they reproached “the groom, scolded and ridiculed the “matchmaker” (or “topman” if he rode a horse, leading the wedding train”).

Matchmaker, matchmaker,
Yes, the crafty devil of a matchmaker,
Yes, the crafty devil of a matchmaker,
He kept walking around and pretending,
Not by way, not by road,

Oh, not by way, not by road -
Side by side,
Side by side,
Yes, dog trails,

Oh, all the dog trails,
Yes, by animal standards,
All animal holes,
Everyone walked around and praised

Everyone walked around and praised
Someone else's far side
Someone else's far side.
All the villain is unfamiliar,
Oh, evil - the miracle of the father's son

It is impossible to imagine the old village without songs. There were a great variety of songs: round dances, games, love songs, wedding songs. During lullabies, the cradle with the baby was rocked; during funeral songs, they said goodbye to the deceased.

Used sources:

(Based on materials from the books by N. Plotnikov “Exhibition Relics” and E.I. Arinian “Religion Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, as well as the memories of old-timers).

The child at school was given an important task: to draw up a family door and paste in photographs of relatives. To be honest, I spent five hours on this task. I drew it myself, pasted in family photos, my daughter couldn’t have done it alone. Well, I spontaneously plunged into history. You will also be interested to know how our ancestors lived.

Look into the past

If you study the history of the family, you can get confused. You need to start with the last name that was given to you at birth. Special companies that have access to archives will decipher the meaning of the surname. They will name the great and famous people who were in your family. The cost of the service is not cheap and you will have to wait, but the result will surprise you. Modern people are not very interested in knowing how the nomadic Slavs lived, made rain and loved nature. But you can look into the last century.

USSR and our ancestors

The Soviet Union was a bright period in people's lives. When the mighty power reunited, our great-grandparents were young (as we are now). The best years were ahead. But the Soviet regime and repression broke the plans. And then things got worse: famine, war, devastation. All men were required to serve (5 years in the army), and then “defend for their homeland.” Find photographs of your great-grandfather, he will definitely be dressed in military uniform.

In the post-war period, faith in a better life emerged. Agriculture began to develop actively. Collective farms opened. Women worked in the fields no less than men. The work was difficult (from morning until late evening). Girls had no right to take sick leave or maternity leave!

The elite and intelligentsia lived in cities. They were luckier. Our ancestors lived modestly in the villages. There weren’t even amenities in the houses; I’m generally silent about TV.

Another terrifying fact: the villagers had no documents. But they lived together, celebrated holidays in entire streets, shared food and secrets.

Dawn in life

During the period of stagnation, our ancestors began to enjoy the benefits of civilization. They:

• went to the city;
• went to the sea;
• went to the cinema;
• bought cars.

Our ancestors lived one day at a time. We constantly dreamed of good things. It remains for us to bring their plans to life. Remember: we are the pride of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

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Recently I was looking at old photographs of my grandparents and great-grandparents. While I was watching, I thought about how our ancestors lived in the 20th century. Of course, everyone is different, but some common features can be found. Life in Russia has always been interesting, we still have an important country, and not some kind of Ireland, but on average we live poorer than our European neighbors.

Our ancestors lived in the USSR

About 30 years ago there was such a country with a size of 22 million square meters. km and with a population of almost 300 million people. Even in the USA at that time there was less population and territory. Our parents remember the USSR well. There were a lot of good and strange things there. For example, it was difficult for Soviet people to travel abroad, so they traveled mainly within their own country and with minimal comfort, which is reflected in the film “Be My Husband.” My ancestors spent their summer vacations in the following places in the 1970s and 1980s:

• Moscow and Leningrad. They served not only as cultural capitals, but also as all-Union shops.
• Baltics. The three republics played the role of internal borders. There were better consumer goods there, and the standard of living was the envy of everyone else.
• Crimea. A popular resort, which is reflected in many films, for example, “Three Plus Two”.
• Georgia and Armenia. People traveled to these republics for the subtropical climate of Adjara and delicious food.

The Soviet period is remembered by almost every family for the processes of urbanization. That is, in the twenties the population was still mostly rural, and in the 1950s–1980s large-scale housing construction took place. This period is reflected in cinema, for example, in the film “Premium”, as well as in painting - “Wedding on Tomorrow Street”.

Our ancestors lived in the Russian Empire

In my childhood, there were still old people alive who were born before the revolution. However, we remember pre-revolutionary Russia poorly, despite all the flattering words addressed to it after 1991. Alas, most Russians at that time had illiterate or semi-literate ancestors and lived in the countryside. You can look at the life of pre-revolutionary Russia in the famous photographs of Prokudin-Gorsky. I looked through everything!

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Using the benefits of civilization, such as a washing machine, baby diapers, and a telephone, I sometimes think about how people used to live without all this. It turns out that they lived normally - they just didn’t know that they could live better, so they put up with their fate. Read on for details.

The way of life of our ancestors

Getting to know the life of our ancestors, sometimes you are amazed... All life is a continuous struggle for survival. The main goal was not to die of hunger.

At dawn, the women got up and went to prepare food for the livestock and family, and then went to the fields. The men did the hard work.

Our ancestors had many children in all centuries. Children had easier work - they had to nurse the younger ones, herd geese, and guard the hut.

When you read about the life of ancient people, you become sad because in their lives there was no place for creativity, self-realization, emotions, pleasures and joy. More precisely, all this happened, but not on such a scale as in our time, but meagerly and briefly.

But, however, people then were physically healthier and more resilient, they lived in harmony with nature.

Our ancestors could realize themselves only through their craft. However, it was also routine, according to a pattern. The blacksmith might hate his job, but he didn’t know how to do anything else, so he forged horseshoes until the end of his days.

Some will say that women should have been happy because they had many children. But, alas, in such living conditions as our distant great-grandmothers inherited, there was no time for love and rapture. And often children were perceived as a burden or, on the contrary, a labor force.

How the surnames of our ancestors were formed

In the Middle Ages, many different professions and crafts began to appear. The most popular were:

• blacksmith;
• potter;
• tanner;
• a carpenter;
• weaver;
• undertaker.

And due to the fact that our ancestors always lived in large clans, for convenience, each family was named according to the occupation of the owner.

Thus, the Kozhevnikovs, Kravtsovs, Melnikovs, Zemtsovs (in the old days, beekeepers were called zemtsy), Furmanovs (cab drivers were previously called furmans) appeared.

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During the winter holidays, my son and I, while in Omsk, visited the local history museum. The exposition turned out to be quite large, and by the end my child was already tired, but it was still difficult to get him out of there. He was especially interested in the way of life of his distant ancestors, and I was particularly interested in more recent times.

Ancient people on Omsk land

The exhibition highlighted the following stages:

• stone Age;
• Bronze Age;
• Iron Age.

As we were told on the excursion, people in these parts lived already in the Stone Age. While hunting, they obtained food for themselves with the help of stones and sharpened sticks, dressed in skins, and huts covered with animal skins served as shelter from bad weather.

Siberians two centuries ago

Siberian peasants lived in communities that placed great importance on helping each other and the poor. For example, houses were usually built all together. The family's household consisted of a log hut with a stove, a summer building, a bathhouse, a house for servants, a stable and a cellar with a well. At the same time, part of the outbuildings was under one roof.

The head of the family was the bolshak - the eldest man. He made all decisions himself, distributed work and only in special cases consulted with others. If the family did not like their elder, they turned to the community so that someone else from the relatives could replace him. Among women the big woman ruled.

The family worked hard all year: plowing the land, sowing, mowing, and grazing cattle. Supplies were replenished by picking berries and mushrooms and fishing. Without pharmacies or doctors nearby, women collected herbs, and each housewife had several medicinal tinctures, just in case.

Siberian settlers

Whenever I encountered Siberians, I was always surprised by the diversity of surnames. It is simply impossible to determine their nationality. And after visiting the museum, I realized what was going on.

It turns out that Siberia has experienced more than one resettlement. Sometimes, voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily, people from different regions moved here. People from the same places settled together, so in the region there are still national villages in which they try to preserve their traditions.

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What does your last name mean? Fedosyuk Yuri Alexandrovich

WHAT DID OUR ANCESTORS DO?

WHAT DID OUR ANCESTORS DO?

In the old days, a person was often called by his occupation. This is evidenced by dozens of modern Russian surnames. For a historian, they are especially interesting; they can be used to supplement the understanding of the occupations and professions of distant ancestors, and especially to gain an idea of ​​professions that are now forgotten and unknown.

Of the representatives of this kind of surnames, we probably have the most Kuznetsovs, Melnikovs and Rybakovs. But there are also less clear ones, the origin of which has been forgotten: some indicate a clear specialization and even individual stages of the technological process of past centuries.

Let's take, for example, in modern terms, textile and clothing production. The descendants of the ancient masters bear the surnames Tkachevs, Krasheninnikovs, Krasilnikovs, Sinelnikovs, Shevtsovs and Shvetsovs (from the word “shvets”, or “shevets”; Ukrainian version - Shevchenko), Kravtsovs (kravets - cutter; Ukrainian surname Kravchenko), Epaneshnikovs (epancha - clan raincoat), Shubnikovs, Rukavishnikovs, Golichnikovs (golitsy are also mittens), Skaterschikovs, Tulupnikovs, etc.

The surname Pustovalov is curious. Its original root is the Don word “polstoval”, that is, a fuller of woolen bedspreads - half-stuffed. This word was simplified into “postoval”, which formed the surname Postovalov. But the meaning of the word “postoval” outside the Don regions was unclear, and the surname Postovalov was rethought, or rather, made meaningless - they began to say and write Pustovalov.

The craftsman who made the “berda” (combs on looms) was called a berdnik - hence the Berdnikovs.

The ancestors of the Kozhevnikovs, Kozhemyakins, Syromyatnikovs, Ovchinnikovs, Shornikovs, Rymarevs, Sedelytsikovs, and Remennikovs were engaged in tanning and saddlery crafts.

The specialists in headdresses were the founders of the Kolpashnikovs, Shaposhnikovs, Shapovalovs, Shlyapnikovs.

Potters, potters, and skull-makers were engaged in ceramics. However, the inhabitants of Cherepovets were also called skulls!

Cooperage products were made by the ancestors of the Kadochnikovs, Bondarevs, Bocharovs, Bocharnikovs, Bochkarevs.

There is a wide range of “flour millers” and “bakers” names. These are first of all the Melnikovs, then the Miroshnikovs, Prudnikovs, Sukhomlinovs, Khlebnikovs, Kalashnikovs, Pryanishnikovs, Blinnikovs, Proskurnikovs and Prosvirins (from proskur, prosvir or prosphora - a specially shaped loaf of bread used in Orthodox worship). It is curious that the surnames Pekarev and Bulochnikov are relatively rare: both original words entered our language later, only in the 18th century.

In the surname Sveshnikov, not everyone can guess the original – a candle; The ancestors of the Voskoboinikovs also made candles and other products from wax.

The ancestors of not only the Maslennikovs, but also the Oleynikovs or Aleinikovs were engaged in the production and sale of oil: oley - vegetable oil.

Hardly any of us have met medical or veterinarians. In the old days, the ancestors of the Lekarevs and Baliyevs (baliy - doctor, healer) were engaged in treating people; the ancestors of the Konovalovs were treating animals.

Many Russian surnames are also derived from various names of “trading people”: prasols and shibai traded in livestock; kramari, mosols, scrupulos and peddlers - small goods; horse dealers, maklaks and lighthouses walked around the villages as buyers, bourgeois sold old clothes, etc. The surname Rastorguev speaks for itself. But the Tarkhanovs seem to be descendants of the Tatars. Meanwhile, “Tarkhan” is a word, although of Tatar origin, but at one time it was widely used in the Russian environment. Tarkhans were the name given to traveling traders, usually Muscovites and Kolomna residents, and a hundred years ago on the Volga one could hear the following song:

Is it from someone else's side?

The Tarkhans have arrived,

Moscow region merchants,

All the guys are great.

The surname Tselovalnikov is also a “trade” name. Tselovalniks were people who were engaged in the government or private sale of wine at retail. It is natural to hear the question: what does the kiss have to do with it? But here’s the thing: when receiving the right to this very profitable trade, the kissers were obliged to “kiss the cross,” swearing that they would trade honestly and give the treasury the required percentage.

And here is the most likely explanation of some other “professional” surnames:

It should be added: “professional” surnames can also include those that originate not from the name of the profession, but also from the object of the craft itself. Thus, a hat maker could be nicknamed simply Shapka, and his descendants became Shapkins, a potter - Pot, a tanner - Skurat (which means a flap of leather), a cooper - Lagun (barrel). Other nicknames were given based on the tool of labor: a shoemaker could be called Awl, a carpenter - Ax, etc.

From literature lessons you know that likening by similarity is called metaphor, and likening by contiguity is called metonymy. Of course, separating metaphorical surnames from metonymic ones is not an easy task. After all, Barrel could be nicknamed for a fat man or a cooper, Shilom for a shoemaker or a sharp-tongued one. And if we know that, say, the founder of the Shilovs was both a shoemaker and a wit, then we just have to guess: which of these properties led to the formation of the surname. Maybe both at once.

And in conclusion, a logical question is: why do surnames reflect the names of the newest professions to such an insignificant extent? Yes, it’s very simple: in the 18th – 19th centuries, specialists, as a rule, already had their own hereditary surnames and did not need new ones. Of the more or less modern surnames of this kind, the Mashinistovs are the most common. But these are hardly the descendants of the first locomotive drivers. At the end of the 18th century, a machinist was a person who services any machine, that is, a machine worker or mechanic.