What peoples lived in the Urals in ancient times. What peoples inhabit the Urals

This date is intended to celebrate the richness of indigenous cultures and to think about addressing the problems associated with the oppression of small nationalities.

Ethnographers agree that the indigenous people of the Southern Urals are the Bashkirs. Today, nothing threatens the Bashkir ethnic group - from the point of view of the law, all citizens of the Russian Federation are equal, regardless of nationality. But a culture that has been created over centuries can eventually dissolve in the rhythm of modern life.

Most Bashkirs live in the Republic of Bashkortostan, and only a small part live in the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions: according to the 2010 census, approximately 163 thousand South Urals consider themselves Bashkirs.

The most striking facets of a people's culture are their legends, clothing and cuisine. Let's get to know them.

Soon the fairy tale will tell...

There is no people without fairy tales and legends. The Bashkirs also have a lot of them: from the large-scale poetic epic “Ural Batyr” to short fables about miracles and ingenuity. Legends are also told about where the Bashkirs themselves came from. “In ancient times, our ancestors wandered from one area to another. One day they came across a pack of wolves. The wolf leader separated from the pack, stood in front of the nomadic caravan and led it further. Our ancestors followed the wolf for a long time until they reached a fertile land, abundant with rich meadows, pastures and forests teeming with animals. And the dazzlingly sparkling marvelous mountains here reached the clouds. Having reached them, the leader stopped. After consulting among themselves, the elders decided: “We will not find a land more beautiful than this. There is nothing like it in the whole wide world. Let us stop here and make it our camp.” And they began to live on this land, the beauty and wealth of which has no equal. They set up yurts, began to hunt and raise livestock. Since then, our ancestors began to be called “Bashkorttar”, i.e. people who came for the main wolf. Previously, the wolf was called “Kort”. Bash kort means “head wolf”. This is where the word “Bashkort” - “Bashkir” came from.

Bashkir at his house (Yahya). Photo by S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1910

In Bashkir fairy tales, frisky magical horses gallop, daring warriors jokingly crush mountains and reach the sun with arrows, cunning poor people defeat greedy warriors. Where the Ural Mountains came from and why there are so many lakes around them - ancient storytellers knew everything. However, until now, hardly half of the Bashkir legends have been translated into Russian.

Feast on the mountain

Since ancient times, the Bashkirs were engaged in cattle breeding, and if there was a forest nearby, then beekeeping. Therefore, almost all national dishes contain meat, preferably lamb or horse meat, and most sweets and drinks are made with honey. Traditional Bashkir food is very satisfying; boiled pieces of dough of various shapes or potatoes are added to the meat. Milk products occupy an important place: katyk, ayran, kumis, korot (salted cottage cheese).

Ayran Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

There is practically no place to try traditional dishes of Bashkir cuisine in Chelyabinsk, but most of them can be prepared at home. At the same time, the housewife will not have to rack her brains over what to serve for the first course and what for the second: many Bashkir dishes are “universal”. For example, for kullama, the flesh of lamb or beef, cut into small pieces, is separately boiled with seasonings, then the dough is kneaded from flour, salted water and eggs, divided into small balls (salma) and boiled in the prepared broth. When serving, pieces of meat and salma are placed on each plate and filled with broth. This dish will successfully replace the usual soup and side dishes combined.

But if your soul requires a more substantial meal, you can cook shurpa (the same kullama, only with potatoes) for the first course, and meat stuffed with eggs for the second course. It is prepared like this: beef tenderloin is stripped of tendons, cut on one side in the form of a bag and stuffed with hard-boiled eggs. The hole is sewn up, the meat is sprinkled with salt and pepper and fried in a frying pan, brought to readiness in the oven, periodically pouring over the released juice and fat.

Balish Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Next - tea. It should be strong, aromatic (you can add blackcurrant and strawberry leaves to the brew) and always with milk. Baursaks (pieces of dough fried in oil) or various belishi (pies) are served with tea.

They meet you by their clothes

The national clothing of the Bashkirs is multi-layered: under the thick outer robe it was necessary to wear several thinner ones. Women's outerwear could be fitted, but a belt - with a forged buckle and various decorations - was reserved only for men. The headdresses were made of felt and fur and richly embroidered, and the younger the person, the brighter the colors could be. Where there was a lot of livestock, almost everyone could afford leather shoes. Among the decorations, Bashkir women especially loved silver and coral - they traded them with eastern merchants for honey and furs. The light metal was credited with the ability to ward off evil spirits, so the costume included many noisy silver pendants. There was even a proverb that a Bashkir woman can first be heard, then seen. Corals were associated with fertility and wealth and were considered a mandatory gift from the groom to the bride before the wedding.

Bashkirs. Painting by M. Bukar, 1872 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Now that most Bashkirs live in cities, the national costume in its traditional form can only be seen during performances of dance groups. However, the same can be said about almost all the peoples inhabiting our country, so there is nothing unusual about this.

The traditions of the peoples of the Urals have interested me for a long time. Do you know what I suddenly thought? The entire Internet is flooded with blogs, posts and reports about travel and research into the traditions of European countries and peoples. And if not European, then still some fashionable, exotic ones. Recently, a lot of bloggers have gotten into the habit of educating us about life in Thailand, for example.

I myself am attracted by super popular places of unprecedented beauty (ah, my favorite!). But peoples inhabited every corner of our planet, sometimes even seemingly not entirely suitable for habitation. And everywhere they settled down, acquired their own rituals, holidays, and traditions. And surely this culture of some small nations is no less interesting? In general, I decided, in addition to my long-standing objects of interest, to slowly add new, unexplored traditions. And today I’ll take for consideration... well, at least this: the Urals, the border between Europe and Asia.

Peoples of the Urals and their traditions

The Urals is a multinational region. In addition to the main indigenous peoples (Komi, Udmurts, Nenets, Bashkirs, Tatars), it is also inhabited by Russians, Chuvashs, Ukrainians, and Mordovians. And this is still an incomplete list. Of course, I will begin my research with a certain general culture of the peoples of the Urals, without dividing it into national fragments.

For residents of Europe, this region was inaccessible in the old days. The sea route to the Urals could only run through the northern, extremely harsh and dangerous seas. And it was not easy to get there by land - dense forests and the fragmentation of the territories of the Urals between different peoples, who were often not on very good neighborly relations, were an obstacle.

Therefore, the cultural traditions of the peoples of the Urals developed for quite a long time in an atmosphere of originality. Imagine: until the Urals became part of the Russian state, most local peoples did not have their own written language. But later, with the intertwining of national languages with Russian, many representatives of the indigenous population turned into polyglots who knew two or three languages.

The oral traditions of the peoples of the Urals, passed down from generation to generation, are full of colorful and mysterious stories. They are mainly associated with the cult of mountains and caves. After all, the Urals are, first of all, mountains. And the mountains are not ordinary, but representing - alas, in the past! – a treasury of various minerals and gems. As a Ural miner once said:

“Everything is in the Urals, and if something is missing, it means we haven’t dug it yet.”

Among the peoples of the Urals there was a belief that required special care and respect in relation to these countless treasures. People believed that caves and underground storerooms were guarded by magical powers that could bestow or destroy.

Ural gems

Peter the Great, having founded the lapidary and stone-cutting industry in the Urals, marked the beginning of an unprecedented boom in Ural minerals. Architectural structures decorated with natural stone, jewelry in the best traditions of jewelry art have won not only Russian, but also international fame and love.

However, one should not think that the crafts of the Urals became famous only thanks to such rare luck with natural resources. The peoples of the Urals and their traditions are, first of all, a story about the magnificent skill and imagination of folk craftsmen. This region is famous for its wood and bone carving tradition. Wooden roofs look interesting, laid without the use of nails and decorated with carved “horses” and “hens”. And the Komi people also installed such wooden sculptures of birds on separate poles near their houses.

Previously, I had the opportunity to read and write about the Scythian “animal style”. It turns out that there is such a concept as “Perm animal style”. It is convincingly demonstrated by ancient bronze figurines of mythical winged creatures found by archaeologists in the Urals.

But I’m especially interested in telling you about such a traditional Ural craft as Kasli casting. And do you know why? Because not only did I already know about this tradition before, I even have my own copies of the craft! Kasli craftsmen cast creations of amazing grace from such a seemingly thankless material as cast iron. They made not only candelabra and figurines, but even jewelry, which had previously been made only from precious metals. The authority of these products on the world market is evidenced by the following fact: in Paris, a cast iron Kasli cigarette case had the same price as a silver one of equal weight.

Kasli casting from my collection

I cannot help but say about the famous cultural figures of the Urals:

Pavel Bazhov. I don’t know if today’s children read Bazhov’s fairy tales, but my generation in childhood was in awe of these fascinating, breathtaking tales, which seemed to shimmer with all the colors of the Ural gems.
Vladimir Ivanovich Dal. He is a native of Orenburg, and regarding his contribution to Russian literature, literature, history, and traditions of the peoples of the Urals, I think there is no need to explain anything.
But about the next name - I would like to know more. The Stroganovs are a family of Russian merchants and industrialists, and from the 18th century - barons and counts of the Russian Empire. Back in the 16th century, Tsar Ivan the Terrible granted Grigory Stroganov vast land holdings in the Urals. Since then, several generations of this family have developed not only the industry of the region, but also its cultural traditions. Many Stroganovs were interested in literature and art, collecting priceless collections of paintings and libraries. And even - attention! - the surname left its noticeable mark in the traditional dishes of the Southern Urals. For the well-known dish “beef stroganoff” is the invention of Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov.

Various traditions of the peoples of the Southern Urals

The Ural Mountains are located almost along the meridian for many hundreds of kilometers. Therefore, this region in the north reaches the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and in the south it borders on the semi-desert territories of Kazakhstan. And isn’t it natural that the northern Urals and the southern Urals can be considered as two very different regions. Not only the geography is different, but also the way of life of the population. Therefore, when I say “traditions of the peoples of the Urals,” I will still single out the most numerous people of the southern Urals as a separate item. We will talk about the Bashkirs.

In the first part of the post, I somehow became more interested in describing traditions of an applied nature. But now I want to focus on the spiritual component; it seemed to me that some traditions of the people of Bashkortostan are especially relevant in our time. At least these:

Hospitality. Elevated to the rank of a national cult among the Bashkirs. A guest, no matter whether invited or unexpected, is always greeted with extraordinary cordiality, the best treats are put on the table, and upon parting, the following tradition is observed: giving a small gift. For a guest, there was only one essential rule of decency: to stay for no more than three days :).
Love for children, desire to have a family- this is also a strong tradition of the Bashkir people.
Honoring Elders. Grandfathers and grandmothers are considered the main members of the Bashkir family. Every representative of this people is obliged to know the names of relatives of seven generations!

What I was especially happy to learn was the origin of the word “Sabantuy”. Isn't it a common word? And somewhat frivolous, I thought it was slang. But it turned out that this is the name of the traditional national holiday marking the end of spring field work. It is also celebrated by the Tatars, but the first written mention of Sabantuy was recorded by the Russian traveler I. I. Lepekhin among the Bashkir people.

Features of the formation of the national composition of the Sverdlovsk region

Chapter 1. Formation of the indigenous peoples of the Urals

For many centuries, the Urals remained a crossroads for many peoples. Its geographical location at the junction of Europe and Asia largely predetermined the multi-ethnic composition of the population and its diverse and complex ethnic history. Researchers believe that the ancient Urals belong to the Ural-Altai ethnolinguistic community, and suggest that in the middle of 4 thousand BC. e ancient Ural population was divided into two branches: eastern (presumably the ancestors of the Samoyeds) and western (Finno-Ugric community). In 2 thousand BC. e. The Finno-Ugric community split into Finno-Perm (ancestors of the Komi - Permyaks and Udmurts) and Ugric (ancestors of the Khanty and Mansi) branches. It is these peoples who belong to the aboriginal population of the Urals.

1.1 Komi-Permyaks of the Kama region

The archaeological culture of the Komi - Permyaks - Rodanovskaya (9-15 centuries) - got its name from the settlement of the same name. Rodanovo ancient settlement is one of the largest and most interesting monuments. Now over 300 similar settlements have been discovered in the forested Kama region. During this period, fortified settlements became not only craft and economic centers, but also administrative centers. The economy of the Rodonov people was complex, but at the same time it differed in the ratio of industries depending on natural conditions. In the southern regions, arable farming was developed (there are many archaeological finds of millstones for grinding grain, braids for pink salmon, pits for grain storage), cattle breeding (mainly cow breeding), and less - hunting and fishing. The settlements had large and small log houses. In the northern regions, shifting agriculture was more developed, as well as commercial hunting and fishing. Of the wild animal bones found, about half belong to beavers. Metal processing reached a craft level among the Rodanites. The social structure of the autochthons of the Kama region was characterized by a transition from a tribal community to a neighboring one.

1.2 Komi - Zyryans

The origin of the Komi-Zyryans is currently associated with the Vanvizda (5th - 10th centuries) and subsequent Vym cultures. Vanvizda monuments are distributed from the Middle Pechera to the upper reaches of the river. Kama, from the Ural Mountains to the Northern Dvina. These are unfortified settlements and ground burial grounds. At the settlements, above-ground dwellings, outbuildings and production sites were excavated, including metalological ones: accumulation of slag, crucibles, foundry molds). The main occupations of the population: hunting, fishing and animal husbandry. The center of the formation of the Komi-Zyryan culture was the river valley. Vym. During the formation of the Komi-Zyryan ethnic group, the Baltic Finns and Slavs had a great influence. Monuments of the Vym culture (settlements and burial grounds) are located near modern Komi villages (the topographical position of both is the same). Residents built above-ground dwellings. The funeral rite records the connection with the river and the cult of fire. The monuments contain many metal decorations - bells, strings, etc. A large number of settlements on the river. You could have been connected with the maintenance of the trade route from Rus' to Siberia. Objects of Russian and Western European origin (German, Czech, Danish coins, Russian jewelry and ceramics) were found in the burial grounds.

1.3 Udmurts

As already mentioned, at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. The Udmurt language stands out from the general Perm linguistic community. Different groups of the population took part in the formation of the Udmurt ethnic group (the old Russian name for the Udmurts is Otyaks or Votyaks, the Turkic ones are Ars). Several archaeological cultures are known that reflect these processes. At this time, fortified villages turned into proto-cities. One of these monuments was the Idnakar settlement on the river. Cap. Its area is about 40 thousand square meters. m. Between the outer and inner ramparts there was a populated area (like a posad in Russian cities), and the central area resembled a fortified Kremlin. This was the center of the northern Udmurts. It got its name from the name of the hero - Prince Idna.

At the site, objects made of metal and bone, made with great skill, were found. There are other known settlements associated with the names of heroes - princes - Guryakar, Vesyakar.

During this period, the Udmurt population experienced an increase in arable farming, the development of livestock farming, and crafts, including jewelry and metallurgy, which were not inferior in level to village ones. Based on the finds at the ancient settlements, we can talk about the influence and contacts of the Udmurts with the Volga Bulgars and Russia. The process of consolidation and formation of statehood among the Udmurts that had begun was disrupted in the 13th century. Due to the displacement of the population under the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars.

In the forest belt of the Urals from the river. Vishera and Lozva to Pyshma and Iset in the 10th -13th centuries. There was a Yudin culture, the main features of which coincide with the later Mansi culture. Fortifications and burial grounds of this time are known. Fortifications were built on high river banks or on relatively low terraces. They were surrounded by a 2-3 meter ditch and a rampart, in the construction of which wooden structures were used. The area of the settlements ranged from 400 to 300 square meters. At the Yudinskoye settlement, parallel to the rampart, there were two types of dwellings: tent-type (light) and log houses.

In the burial rite of the Yudin people, there is a cult of the horse, extensive use of fire, and the placement of broken things in the grave (Likinsky burial ground). At the monuments of the Yudin culture, pottery and figurines of seated people, iron knives, arrowheads, fishhooks, axes, jewelry - bells, bracelets, earrings, and noisy pendants were found. Among the listed things there are Slavic, Ural and local ones. The population was engaged in hunting and fishing. The Yudin culture is genetically connected with monuments of the 6th - 9th centuries. in this territory. Based on the funeral rites, patterns, housing design, and the similarity of family signs and images on the writings, the Yudin culture can be defined as the culture of the Mansi ancestors.

1.5 Samoyeds

Polar zone of the Northern Urals and the lower reaches of the river. Ob in the 1st-2nd millennium AD. were the habitat of the ancestors of the Samoyeds. In the Ural language family, the Nenets, together with the Enets, Nganasans and Selkups, form a special Samoyedic group.

Samoidians (Russian medieval sources called them Samoyeds) is an ancient ethnonym that is repeated in different forms in the names of tribes and clans of some peoples of Siberia. Some researchers are attracted here by the name males (the Sami or Lapps currently live on the Kola Peninsula, as well as in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland).

Some scientists associate the formation of the peoples of the Samoyed group with the Kulai culture (V century BC - V century AD), which developed in the territory of the Middle Ob region. Recently, another point of view has emerged about the autochthonous origin of the ancestors of the Samoyeds in the north of Western Siberia, where the continuity of archaeological cultures from the Chalcolithic to the early Iron Age can be traced. “Stone Samoyed,” as the Russians later called the Northern Ural Samoyeds, roamed the Bolshezemelskaya tundra - from Pechora to the Ural ridge.

The formation of the Mari ethnic community on the territory of the Volga-Vyatka interfluve dates back to the 1st millennium AD. Already Jordanes, a Gothic historian of the 6th century, knew the ancient Mari under the name “Oremiscan”. In a Khazar document of the 10th century. they are referred to as “ts-r-mis”, and the ancient Russian chronicler calls them “cheremisya”. The neighboring tribes of the Udmurts and Mordovians played a major role in the ethnogenesis of the Mari. The southern Mari, who lived in the vicinity of Volga Bulgaria, experienced Turkic influence. After the defeat of the Bulgarian state by the Mongol-Tatars, the Mari began to move to the northeast, pushing the Udmurts to the upper reaches of the Vyatka.

In the economy and development of social relations among the Mari, processes similar to those observed among the Udmurts took place.

1.7 Bashkirs

The formation of the Bashkir ethnic group (self-name - “Bajgard”, “Bashkurt”) was difficult due to the high mobility of the tribes of the steppe and forest-steppe zones. According to some scientists, it was based on ancient Turkic tribes, which during the 8th-9th centuries. wandered in the Aral Sea region and in Kazakhstan. According to others, the role of the Ugric and Iranian components in the formation of the Bashkirs should be taken into account. The settlement of the ancestors of the Bashkirs into their modern territory began in the 9th century. This process was long, and at the same time there was an influx of new population groups. Perhaps in the XII-XIII centuries. The formation of the Bashkir ethnic group was influenced by the advance of the Kipchaks into this area. On a map of the 12th century. Arab geographer Idrisi identified the Bashkirs to the west of the Ural Mountains and to the east of Volga Bulgaria. The center of formation of the Bashkirs was the Belebeevskaya Upland. Their main occupations were pastoral or nomadic cattle breeding, and in the northern regions - hunting and beekeeping.

Thus, ethnic processes in the Urals proceeded in a fairly uniform manner along both slopes of the ridge, although on the eastern slope they were somewhat delayed. These processes were based on the development of the aboriginal population, into which ethnic groups of different origins and numbers were constantly being added. This happened most intensively during the era of the Great Migration of Peoples and in the subsequent period, when the development of tribal unions began. It was then that the foundations of large ethnic communities were laid, which became the direct ancestors of the modern nationalities of the Urals.

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Introduction

General information about the Ural peoples
Origin of the peoples of the Uralic language family
Contribution of the Urals to Russian culture

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The ethnogenesis of modern peoples of the Urals is one of the pressing problems of historical science, ethnology and archeology. However, this question is not purely scientific, because In the conditions of modern Russia, the problem of nationalism arises acutely, the justification for which is often sought in the past. The radical social transformations taking place in Russia have a huge impact on the life and culture of the peoples inhabiting it. The formation of Russian democracy and economic reforms are taking place in conditions of diverse manifestations of national identity, the intensification of social movements and political struggle. At the heart of these processes is the desire of Russians to eliminate the negative legacy of past regimes, improve the conditions of their social existence, and defend the rights and interests associated with a citizen’s sense of belonging to a particular ethnic community and culture. That is why the genesis of the ethnic groups of the Urals should be studied extremely carefully, and historical facts should be assessed as carefully as possible.

Currently, representatives of three language families live in the Urals: Slavic, Turkic and Uralic (Finno-Ugric and Somadian). The first includes representatives of Russian nationality, the second - Bashkirs, Tatars and Nagaibaks, and finally, the third - Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, Udmurts and some other small nationalities of the Northern Urals.

This work is devoted to the consideration of the genesis of modern ethnic groups who lived in the Urals before its inclusion in the Russian Empire and settlement by Russians. The ethnic groups under consideration include representatives of the Uralic and Turkic language families.

1. General information about the Ural peoples

Representatives of the Turkic language family:

BASHKIRS (self-name - Bashkort - “wolf head” or “wolf leader”), the indigenous population of Bashkiria. The number in the Russian Federation is 1345.3 thousand people. (1989). They also live in the Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Perm, and Sverdlovsk regions. They speak Bashkir; dialects: southern, eastern, the northwestern group of dialects stands out. The Tatar language is widespread. Writing based on the Russian alphabet. Believing Bashkirs are Sunni Muslims.

NAGAIBAKI, Nagaibakler (self-name), ethnographic group (subethnos) of baptized Tatars of the Volga-Ural region, in the past - part of the Orenburg Cossacks (according to some researchers, Nagaibak can be considered, although close to the Tatars, but an independent ethnic group); live in Nagaibaksky and Chebarkulsky districts of the Chelyabinsk region. According to the 1989 census, Nagaibaks were included in the Tatars, but from primary materials it is clear that 11.2 thousand people called themselves Nagaibaks (not Tatars).

Representatives of the Uralic language family:

MANSI (self-name - “man”), Voguls. The number of people in the Russian Federation is 8.3 thousand people. Mansi are the indigenous population of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a small group also lives in the north-east. Sverdlovsk region They unite with the Khanty under the name. Ob Ugrians. Language - Mansi.

NENETS (self-name - Khasova - “man”), Samoyeds. The number in the Russian Federation is 34.2 thousand people. The Nenets are the indigenous population of Europe. North and North West. Siberia. They live in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Arkhangelsk Region, the northern region of the Komi Republic, the Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the Tyumen Region, the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

UDMURTS, (Votyaks - an outdated Russian name). The number in the Russian Federation is 714.8 thousand people. Udmurts are the indigenous population of Udmurtia. In addition, they live in Tatarstan, Bashkiria, the Mari Republic, in the Perm, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions. They speak the Udmurt language; dialects: northern, southern, Besermyansky and middle dialects. Writing based on Russian graphics.

KHANTY, (self-name - Kantek). The number in the Russian Federation is 22.3 thousand people. Indigenous population of the Northern Urals and West. Siberia, concentrated in the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Among the Khanty there are three ethnographic groups - northern, southern, eastern. They differ in dialects, self-names, economic and cultural characteristics, and endogamy (marriage within their own troupe). Until the beginning of the twentieth century. The Russians called the Khanty “Ostyaks” (possibly from “Asyakh”, “people of the big river”), even earlier (before the 14th century) - Ugra, Yugrich (the name of an ancient ethnonym, cf. “Ugrians”). They speak the Khanty language.

2. Origin of the peoples of the Uralic language family

The latest archaeological and linguistic research suggests that the ethnogenesis of the peoples of the Ural language family dates back to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras, i.e. to the Stone Age (VIII-III millennium BC). At this time, the Urals were inhabited by tribes of hunters, fishermen and gatherers, who left behind a small number of monuments. These are mainly sites and workshops for the production of stone tools, however, on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, uniquely preserved villages of this time have been identified in the Shigirsky and Gorbunovsky peat bogs. Structures on stilts, wooden idols and various household utensils, a boat and an oar were discovered here. These finds make it possible to reconstruct both the level of development of society and to trace the genetic relationship of the material culture of these monuments with the culture of modern Finno-Ugric and Somadian peoples.

The formation of the Khanty is based on the culture of the ancient aboriginal Ural tribes of the Urals and Western Siberia, who were engaged in hunting and fishing, and were influenced by the pastoral Andronovo tribes, with whom the arrival of the Ugrians is associated. It is to the Andronovo people that the characteristic Khanty ornaments - ribbon-geometric - are usually traced back. The formation of the Khanty ethnic group took place over a long period of time, from the middle. 1st millennium (Ust-Poluyskaya, Lower Ob cultures). Ethnic identification of the bearers of the archaeological cultures of Western Siberia during this period is difficult: some classify them as Ugric, others as Samoyed. Recent research suggests that in the 2nd half. 1st millennium AD e. The main groups of Khanty were formed - northern, based on the Orontur culture, southern - Potchevash, and eastern - Orontur and Kulai cultures.

The settlement of the Khanty in ancient times was very wide - from the lower reaches of the Ob in the north to the Baraba steppes in the south and from the Yenisei in the east to the Trans-Urals, including p. Northern Sosva and river Lyapin, as well as part of the river. Pelym and R. Conda in the west. Since the 19th century The Mansi began to move beyond the Urals from the Kama region and the Urals, being pressed by the Komi-Zyryans and Russians. From an earlier time, part of the southern Mansi also went north due to the creation in the XIV-XV centuries. Tyumen and Siberian Khanates - states of the Siberian Tatars, and later (XVI-XVII centuries) with the development of Siberia by the Russians. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Mansi already lived on Pelym and Konda. Some Khanty also moved from the western regions. to the east and north (to the Ob from its left tributaries), this is recorded by statistical data from the archives. Their places were taken by the Mansi. So, by the end of the 19th century. on p. Northern Sosva and river Lyapin, there was no Ostyak population left, which either moved to the Ob or merged with the newcomers. A group of northern Mansi formed here.

Mansi as an ethnic group was formed as a result of the merger of tribes of the Ural Neolithic culture and Ugric and Indo-European (Indo-Iranian) tribes moving in the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e. from the south through the steppes and forest-steppes of Western Siberia and the Southern Trans-Urals (including tribes that left monuments to the Land of Cities). The two-component nature (a combination of the cultures of taiga hunters and fishermen and steppe nomadic cattle breeders) in the Mansi culture continues to this day, most clearly manifested in the cult of the horse and the heavenly rider - Mir susne khuma. Initially, the Mansi were settled in the Southern Urals and its western slopes, but under the influence of colonization by the Komi and Russians (XI-XIV centuries) they moved to the Trans-Urals. All Mansi groups are largely mixed. In their culture, one can identify elements that indicate contacts with the Nenets, Komi, Tatars, Bashkirs, etc. Contacts were especially close between the northern groups of the Khanty and Mansi.

The newest hypothesis of the origin of the Nenets and other peoples of the Samoyed group connects their formation with the so-called Kulai archaeological culture (5th century BC - 5th century AD, mainly in the territory of the Middle Ob region). From there in the III-II centuries. BC e. Due to a number of natural-geographical and historical factors, migration waves of Samoyed-Kulai people penetrate to the North - to the lower reaches of the Ob, to the West - to the Middle Irtysh region and to the South - to the Novosibirsk Ob region and the Sayan region. In the first centuries of the new era, under the onslaught of the Huns, part of the Samoyeds who lived along the Middle Irtysh retreated into the forest belt of the European North, giving rise to the European Nenets.

The territory of Udmurtia has been inhabited since the Mesolithic era. The ethnicity of the ancient population has not been established. The basis for the formation of the ancient Udmurts were the autochthonous tribes of the Volga-Kama region. In different historical periods, there were inclusions of other ethnicities (Indo-Iranian, Ugric, early Turkic, Slavic, late Turkic). The origins of ethnogenesis go back to the Ananyin archaeological culture (VIII-III centuries BC). Ethnically, it was a not yet disintegrated, mainly Finno-Perm community. The Ananyin tribes had various connections with distant and close neighbors. Among archaeological finds, silver jewelry of southern origin (from Central Asia, the Caucasus) is quite common. Contacts with the Scythian-Sarmatian steppe world were of greatest importance for the Permians, as evidenced by numerous linguistic borrowings.

As a result of contacts with Indo-Iranian tribes, the Ananyin people adopted more developed forms of economic management from them. Cattle breeding and agriculture, together with hunting and fishing, took a leading place in the economy of the Perm population. At the turn of the new era, a number of local cultures of the Kama region grew on the basis of the Ananino culture. Among them, the most important for the ethnogenesis of the Udmurts was Pyanobor (III century BC - II century AD), with which an inextricable genetic connection is found in the material culture of the Udmurts. In the 2nd half. 1st millennium AD e. On the basis of the late Pianoborsk variants, the ancient Udmurt one is formed. ethno-linguistic community, which was probably located in the basin of the lower and middle reaches of the river. Vyatka and its tributaries. The top line of Udmurt archeology is the Chepetsk culture (IX-XV centuries).

One of the earliest mentions of the southern Udmurts is found in Arab authors (Abu-Hamid al-Garnati, 12th century). In Russian sources, the Udmurts are called. Aryans and Ar people are mentioned only in the 14th century. Thus, “Perm” for some time apparently served as a common collective ethnonym for the Perm Finns, including the ancestors of the Udmurts. The self-name “Udmord” was first published by N.P. Rychkov in 1770. The Udmurts were gradually divided into northern and southern. The development of these groups took place in different ethnohistorical conditions, which predetermined their originality: the southern Udmurts have Turkic influence, the northern ones - Russian.

Origin of the Turkic peoples of the Urals

The Turkization of the Urals is inextricably linked with the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (2nd century BC - 5th century AD). The movement of the Huns tribes from Mongolia caused the movement of huge masses of people across Eurasia. The steppes of the Southern Urals became a kind of cauldron in which ethnogenesis took place - new nationalities were “cooked”. The tribes that previously inhabited these territories were partly shifted to the north and partly to the west, as a result of which the Great Migration of Peoples in Europe began. It, in turn, led to the fall of the Roman Empire and the formation of new states of Western Europe - barbarian kingdoms. However, let's return to the Urals. At the beginning of the new era, the Indo-Iranian tribes finally cede the territory of the Southern Urals to the Turkic-speaking ones and the process of formation of modern ethnic groups - the Bashkirs and Tatars (including the Nagaibaks) begins.

In the formation of the Bashkirs, a decisive role was played by Turkic pastoral tribes of South Siberian and Central Asian origin, who, before coming to the Southern Urals, spent considerable time wandering in the Aral-Syr Darya steppes, coming into contact with the Pecheneg-Oguz and Kimak-Kypchak tribes; here they are in the 9th century. record written sources. From the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. lived in the Southern Urals and adjacent steppe and forest-steppe areas. The self-name of the people “Bashkort” has been known since the 9th century; most researchers etymologize it as “chief” (bash-) + “wolf” (kort in Oguz-Turkic languages), “wolf-leader” (from the totemic hero-ancestor). In recent years, a number of researchers have been inclined to believe that the ethnonym is based on the name of a military leader of the first half of the 9th century, known from written sources, under whose leadership the Bashkirs united into a military-political union and began to develop modern settlement territories. Another name for the Bashkirs - ishtek/istek was presumably also an anthroponym (the name of a person - Rona-Tash).

Even in Siberia, the Sayan-Altai Highlands and Central Asia, the ancient Bashkir tribes experienced some influence from the Tungus-Manchurians and Mongols, which was reflected in the language, in particular in the tribal nomenclature, and the anthropological type of the Bashkirs. Arriving in the Southern Urals, the Bashkirs partly ousted and partly assimilated the local Finno-Ugric and Iranian (Sarmatian-Alan) population. Here they apparently came into contact with some ancient Magyar tribes, which can explain their confusion in medieval Arab and European sources with the ancient Hungarians. By the end of the first third of the 13th century, at the time of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the process of formation of the ethnic appearance of the Bashkirs was basically completed

In the X - early XIII centuries. The Bashkirs were under the political influence of Volga-Kama Bulgaria, neighboring the Kipchak-Cumans. In 1236, after stubborn resistance, the Bashkirs, simultaneously with the Bulgarians, were conquered by the Mongol-Tatars and annexed to the Golden Horde. In the 10th century Islam began to penetrate among the Bashkirs, which in the 14th century. became the dominant religion, as evidenced by Muslim mausoleums and grave epitaphs dating back to that time. Together with Islam, the Bashkirs adopted Arabic writing and began to join Arabic, Persian (Farsi), and then Turkic-language written culture. During the period of Mongol-Tatar rule, some Bulgarian, Kipchak and Mongol tribes joined the Bashkirs.

After the fall of Kazan (1552), the Bashkirs accepted Russian citizenship (1552-1557), which was formalized as an act of voluntary accession. The Bashkirs stipulated the right to own their lands on a patrimonial basis and live according to their customs and religion. The Tsarist administration subjected the Bashkirs to various forms of exploitation. In the 17th and especially the 18th centuries. The Bashkirs repeatedly rebelled. In 1773-1775, the resistance of the Bashkirs was broken, but tsarism was forced to preserve their patrimonial rights to the lands; in 1789 the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia was established in Ufa. The Religious Administration included the registration of marriages, births and deaths, regulation of issues of inheritance and division of family property, and religious schools at mosques. At the same time, tsarist officials were able to control the activities of the Muslim clergy. Throughout the 19th century, despite the theft of Bashkir lands and other acts of colonial policy, the economy of the Bashkirs was gradually established, restored, and then the number of people increased noticeably, exceeding 1 million people by 1897. In the end. XIX - early XX centuries. There is a further development of education, culture, and a rise in national self-awareness.

There are various hypotheses about the origin of Nagaibaks. Some researchers associate them with baptized Nogais, others with Kazan Tatars, baptized after the fall of the Kazan Khanate. The most well-reasoned opinion is about the initial residence of the ancestors of the Nagaibaks in the central regions of the Kazan Khanate - in Zakazanye and the possibility of their ethnic affiliation with the Nogai-Kypchak groups. In addition, in the 18th century. a small group (62 males) of baptized “Asians” (Persians, Arabs, Bukharans, Karakalpaks) dissolved in their composition. The existence of a Finno-Ugric component among the Nagaibaks cannot be ruled out.

Historical sources find the “Nagaibaks” (under the name “newly baptized” and “Ufa newly baptized”) in the Eastern Trans-Kama region since 1729. According to some sources, they moved there in the second half of the 17th century. after the construction of the Zakamskaya Zasechnaya Line (1652-1656). In the first quarter of the 18th century. these “newly baptized” lived in 25 villages of the Ufa district. For loyalty to the tsarist administration during the Bashkir-Tatar uprisings of the 18th century, Nagaibaks were assigned to the “Cossack service” according to Menzelinsky and others then being built in the area of the upper reaches of the river. Ik fortresses. In 1736, the village of Nagaibak, located 64 versts from the city of Menzelinsk and named, according to legend, after the Bashkir who roamed there, was renamed into a fortress, where the “newly baptized” of the Ufa district were gathered. In 1744 there were 1,359 people, they lived in the village. Bakalakh and 10 villages of the Nagaybatsky district. In 1795, this population was recorded in the Nagaybatsky fortress, the village of Bakaly and 12 villages. In a number of villages, together with the baptized Cossacks, lived newly baptized yasak Tatars, as well as newly baptized Teptyars, who were transferred to the department of the Nagaybatsky fortress as they converted to Christianity. Between representatives of all noted population groups at the end of the 18th century. There were quite intense marital ties. After administrative changes in the second half of the 18th century. all the villages of baptized Cossacks became part of the Belebeevsky district of the Orenburg province.

In 1842, the Nagaibaks from the area of the Nagaibak fortress were transferred to the east - to the Verkhneuralsky and Orenburg districts of the Orenburg province, which was associated with the land reorganization of the Orenburg Cossack army. In Verkhneuralsky (modern districts of the Chelyabinsk region) district they founded the villages of Kassel, Ostrolenko, Ferchampenoise, Paris, Trebiy, Krasnokamensk, Astafievsky and others (a number of villages are named after the victories of Russian weapons over France and Germany). In some villages, Russian Cossacks, as well as baptized Kalmyks, lived together with the Nagaibaks. In the Orenburg district, the Nagaibaks settled in settlements where there was a Tatar Cossack population (Podgorny Giryal, Allabaytal, Ilyinskoye, Nezhenskoye). In the last district they found themselves in a dense environment of Muslim Tatars, with whom they began to quickly become close, and at the beginning of the 20th century. accepted Islam.

In general, the adoption by the people of a special ethnonym was associated with their Christianization (confessional isolation), long stay among the Cossacks (class separation), as well as the separation of the main part of the group of Kazan Tatars after 1842, who lived territorially compactly in the Urals. In the second half of the 19th century. Nagaibaks are identified as a special ethnic group of baptized Tatars, and during the censuses of 1920 and 1926 - as an independent “nationality”.

3. Contribution of the Urals to Russian culture

The richness and diversity of Russian artistic culture are truly limitless. Formed in the process of formation and development of the self-awareness of the Russian people, the formation of the Russian nation, Russian artistic culture was created by the labor of the people - talented folk craftsmen, outstanding artists who expressed the interests and thoughts of the broad masses.

Various regions of Russia poured their gifts into the mighty stream of Russian art. There is no need to list here everything that the Russian people contributed to their artistic treasury. But no matter how amazing the richness of Russian artistic culture is, it cannot be imagined without the Ural contribution. The contribution of the Urals to the artistic culture of Russia was not only great, but also remarkably original. The solid foundation on which the decorative and applied arts of the Urals flourished was industry, its main centers being factories. The importance of industry in the development of the region and its culture was well understood by contemporaries themselves. In one of the official documents we read: “Ekaterinburg owes both its existence and its flourishing state only to factories.” 1

All this was a qualitatively new and unique phenomenon in the history of Russian art. The development of the Ural industry gave birth to a working class, its own working intelligentsia, and awakened creative and social thought. It was a favorable atmosphere for the development of art.

In the 18th century, Ural factories grew thousands of miles away from populated areas, sometimes in deep forests. And already in this fact lies their enormous role in the development of the entire Russian artistic culture: along with the factories, the art they gave birth to grew here. Bearish corners turned into centers of labor and creative activity of the Russian people, despite the terrible oppression and social lawlessness in which it took place. All this now forces us to imagine in a new way the picture of the development of artistic culture in Russia, which can no longer be limited in the East by the blue border of the Volga. The Urals becomes an outpost of Russian artistic culture, an important stage in its further advancement into the depths of Siberia and Asia, to the East. And this is its considerable historical significance.

The Urals are the birthplace of a number of types of Russian decorative and applied art. It is here that the art of painting and varnishing metal products, which have gained so much popularity in the country, originates. The invention of transparent varnish in N. Tagil was of great importance. He imparted extraordinary durability to painted products and further contributed to their fame. Under the undoubted influence of Ural lacquered metal products, combining them with the traditions of local painting, the production of painted trays in Zhestov, which arose at the beginning of the 19th century, was born and grew. The painted chests in Makarievo (now Gorky region) also experienced the influence of painted Ural products.

With good reason, we can consider the Urals to be the birthplace of Russian industrial marble processing, subordinated to the needs of domestic architecture and the creation of monumental and decorative works. It was these features that from the very first steps determined the characteristics of the Ural marble production, in contrast to other regions of Russian stone-cutting art. Academician A.E. Fersman pointed out, for example, that at the Peterhof lapidary factory in the second half of the 18th century, the least amount of marble was polished. 2 The production of vases, fireplaces, and architectural details from marble did not become widespread in the Olonets region; in Altai they processed mainly jasper and porphyry. It is important to note that the Ural masters were the first to attempt to use Ural marble to create easel works of sculpture, in particular portraits.

Ural stone artists were the creators of “Russian” mosaics, which enriched ancient mosaic art.” The method of covering products with stone tiles, known in Italy, was applied to small-sized works. The invention of “Russian mosaic” made the production of monumental decorative works from malachite, lapis lazuli, and some types of picturesque, colorful jasper more economical and opened the way for their even wider development. It was first used by the Urals in architecture, as we saw in the example of columns lined with variegated, red-green Kushkulda jasper.

The industrial Urals raised a number of artistic productions that previously existed in other regions of Russia to new heights and infused them with fresh vitality. He developed and improved the ancient traditions of Russian art. This is what happened with Russian artistic weapons. In Ancient Rus' we know its magnificent examples, perfectly forged and skillfully “stuffed” with gold patterns. 4

Zlatoust steel engraving and precious gilding of blades carried out by Ural craftsmen continued the wonderful traditions of the past. But this was not a mechanical repetition of them, but the development of the very essence of this art, expressing in new historical conditions the ancient love of the people for patterned weapons, glorifying the courage and fortitude of the Russian warrior, his love for the Motherland.

The skill of Russian blacksmiths, minters, and foundries, who created magnificent decorative works, was widely known. The famous researcher of Russian artistic metal N. R. Levinson writes about ancient Russian decorative art: “Various metals, ferrous and non-ferrous, have long been used not only for utilitarian purposes, but also for artistic creativity. Cold and hot forging, embossing, casting - all these types of processing and finishing of the surface of metals or their alloys created diverse opportunities for the artistic and technical perfection of objects." 5

The ancient Russian art of artistic metal processing in the conditions of developed, technically improving Ural metallurgy is rising to a qualitatively new level of its development. Copper dishes decorated with ornaments, the origin and development of Ural bronze, monumental and decorative and chamber cast iron casting, steel engraving - all this is a further continuation of national Russian traditions. The stone-cutting and lapidary art of the Urals also continued the ancient craving for colored stones inherent in the Russian people. Passing the thorny path of development, each type of Ural art enriched the artistic treasure of Russia.

Ural artistic cast iron casting organically merged into Russian architecture when it was permeated with high patriotic ideas. It, expressing the plans of outstanding architects, emphasized the beauty of the buildings, giving it a solemn majesty. Bridges and gratings, cast by the Urals, confidently entered into architectural ensembles and into the everyday bustling life of cities. Cast iron casting in the Urals was associated with the problem of citizenship, which lay at the heart of Russian architecture of the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century.

Artistic stone processing in the Urals has enriched Russian art with magnificent stone-cutting works, mostly classical in form and created from domestic materials by the hands of folk craftsmen. Craftsmen with a deep artistic sense were able to penetrate into the essence of the design of a particular product. The wealth of their imagination both in choosing a natural pattern and in creating a new pattern from malachite or lapis lazuli is truly inexhaustible. Works of Ural stone-cutting art were associated with life. They cannot be viewed as something completely divorced from reality. With all the specificity of artistic forms, they reflected the beauty of the Russian land, the greenery of its forests and fields, the blue expanse of lakes, the depth of the sky, the bright colors of the sunset hours.

All this gave the products of the Ural craftsmen a national character, which is one of the distinctive features of the development of artistic stone processing in the Urals. These products contain human feelings, experiences and impressions, giving the products spontaneity and human warmth. Works of stone-cutting art from the Urals express optimistic, life-affirming content.

In powerful stone vases, in floor lamps and candelabra, one can see not only technically perfect craftsmanship and a unique reflection of the mighty Russian nature, but also a sense of pride of the artistic people, who highly value the inexhaustible riches of their Motherland. This is the patriotic meaning of stone cutting art. Artistic products made from colored Ural stone have become truly Russian classical products, corresponding to the nature of the development of Russian art.

The art of the industrial Urals is a branch of Russian artistic culture. But it also developed in close contact with Western European art. The strength of the Urals and its culture was not in isolation, but in connection with the entire world culture. Many foreign masters of varying degrees of knowledge and creative talent worked in the Urals.

The Italians, the Tortori brothers, who had a good knowledge of marble processing technology, the Germans, the Shafs, who mastered the technique of engraving on steel and gilding, and others, brought some benefit. But no visiting masters could give anything if the seeds of their knowledge did not fall on fertile soil. The industrial Urals were such soil.

Here, in a number of areas, even before the arrival of foreign masters, their own artistic traditions existed. As, for example, this was the case in Zlatoust, where at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century many talented artists worked, whose creativity contributed to the successful development of Zlatoust engraving and the growth of local artistic culture. That is why V. Bokov was completely wrong when he claimed that it was the Germans who “brought culture to Zlatoust a hundred years ago in a remote and remote place.” 7 They brought knowledge of weapons technology, but not culture in the broad sense of the word. It is impossible to unfoundedly deny the study by the Urals of foreign culture, its experience and achievements, as was done in the past, but the gravest mistake would be to underestimate the creative powers of the people.

The patriotic meaning of the art of the Ural masters was manifested in the fact that they created such works of stone, cast iron, steel, etc., which previously seemed unattainable for Russia. And thanks to the skill of the Urals, as well as the art of masters from St. Petersburg, Tula, Altai, Peterhof, Olonets factories and others, such examples of industrial art were created that brought Russia to one of the first places in Europe.

Even contemporaries understood the patriotic significance of Ural art. They sensitively grasped the deepest meaning of the development of artistic culture in the distant Urals, rightly assessing it as a manifestation of the powerful creative forces of Russia. The observer of the first exhibition of Russian manufactured goods in 1829, looking at the Ural painted metal products, directly comes to the conclusion: “According to this article, we can completely do without foreigners.”

With a feeling of deep patriotic pride, the magazine “Domestic Notes” noted the high qualities of Zlatoust’s artistic weapons: “The forging of blades, polishing, drawing, etching, gilding and in general all the finishing of weapons of this production were carried out by their own Russian gunsmiths and are not inferior in perfection to the best Versailles works of this kind.” .

The famous Russian landscape painter Andrei Martynov, having visited the Urals and become acquainted with the artistic processing of stone, admiring the skill and talent of artists from the people, wrote about Ural products, “which in many ways are not inferior to ancient antiques, all this is done by Russian peasants.” The artist also highly appreciated the painted Tagil trays, on which, as he noted, “even masterful painting was visible.”

As if summarizing the opinion of the most advanced representatives of Russian society, the “Mining Journal” wrote in 1826 about the Urals: “From the simple boiler of the Beloretsk plant to the beautiful blade of the Zlatoust factory, everything testifies to the success in our fatherland of industrial arts, which for some time has taken a new flight towards for your improvement."

But the works of the Ural masters gained fame not only in their own country, causing enthusiastic reviews from their contemporaries. Having gone abroad, they did not lose their beauty and impressive strength. At all international exhibitions, stone-cutting products, iron castings, and artistic weapons of the Urals were invariably awarded with awards, acquiring world recognition and significance. For example, the works of Ural stone-cutters at the 1851 World Exhibition in London deserved high praise: “The amazing capitals and vases produced there (Ekaterinburg Lapidary Factory - B.P.) from the heaviest materials, one might say, surpassed any similar works of ancient art ...".

Artwork from the distant Urals spread unusually widely throughout the world: they could be found not only in Europe, but even in distant Australia. They popularized the diversity of Russian art, the work of talented artists from the people.

The art of the industrial Urals marks one of the significant achievements of Russian artistic culture. It reflected creative initiative, the inquisitive mind of a working person, and undying skill. Without it, it is impossible to imagine the entire true scope of Russian decorative and applied art.

Conclusion

Thus, we can draw the following conclusions.

The settlement of the Urals began in ancient times, long before the formation of the main modern nationalities, including Russians. However, the foundation of the ethnogenesis of a number of ethnic groups inhabiting the Urals to this day was laid precisely then: in the Chalcolithic-Bronze Age and during the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. Therefore, it can be argued that the Finno-Ugric-Somadian and some Turkic peoples are the indigenous population of these places.
In the process of historical development in the Urals, a mixture of many nationalities took place, resulting in the formation of the modern population. Its mechanistic division along national or religious lines is unthinkable today (thanks to the huge number of mixed marriages) and therefore there is no place for chauvinism and interethnic enmity in the Urals.

Bibliography

History of the Urals from ancient times to 1861 \ ed. A.A. Preobrazhensky - M.: Nauka, 1989. - 608 p.
History of the Urals: Textbook (regional component). - Chelyabinsk: ChSPU Publishing House, 2002. - 260 p.
Ethnography of Russia: electronic encyclopedia.