The Ukraine (old)

Before the formation of Kievan Rus', the first Russian state, the territories of the Ukraine were populated by a succession of nomadic tribes. The Slavic tribes were but the most recent of the many peoples who rejoiced in the rich soil, expansive steeps, and navigable rivers of Russia. On its least hospitable coasts, the western and northern fringes of the Black Sea, the Greeks had founded scores of towns as early as the 6th century BC. From early times, Greek culture was very influential on that of the Ukrainians. Economic, cultural and political links were established with the Greeks, who engaged in trade and war with the Hinterland tribes. Furthermore, the Greeks were the first to make literary references to the people of pre-Slavic Ukraine. In the Odyssey, Homer referred to this region as the land of the Cimmerians, a tribe of nomadic horsemen that lived between the Don and the Dniester rivers, who inhabited the land from 1500 to 700 BC. The Scythians, who arrived in the 7th century and were of Iranian origin, established their powerful state between the Don and the Dniester rivers. They established the first major political organization of this territory, possessed an army, collected tribute, and carried on trade with the Greek colonies. However, the Scythians were defeated in the 4th century after they came into conflict with the Macedonians as a result of their territorial expansion.

In the 2nd century BC, the Sarmatians, who were another tribe of Iranian origin, conquered and destroyed the Scythians and amid this turmoil, the Greek colonies decayed. The Sarmatians dominated the steppes until the Goths entered the territory from the West and established the Ostrogothic Kingdom in the 2nd century AD. Nonetheless, the Ostrogothic Kingdom was overthrown by the Huns in the 4th century. For centuries thereafter, the southern plains of Russia were inhabited by a succession of nomad hordes- Bulgars, Avrs, Khazars, Magyars, Patzinaks, Cumans, Slavs and Mongols. In the 6th century, Slavic tribes from the Carpathian mountains and the Vistula valley migrated to the steeps of south and central Russia.

The Slavic tribes, who were northern agriculturists, settled in the valleys of the Dnieper and the Don Rivers. After the Slavic tribes came to dominate the territory, they cleared forests, drained swamps, colonized the land and thus, established the Ukraine. At this time, the common Slavic language began to evolve into subgroups, West, South and East Slavic, to which Ukrainian belongs. The Slavic tribes were mainly sedentary agriculturists, with fortified "horodyshcha" at the center their settlements; however, they also engaged in trade with Arab and Byzantine merchants.

The Slavic tribes became a part of the first Russian state, Kievan Rus', after it was formed in the 9th century. As trade routes developed, the Byzantine "Varangians", or followers of a chieftain, gained the leadership of the local Slavic tribes and through their leadership, the powerful Kievan State was formed. In the early 9th century, the Slavic tribes were attacked from the northwest and the Varangian princes took over the power of the local tribal leaders. The Varangians, who had been simultaneously attacking Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, England, Germany, France and Spain, sent small bands of men into northern Russia to prey upon the communities of the Balts, Finns, and Slavs, and then return with their booty. To protect their robberies with law and order, the Varangians established fortified posts along their attack routes and gradually settled down as a ruling Scandinavian minority of armed merchants among a subject peasantry. By the middle of the 9th century, the Varangians had extended their rule as far south as Kiev. The routes and settlements they controlled were loosely bound into a commercial and political empire called Rus'.

See Also

• Ukrainian intelligentsia

References