The emergence of the Udmurts as a separate nation. Perm peoples: Udmurts

1. History of the Udmurts

The Udmurts are one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle Urals. The basis for the formation of the Udmurt ethnic group was the local Finno-Perm tribes, which at different times were influenced by the Scythians, Ugrians, Turks and Slavs.

The oldest self-name of the Udmurts is Ary, that is, “man”, “man”. This is where it comes from ancient name Vyatka land - Arsk land, the inhabitants of which Russians almost until the revolution called Permyaks, Votyaks (on the Vyatka River) or Votskaya Chud. Today, Udmurts consider these names offensive.

Until the mid-16th century, the Udmurts were not a single people. The northern Udmurts quite early became part of the Vyatka land, which was being developed by Russian settlers. After the Mongol invasion, the Vyatka land became the patrimony of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal princes, and in 1489 it became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

The southern Udmurts fell under the rule of the Volga Bulgaria, and later the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. It is generally accepted that their annexation to Russia was completed by 1558.

Thus, over the course of three or four generations, the Udmurts changed their citizenship several times, and many of them were assimilated: northern Udmurts by Russians, southern Udmurts by Tatars.

However, it is precisely Russian state gave the Udmurt tribes the opportunity not only to survive, but also to form as a people. Here are the dry numbers: if in the Peter the Great era only 48 thousand Udmurts were counted, now there are 637 thousand of them - a 13-fold increase in number over 200 years.

The ethnonym “Udmord” itself was first published by the Russian scientist Rychkov in 1770. Its origin is not completely clear. Only the Indo-Iranian basis is quite transparent - murt, mort, which means the same as “ary” - man, husband. Officially self-name Udmurt people recognized in 1932, when the Votsk Autonomous Region was renamed Udmurt.

Russian philologists also created Udmurt writing - based on the Russian alphabet, but with the addition of some letters and signs. The first grammar was published in 1775. The Komi language is closest to Udmurt - they are related in approximately the same way as the Russian and Polish languages. Today, the Udmurt language, along with Russian, is the state language of the Udmurt Republic. The indigenous population makes up approximately a third of its inhabitants.

2. Spiritual culture and religion of the Udmurts

Udmurt paganism is in many ways similar to the beliefs of others Ural peoples, which are characterized by the struggle between good and evil principles. The supreme deity of the Udmurts was called Inmar. His opponent was evil spirit- Shaitan.

Udmurt cosmogonic ideas considered the main element to be water. “Once upon a time, there was water all around the world,” says one of the legends. “The wind blew, collecting the earth into one pile, and the rain poured, tearing up the earth collected by the wind with water. This is how mountains and valleys came about,” says another legend.

The mass conversion of Udmurts to Christianity occurred only in XVIII century. Baptism for the most part was carried out forcibly. All external signs paganism was literally burned out with a hot iron. As a result, images of pagan gods disappeared without a trace. This, however, does not prevent a significant part of the people from stubbornly clinging to paganism.

Epics, legends, and fairy tales occupy a large place in Udmurt folklore. The plots of many of them echo the plots of Russian folk tales. This is understandable: after all, the Udmurts have long lived in close cooperation with the Russian people. Here, for example, is the beginning of one of the fairy tales: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, the oats did not grow.” An analysis begins of why such a disaster happened. According to the priest, the peasants did not pay the tax to Ilya Antonovich (Ilya the Prophet). In addition, it turns out that there is chaos in the heavenly office: no one knows who is responsible for what, so there has been no rain for a long time and the oats have not sprouted.

It is impossible to imagine the folk art of the Udmurts without songs - polyphonic, melodic and melodious. Most of the old Udmurt songs are sad, from which the heart ache.
This is probably one of the most singing peoples. The Udmurt wedding did not begin until one of the stewards gave the opening song. Singing competitions were held to see who could sing who. People who can’t sing were mockingly called “pallyan kyrzas” (literally, “singing to the left”), they say, what can they take from him if he doesn’t even know how to sing.

3. National character and traditions of the Udmurts

Anthropologically, the Udmurts belong to the Ural small race, which is distinguished by the predominance of Caucasian features with some Mongoloidity. There are many redheads among the Udmurts. On this basis they can compete with the world champions in golden hair - the Irish Celts.

Outwardly, the Udmurts are strong and hardy, although not of a heroic physique. They are very patient. Typical traits of the Udmurt character are modesty, shyness, even to the point of timidity, and restraint in expressing feelings. Udmurts are laconic. “His tongue is sharp, but his hands are dull,” they say. However, they appreciate the power of the apt expression: “The wind destroys mountains, the word raises nations”; “A heartfelt word warms three winters.”

Travelers of the 18th century noted the great hospitality and cordiality of the Udmurts, their peacefulness and gentle disposition, “a tendency towards joy rather than sadness.”

Radishchev noted in his “Diary of a Travel from Siberia”: “The Votyaks are almost like Russians... A common fate, common concerns and adversities brought the two peoples closer together, giving rise to friendship and trust between them.”
Perhaps the most expressive building in the Udmurt peasant yard were the two-story kenos-barns. There were as many daughters-in-law in the family as there were kenos in the yard. This word itself comes from the Udmurt “ken” - daughter-in-law.

The traditional Udmurt women's costume was one of the most complex and colorful in the Volga region. The Udmurts have achieved the highest mastery in “linen folklore”.

The traditional ethnoculture of the Udmurts uses the classic color triad: white-red-black. It is no coincidence that it is the basis for the Coat of Arms and Flag of the Udmurt Republic.

During the years of collectivization and Stalinist repressions rural culture The Udmurts suffered enormous damage. The most proactive, enterprising part of the people died. The famous Udmurt moonshine, “kumyshka”, completed the matter. The Udmurts have always stubbornly defended their right to brew moonshine, guided by the belief that they inherited “kumyshka” from their ancestors as a ritual drink. To stop making it means to betray faith, to betray your gods. Therefore, the Udmurt village today, alas, looks as depressing as the Russian one.

Udmurts they have never fought with anyone, never conquered anyone, everyone speaks well of them, all neighboring peoples get along with them and say only good things about the Udmurts.

However, in modern Udmurtia, where the number of Udmurts barely reaches 28%, being an Udmurt is far from honorable, and ideas about the Udmurt mentality are very negative. To be an Udmurt means to be considered a narrow-minded person with a very limited outlook and great ambitions, while having an inexpressive appearance. The Udmurts are mostly not being spread rot Russians , A Tatars, which in Udmurtia, although 6%, but who, from old memory, consider themselves to be a superior race in relation to the Udmurts.

Udmurts, previously called votyaki, these are foreigners of the Permian group of the Finnish tribe. Etymology of the word " death"The self-name of the Udmurts is usually traced back to the Proto-Slavic phrase " Oud-mard", « Mard"This, as you remember from here, is a person, and Oud this is a penis - not necessarily a sexual one, but also a sexual one. In addition, the word “ud” is translated as a branch, sprout, shoot, shoot, and now this root is part of the word “fishing rod”) and “mort” - person. How these two concepts are combined in one word, and why the Udmurts took this exonym as a self-name for science still remains a mystery.
In modern Udmurtia, the word “ votyak“referred to as an uneducated, uncultured, primitive, narrow-minded, backward person. When calling someone a votyak, the teaser does not indicate nationality, but some situation or action.

The Udmurts also include a subethnic group Besermyan. Besermyane V Lately are considered a separate people.

More than half of the Udmurts - 56% - are carriers of the haplogroup N1c1.

The first information about the Udmurts in Russian written sources dates back to the end of the 15th century. At this time, the Udmurts occupied approximately the same territory of the Kama-Vyatka interfluve, where they are settled now. Data from Soviet archeology indicate that the Udmurts formed in the Vyatka and Cheptsa basin on the basis of the ancient population that created the Ananino and Pyanobor cultures of the 1st millennium BC. e. and the first centuries AD e. The territory where monuments of the Ananino culture were found occupies the basins of the middle and upper reaches of the Kama, Vyatka, and lower reaches of the river. Belaya, extends to part of the Volga region up to the Vetluga River and enters the right bank of the Volga in the Kazan region.
At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. The Udmurts became tributaries of the Tatar-Mongols. Having settled along the middle reaches of the Volga, the Tatar-Mongols initially had little interest in the Udmurts and did not seek to penetrate into the northern Trans-Kama region (not to be confused with Zamkadye), but gradually, like all of Rus', the Udmurts found themselves dependent on the Tatar-Mongols and became the object of cruel exploitation from their sides. On the territory of Udmurtia, the Tatars created feudal principalities that retained their independence until the defeat of Kazan, and in fact much longer. The southern part of Udmurtia was a special administrative-tax unit for the Tatars - the Arsk Daruga; The Tatar Murzas who ruled here were called Arsk princes. In Vyatka land, in Karino, located 15-20 km from the mouth of the river. Cheptsy, settled at the end of the 14th century. (1391) Karin Murzas, who extended their power to the entire surrounding Udmurt population.
The Udmurts were subject to yasak, but, in addition to the yasak contribution, the population performed numerous other duties in favor of the Tatars: supply of fodder, yamshchina, etc. The Udmurts had to perform military service and fight in the detachments of the Khan and the Murzas.
Territorially and administratively Udmurts in the XV-XVI centuries. did not represent a single whole, but were divided into several groups. Northern Udmurts (Karin and Chepetsk), who lived in the Cheptsa basin along its right and left tributaries, were part of the Vyatka land; the southern ones, which occupied the territory along the middle reaches of the Kama and Izhu, partly Vyatka and Kilmezyu, were part of the Kazan Khanate. In 1489 the northern Udmurts became part of the Moscow state. The annexation of the Udmurts to the Russian state was completed by 1558.
Traditional forms of farming: arable farming (rye, wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, peas, millet, spelt, hemp, flax) and livestock farming (draft animals, cows, pigs, sheep, poultry). Vegetable gardening played a relatively small role. Cabbage, cucumbers, rutabaga, radishes, etc. were grown for home consumption. In general crops, for example, in 1913, grain crops occupied 93%, flax - 4.1%, potatoes - 2%, perennial grasses - 0.1%. Traditional activities - hunting, fishing, beekeeping, gathering - have long served as an important help. An integral part The traditional economy of the Udmurts included crafts and trades (including logging and timber harvesting, tar smoking, charcoal burning, woodworking, as well as flour milling, carriage work, etc.). Waste trades great development have not received. Spinning, knitting, embroidery and weaving were common occupations for women. The fabrics for the family's needs were entirely home-made; some of the fabrics were sold; Udmurt canvases were valued on the market. In Udmurtia, since the 18th century, a developed metallurgical and metalworking industry (Izhevsk, Votkinsk and other plants) developed, but Udmurts were used only for auxiliary work.
The main social unit of traditional Udmurt society was the land neighborhood community(buskel). The community usually consisted of several associations of related families. While small families predominated, large undivided families remained. Such a family had common property, a land plot, ran a joint household, and lived on the same estate. During the division, those who separated settled in the neighborhood, forming related nests (bolyak, iskavyn), some elements of the common economy were preserved (bolny fields, threshing floor, bathhouses), and relative and neighborly mutual assistance (veme) was widely used when the cooperation of a large number of workers was necessary.
The settlements (groups) of the Udmurts were located mainly in a chain along rivers, near springs. Until the mid-19th century, Udmurt herds were built without streets: each family group was built around the family estate, forming a heap settlement layout. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, according to government decrees, street planning was introduced, with relatives settling in the neighborhood, forming a street or ends with a patronymic name. The historically established types of settlements among the Udmurts were villages, hamlets, and repairs.
The traditional dwelling of the Udmurts is an above-ground log hut (crust) with a cold canopy. The gable plank roof was first placed on the roofs, and later on the rafters. The corners were cut into oblos, the grooves were laid with moss or tow. At the beginning of the 20th century, wealthy families built five-wall houses, with winter and summer halves, or two-story houses with a brick bottom. The Udmurt hut corresponded to the North-Central Russian layout. An adobe oven (gur) was placed at the entrance with its mouth facing the front wall. A hearth was set up on a pole - the northern Udmurts with a suspended one, the southern ones, like the Tatars, with a built-in cauldron. Diagonally from the stove there was a red corner where there was a table and chair for the head of the family. Massive benches stretched along the walls, with shelves above them. They slept on bunks and sheets. In the summer they lived in an unheated one- or two-story cage (kenos, chum) with a gallery. They were often placed under the same roof as the hut, connecting them with a vestibule, or separately, opposite the hut, on the other side of the yard. Each courtyard had a place of worship (kua) for family prayers. It also served as a summer kitchen. Other outbuildings on the Udmurt peasant's estate included a cellar with a canopy or log building - a storage room above it, sheds for firewood and household equipment. The stables and barnyard, separated by a fence, adjoined the clean yard.
The North Udmurt women's costume of the early 20th century consisted of a white canvas tunic-like shirt (derham) with straight sleeves with gussets, with a triangular or oval neckline on the chest, covered with a removable embroidered bib (kabachi). On top of the shirt is a canvas robe (shortdarem) with short sleeves. They were girded with a woven or wicker girdle and an apron without a breast. In the southern Udmurts by this time white clothes It was preserved only as a ritual; for all other cases, derems were sewn from motley fabric, widening towards the bottom and ending with a frill. The chest of the shirt was decorated with appliqué made of calico and colored calico. A camisole or sleeveless vest (saestem) sewn at the waist was worn over the shirt. The southern Udmurts sewed an apron with a high chest. Outerwear – semi-woolen and wool kaftans and fur coats. Shoes - patterned stockings, knitted or sewn canvas socks, bast shoes (kut) with patterned woolen frills, shoes, felt boots.
The headdresses of the Udmurts were a headband (yyrkerttet), a head towel with woven ends hanging down the back (turban, vesyak kyshet), a high birch bark hat, lined with canvas and decorated with coins, beads, shells (ayshon) - an analogue of the Russian kokoshnik. An embroidered blanket (syulyk) was thrown over it. Girls' headdresses - a scarf, a headband (ukotug), a small canvas cap decorated with embroidery, beads, metal plaques or small coins (takya). Women's jewelry: breastplates made of coins, beads, kamali cross-shoulder belts, bootmars, earrings (pelugs), chains (veins), rings, rings (zundes), bracelets (poskes), beads, necklaces (all). White canvas clothing was decorated with embroidery along the hem, chest and sleeves. The girls wove braids (yyrsi punet) with coins and beads. The decorations of the northern Udmurts were dominated by embroidery, beads and beads, while those of the southern Udmurts were dominated by coins.
Men's clothing - white, later a variegated shirt-shirt, variegated trousers, often blue white stripe. They were belted with belts or woolen woven belts. Men's hats - felted hats, sheepskin hats. Shoes – canvas or wool onuches, bast shoes, boots, felt boots. Warm outer clothing did not differ from women's.
The basis of the Udmurt diet is plant products in combination with animals. They actively include wild gifts of nature in their diet: mushrooms, berries, various herbs. Traditional bread products: sour hearth bread (nyan), sour flatbread with milk sauce (zyreten taban), pancakes with butter and porridge (milyom), cheesecakes made from unleavened dough with a variety of fillings - meat, mushroom, cabbage, etc. One of my favorite foods is meat dumplings, cabbage dumplings, potato dumplings, cottage cheese dumplings, etc. Various soups (shyd): with sour dough, noodles, mushrooms, peas, cereals and cabbage; ear; cabbage soup made from wild greens. Okroshka with horseradish and radish are popular. Traditional porridges are made from various cereals, sometimes mixed with peas. Dairy foods: yogurt, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese. In the past, butter and sour cream were festive and ritual foods, just like eggs. Sweet foods - made from honey and hemp seeds. The most typical drinks: bread and beet kvass (syukas), beer (sur), mead (musur), moonshine, berry fruit drinks. The meat was consumed dried, baked, but mainly boiled. After slaughtering cattle, they made blood sausage (virtyrem) and jelly (kualekyasya).
Calendar and ritual holidays associated with important stages of agricultural work played a large role in the life of the Udmurt village. The ritual content of calendar holidays consisted of sacrifices, prayer and song spells, various magical actions designed to ward off misfortunes and failures, ensure the fertility of the land and livestock, the health of family members, and the overall economic and family well-being of the peasant. After the official ritual part there was an entertaining part: fun folk festival with round dances, games, dances. The preparation and holding of holidays were sanctioned by the community.

The Udmurts preserve folk music and song and dance art. Musical instruments: gusli (rez), jew's harp (ymkrez, ymkubyz), pipe and flute made from plant stems (chipchirgan, uzy guma), bagpipes (byz, kubyz). There were also whistles (shulan, chipson), rattles (takyrton), and horns (tutekton). Ancient instruments are gradually replacing the accordion, violin, balalaika, and guitar. Musical folk group from the village of Buranovo, Malopurginsky district of Udmurtia, performing Udmurt and Russian folk songs, as well as various hits of famous Russian and foreign performers, covering them in his native Udmurt language, he represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, according to the results of which he took second place. On January 2, 2014, one of the torchbearers of the relay olympic flame Galina Koneva, a 75-year-old member of the Buranovskie Babushki group, became the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Udmurts, Komi-Zyrians, Komi-Permyaks, whose languages ​​are extremely close (perhaps they even outwardly closer friend to each other than the Baltic-Finnish ones) and come from a single Permian proto-language, separated from other Finno-Ugric languages ​​known to us quite a long time ago (probably at least three thousand years ago), form Permian a group of peoples united not only by the common origin of their languages, but also by their common historical destinies. In the literature, the term is sometimes incorrectly used in relation to Permians Finno-Permian peoples, which is impermissible, since the name Finno-Permian has long been and rightfully used to designate all Finno-Ugric languages ​​and peoples, excluding the Ugrians, that is, from the Baltic Finns to the Permians inclusive. Even less successful are the sometimes encountered names of Permians, such as Perm Finns or eastern Finns, since to Finns these peoples have a very distant relationship (Russians, for example, could just as well be called “East Germans”).

Early stages the genesis of the Permians is traditionally associated with Ananyinskaya archaeological culture (more precisely, a cultural-historical community), widespread in the 8th-3rd centuries. BC. in the basins of the Kama, Vyatka, Vychegda, in the Kazan and Mari Volga regions and had a strong influence on ethnic history the entire forest zone of Eastern Europe (up to Scandinavia) in the Early Iron Age. Probably, at least in some part of the Ananyin tribes one can see speakers of the Perm proto-language in its early stage. Apparently, immediately from the post-Ananyin time, agriculture became the basis of the economy of the Permians, which determined the development of their material and spiritual culture.

Anthropologically, the Perm peoples are heterogeneous; in the genesis of their racial types, two directions of connections apparently prevailed: Western, expressed in the spread among all groups of Komi-Zyryans (to the greatest extent among Western and Northern) Belomorsk(less - Eastern Baltic) type White Sea-Baltic race, bringing them closer to the Baltic-Finnish peoples and Mordovian-Erzeyas, especially with the Vepsians and Karelians - and the south, associated with the spread among the Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks, some southern and central groups of Komi-Zyryans of a peculiar anthropological type called Subural(according to V.P. Alekseev) or sublaponoid(according to K. Mark) - meaning its proximity to Ural race and to laponoid type; in modern literature these options are combined under the name sublanonoid Volga-Kama. The sublaponoid type unites the named Permian groups with the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga region: Mordovians-Moksha, Mari; from actually Ural-Laponoid race it is separated by a clear deviation towards Caucasianism, which is apparently explained by significant mixing of types in the past ancient Ural race with Caucasians in the Volga and Urals regions. At the same time, the ancient Ural component, which became part of the Udmurts, was distinguished by a feature (according to G.M. Davydova) of the structure of the nasal skeleton: a higher bridge of the nose and the absence of a concave nasal bridge.

Self-name udmurt(dial options - urtmurt, udmort, ukmort) is a composite, the second component of which is UDM. murt means “man, man; stranger” and, together with the Komi mort“man, man”, goes back to the Permian-Mordovian *mertch, borrowed from Indo-Iranian languages: In.-Ir. *mbta-“mortal, man.” About the first component, ud-, It should be said that, in all likelihood, this is the ancient self-name of the people, reflected in exoethnonyms - cf.: Mar. oIo-(marij)“Udmurt”, Russian votyak< tyak(form used until the 18th century, where -yak- suffix, another early version - otin, s another suffix)< *ot- . Regarding the origin of ancient Udmurt *odг- (< *ontг- ) “удмурт (самоназвание)” существуют две версии. Согласно первой (К.Редеи), этот корень сохранён в удмуртском языке в виде common noun ud (< * ontg ) “sprout, shoots” and goes back to the Permian-Mari * ontg “shoot, sprout, shoot, young grass, shoots,” which, in turn, is a borrowing from Indo-Iranian languages ​​- cf. other ind. andha-“grass, greenery, shoot.” The transition of the meaning “sprout, shoot, growth, shoots” > ethnonym K. Redei explains by reconstructing the hypothetical (not recorded either in Udmurt itself, or for related words in other Finno-Ugric languages, or in Aryan languages) meaning “meadow” for ancient Udmurt. *odg- and assuming (again, without factual basis) that the ancestors of the Udmurts called themselves “meadow people” - like the meadow Mari. The tension of this hypothesis prompted me, in collaboration with S.K. Belykh, to put forward an alternative hypothesis, according to which the ancient wisdom. * odg-mort is a composite entirely borrowed from some Iranian language, which in the source language could have the form *ant(a)-mart(a) and literally meant “a man of the outskirts, a resident of the borderland” (cf. Ossetian addch, andch “outside” , outside”, Avest. antкma “extreme”, Old Indian anta - “edge, limit, border”).

Written sources record the Udmurts late. Apart from the obviously erroneous ones (such as identifying the people with them Veda“Words about the destruction of the Russian land,” which actually hides the Mordovian name for the Chuvash - veTke, (gen. fall.) veDeN) or very dubious assumptions, the first mention of the Udmurts, more precisely, of the Udmurt land (Votyatz land), The Russian chronicle story about Ivan III’s campaign against Kazan in 1469 should be considered subject to the Kazan Khan. Since the middle of the 16th century, the southern Udmurts under the name (c) Otyaks or even Cheremis, calling Otyaki already constantly appear in Russian documents relating to the territory of the Kazan Khanate. Northern Udmurts (more precisely, Lower Chepetsk) are mentioned under the name (c) Otyaks in Russian documents relating to the Vyatka land since 1521.

Tatars call Udmurts ar . Some researchers (M. Zhirai, V.K. Kelmakov) consider this word to come from the Turkic root *ar “male, husband, man” in the Bulgarian vowel (cf. Chuv. ar “husband, man” with Tat. ir “husband” ), however, from a historical and semantic point of view, this comparison seems at least strange, which casts doubt on its legitimacy. More plausible is the hypothesis of S.K. Belykh, who derives Tat. ar “Udmurt” from Tat. arК “that (opposite) side (of the river)” - through the intermediate form ar(К)lar (plural) “residents of that side”. Attempts by some researchers to see Aryans, Aryan princes, Aryan people, recorded by Russian documents of the 15th-16th centuries in the Lower Kama region - Prikazante and on the Lower Cheptsa, Udmurts based on the similarity of these names with Tatar name Udmurts ar are untenable: these names clearly mean Ar and Karin (Chepetsk) Tatars, residents or people from the city area Arska(Tat. arVa - from art-Va “rear, rear”) - the old specific center of the Volga Bulgaria, and then the Kazan Khanate. Of course, we cannot exclude the possibility of presence among Aryan people some groups of Udmurts who were dependent on the Arsk Tatar princes, but there is no real indication in this regard in the sources (see also below).

The formation of the Udmurts took place on the basis of the South Perm tribes - the descendants of the creators Ananyinskaya archaeological culture. In the 3rd century BC. on the basis of the late Ananyin in the south is formed Pyanoborskaya a cultural community whose distribution area covered areas from the middle reaches of the river. Belaya in the southeast to the Vyatka-Vetluzh interfluve in the northwest. Based Pyanoborskaya communities in the Vyatka basin (“monuments of the Khudyakov type”) folds up Azelinskaya culture III-VI centuries. AD, living in its later version (“Emanayevskaya culture”) until the 9th century and having a further continuation in the Vyatka monuments such as the Kocherginsky burial ground. These cultures are considered by many researchers as an archaeological analogue of the gradually isolated South Permian groups that formed the basis of the Udmurt people: it was on the right bank of the Vyatka and in the Vyatka-Vetluzh interfluve that the ancient contacts of the Mari with the people (mar.) o I o.

Udmurt family traditions also testify to the Vyatka basin as the ancestral territory of the Udmurts. Even in the last century, many groups of Udmurts retained the memory of their belonging to one of the two large Udmurt territorial-compatriot associations - Vatka or Kalmez(today the names of these associations and the memory of the border between them are preserved almost only among some groups of northern Udmurts, in particular among those living in the Uninsky region Kirov region, according to whom fleece live in villages located along the tributaries of the river. Cheptsy (primarily in the Kosa River basin), and Kalmez - along the tributaries of the river Kilmez). Vatka in the 19th century inhabited the Cheptsa basin and came there, according to their legends, from the lower reaches of this river, from the middle Vyatka (this is indicated by the very name of the association - cf. udm. vatka kam “Vyatka”, where kam - "big river"). In legends Kalmezov(possibly etymologically related to udm. k2Lemez “remnant” - version by S.K. Belykh) the memory of the struggle of their heroes with the people has been preserved Por(udm. por - “Mari; alien, hostile people”). The Kalmez settled initially in the Kilmez River basin; by the 19th century they had spread quite widely: from the middle reaches of the Cheptsa in the north to the southern (southwestern) regions of Udmurtia in the south. Judging by some toponyms, it is in Kalmezov the ethnonym od(o) originally existed as a self-name - perhaps due to the settlement of the Kalmez, who were retreating under pressure from the Mari from the lower Vyatka, this ethnonym, southern in origin (see above), penetrated at the end of the first - beginning of the second millennium AD. to all groups of Udmurts and eventually became the self-name of a consolidating nationality.

The Udmurts, in addition to the Vyatka South Permian tribes (archaeological - creators Khudyakovsko-Azelinsky Emanaevsky-Kocherginsky monuments) included other Perm (proto-Udmurt) groups - the creators of the post-Ananyin medieval cultures in the north (Polomskaya and which arose on its basis with the participation of Vyatka-Kilmez groups Chepetskaya culture) and in the south (monuments Verkhneutchansko-Chumoytlinsky circle) Udmurtia.

In the isolation of the ancestors of the Udmurts from their northern relatives in language, the ancestors of the Komi, the most important role was played by the connections of the South Permian (proto-Udmurt) groups with the Turks. Contacts with the Bulgars and their direct linguistic descendants the Chuvash continued from the time of their appearance in the Middle Volga region in the 7th-8th centuries. AD and at least until the 14th century (the names of Moscow entered the southern Udmurt dialects ( musk ) and Kazan ( Kuzon ) in a vocalization indicating a Chuvash rather than a Tatar or Russian source) and were reflected in the presence of about two hundred “Bulgarian”(Bulgaro-Chuvash) borrowings in the Udmurt language (at the same time, no more than three dozen such borrowings penetrated into the Komi languages, which indicates either that the final “disintegration” of the Permian proto-language occurred already in the era of early Bulgar-Permian contacts, or, which is more likely - that Bulgarisms penetrated into the ancient Komi dialects through the ancient Udmurt, and already in the first centuries of the 2nd millennium AD in the north of the Permian area, not the Turkic, but the ancient Russian cultural and linguistic influence became dominant, which prevented the assimilation of Turkisms from the south). Contacts between the Udmurts and the Turks speaking languages ​​of the Kipchak group, primarily the Volga Tatars, began no later than the 14th century and continue to this day. Initially, these contacts took place in two centers: in the south, in Prikazanye, in the region of the city of Arsk (see above), in relation to which among the Zavyatsky Udmurts (living on the right bank of the lower Vyatka, in the Kukmorsky and Baltasinsky districts of Tatarstan and the Mari-Tureksky district of Mari El ) legends have been preserved that udmurt eksej “Udmurt king” lived there, which may indicate the former presence of part of the Udmurts in feudal dependence on the Tatar princes of Arsk - and in the north, in the lower and middle reaches of the Cheptsa River, where at least from the beginning of the 19th century centuries are documented Arsky princes - ancestors of the Karin or Chepetsk Tatars, who were dependent on the local Udmurts until 1588. Perhaps the penetration of Turkic feudal lords from Arsk up the Vyatka to Cheptsa took place even in the Bulgarian era - in any case, this is evidenced by the discovery in the Cheptsa basin, in the village of Gordino, Balezinsky district of Udmurtia, of a stone with a Bulgarian epitaph of 1323.

The origin of Besermyan(udm. beSerman) - an ethnographic group (in 1993 officially recognized as an independent nationality by the Supreme Council of the Udmurt Republic), living in the north and north-west of Udmurtia. The dialect of the Udmurt language spoken by the Besermyans stands apart in the system of modern Udmurt dialects, being similar in various ways to the northern (neighboring), southern and peripheral-southern dialects. Peculiarities material culture Besermyan (primarily traditional women's costume) indicate their extremely close ties in the past with the Chuvash. Therefore, it is obviously no coincidence that XVI-XVII centuries ancestors of the Besermyans who lived along the river. Cap, called in Russian documents Chuvash. At the same time, some features of the spiritual culture of the Besermians (for example, the use of the Arabic formula of addressing Allah in traditional pagan Besermian prayers) may indicate their close contacts in the past with Muslims or even (which, however, is unlikely) about the former professing of Islam by their ancestors. It is important that despite the small number and dispersed settlement of this group, they very clearly separate themselves (more precisely, to a certain extent distance themselves) from the surrounding peoples - the Udmurts and Tatars.

In the word beSerman one should see a distorted thu. * busurman / *b7s7rmen, originating from Pers. moschlmyan < араб. moslem(un) “Muslim” - cf., for example, dialect forms such as Turkmen. Musyrman, Turkish Muslim, Kumyk, Balkar busurman, Hungarian (obsolete, from Turkic) boszörmény, rus. (orb., from Turkic) busurman"Muslim". This word came to the Volga Bulgars from Central Asia (cf. name Besermini, applied to the inhabitants of Khorezm by the papal nuncio br. Joanna de Plano Carpini in the 13th century) during the period of their adoption of Islam in the 9th century and served until the 15th century as a designation for part of the population of Volga Bulgaria and the Kazan Khanate ( besermen Russian sources of the 14th-15th centuries), most likely descendants of the Bulgars. Some part of the Bulgarians Beserman became part of the Karin (Chepetsk) Tatars, as evidenced by historical documents and data from Tatar genealogical legends shedgere. Their origin should be associated with the regions of Zakazanye (Arsk), from where the Besermen XIV-XVI centuries, fleeing feudal strife in the Golden Horde, raids by Russian ushkuiniki and princes and, finally, as a result of the defeat of the Golden Horde and - including - the territory of the former Volga Bulgaria by Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century, they moved up the Vyatka, to the lower reaches of Cheptsa.

Already since 1511, along with Aryans(apparently the ancestors of the Chepetsk Tatars, immigrants from the Arsk land) and (a little later) votyaks(Udmurts) as a population dependent on the Arsk princes in the vicinity of the village. Karino on the lower Cheptsa are mentioned in Russian documents Chuvash or (from 1547) Chuvash Arsk; in the 17th century this name was gradually replaced by Besermyane - We are already talking about the ancestors of modern Besermians.

Obviously, still on the territory of Arsk land Bulgar-Besermen must have had close contacts with the southern groups of Udmurts, the ancient inhabitants of these places (see above). It is possible that some part of the southern Udmurts, who were with bssermen in particularly close contact, adopted from the dominant group certain features of material and spiritual culture (including some elements of Islam) and an ethnonym, beginning to call itself beSerman . It is precisely such an Udmurt group that could be known under the name Chuvash Arsk Russian documents relating to both the Arsk land and the lower Cheptsa (see above), and it is with it that the origin of the Besermians can be associated.

If in the south the Udmurts had close ties with the Turks, then in the north, in middle Vyatka (the area of ​​​​the cities of Vyatka, Slobodskaya, Nikulitsyn) they came into contact with the Russians quite early. Judging by archaeological data, the penetration of Russians into the territory of the Vyatka land began in pre-Mongol times. Both Russian and Udmurt legends indicate that the cities of the Vyatka land were founded on the site of Udmurt “towns”. Apparently, since the 13th century it was the pressure of the Russians that forced the Udmurts to unite Vatka leave Vyatka up the Cheptsa to the east. Although in early Russian sources relating to Vyatka and more northern regions (primarily Perm), the Udmurts are not specifically mentioned under any name (see the first mention above), it should be thought that as part of the multinational population of the Vyatka land - which arose in the Middle Vyatka by the end of the 13th century independent state with a veche form of government - northern Udmurts were present, especially that even today Udmurts live in a number of villages in Slobodsky, Uninsky and neighboring districts of the Kirov region. From this time (XIII century) we can talk about the beginning of Russian influence on the northern Udmurts, comparable to the Turkic (from about the same time - already Tatar proper) influence on the southern Udmurts, which ultimately led to the final formation of noticeable differences in language and culture northern and southern Udmurts. Naturally, we must not forget about the interaction of the southern Udmurts with the Russians (first contacts with groups Eastern Slavs, who lived on the territory of Volga Bulgaria, could have taken place back in Bulgar times), and about the connections of the northern Udmurts with the Chepetsk Tatars. It should be noted that until the 18th century, no real attempts were made to Christianize the Udmurts, even in the north; the vast majority of them remained pagans.

After the conquest of Vyatka by Moscow in 1489 and after the capture of Kazan by the Russians in 1552, all Udmurt lands were united as part of the Moscow state. After 1552, part of the southern Udmurts (mainly - Zavyatsky, that is, living on the right, western bank of the Vyatka), fleeing the danger of forced Christianization, like the Mari (and probably together with them) moved to the east, mainly to the lands of the northeast of modern Bashkiria. This is how groups are formed Trans-Kama Udmurts living today in the south of the Perm region, in Bashkiria, in the Bavlinsky district of Tatarstan and in the Krasnoufimsky district Sverdlovsk region, whose dialects, together with the dialects of the Zavyat Udmurts, make up peripheral-southern adverb of the Udmurt language. A significant part of these Udmurts were not even formally baptized; they adhered to paganism, and their culture and language developed under the strongest Turkic (Tatar and Bashkir) influence.

The mass conversion of the Udmurts to Christianity occurred only in the 18th century, while not affecting some southern groups at all, it was of a formal nature. Dual faith remained almost everywhere. Until the beginning of the 20th century (in some places to this day), most of the Udmurts retained the memory of their belonging to the territorial clan religious associations - to the vorshuds(udm. vorAud, option - Aud vordiS , letters “guardian of happiness”). As a reaction to increasing social and national oppression in the mid-19th - early 20th centuries, there were repeated cases of Udmurts converting to Islam, attempts to return to the reformed pagan religion (sects “lip-worshippers”, “fly-worshipers” - from udm. v2Le p2riS “re-entering”).

At the end of the 19th century, the Udmurts took part in the migration of the peasant population of Russia to the Urals and Siberia; these migrations continued into the 20th century. Today there are Udmurt villages and entire bushes of villages in the Urals, Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan.

Archaeological culture Language Religion Racial type Included in Related peoples Ethnic groups Origin

Ethnic history

The Udmurt people arose as a result of the collapse of the Proto-Perm ethnolinguistic community, and are an autochthonous population of the northern and middle Cis-Urals and Kama region. In the language and culture of the Udmurts, the influence of Russians is noticeable (especially among the northern Udmurts), as well as various Turkic tribes - carriers of Z-Turkic languages ​​(among the southern Udmurts the influence of the Tatar language and culture is especially noticeable).

The ancestors of the southern Udmurts from the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. were under the rule of Bulgaria, and later the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. The North Udmurt lands became part of Russia with the final annexation of the Vyatka Land in 1489. The final entry of the Udmurt lands into the Russian state occurs after the fall of Kazan (the official dates - or 1558 - are conventionally accepted in local historiography).

The emergence of statehood of the Udmurts is associated with the formation in 1920 of the Votskaya Autonomous Region (since 1932 - the Udmurt Autonomous Okrug, the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Udmurt Republic).

Main activities

The traditional occupations of the Udmurts are arable farming, animal husbandry, and gardening played a lesser role. For example, in 1913, grains accounted for 93% of total crops, potatoes - 2%. Crops: rye, wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat, millet, hemp, flax. They raised draft cattle, cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Cabbage, rutabaga, and cucumbers were cultivated in the gardens. Hunting, fishing, beekeeping and gathering played an important role.

Crafts and trades were developed - logging, timber harvesting, tar smoking, flour milling, spinning, weaving, knitting, embroidery. Fabrics for the family's needs were entirely produced at home (Udmurt canvases were valued on the market). Since the 18th century, metallurgy and metalworking have developed.

The main social unit is the neighboring community ( buskel). These are several associations of related families. Small families predominated, but there were also large ones. Such a family had common property, a land plot, a joint farm, and lived on the same estate. Some separated, but at the same time elements of a common economy were preserved, that is, related mutual assistance.

Anthroponymy

The level of education

The 2010 census showed that the level of education of Russian Udmurts is much lower than that of the general population of the Russian Federation. According to the 2010 census, among Udmurts only 11.1% had higher or postgraduate education (23,526 people out of 211,472 people of Udmurt nationality aged 15 years and older who indicated their level of education). At the same time, among Russian residents of all nationalities, the share of people with higher education in 2010 was 23.4% (among people aged 15 years and older who indicated their level of education).

Life and traditions

A typical settlement - village (udm. edge), was located in a chain along the river or near springs, without streets, with a cumulus layout (until the 19th century). Dwelling - above-ground log building, hut ( crust), with cold entryways. The roof was gable, planked, placed on the roofs, and later on rafters. The corners were cut into oblos, the grooves were laid with moss. In the 20th century, wealthy peasants began to build five-wall houses, with winter and summer halves, or two-story houses, sometimes with a stone bottom and a wooden top.

Kuala (more precisely “kua”, -la is a suffix of the local case) is a special ritual building that was obviously known to many Finno-Ugric peoples (“kudo” - among the Mari, “kudo”, “kud” - among the Mordovians, kota - among the Finns, “koda” - among the Estonians, Karelians, Vepsians, Vodians). Usually they stood in the priest's courtyard or in the forest outside the outskirts. By appearance Pokchi and bydym kua were almost the same (only in size): it was a log structure with a gable roof on the males.

The houses had an adobe oven ( gur), with the northern Udmurts hanging a cauldron, and stuck in, like the Tatars. Diagonally from the stove there was a red corner, with a table and chair for the head of the family. There are benches and shelves along the walls. They slept on beds and bunks. The yard included a cellar, stables, sheds, and storage rooms.

The North Udmurt women's costume included a shirt ( Durham), with straight sleeves, neckline, removable bib, robe ( shortcut), girdle. A red fabric bib trimmed with braid and velvet is attached to the shirt under the camisole. Clothes are white. Among the southerners, white clothing was ritual, while everyday clothing was colored and decorated. This is the same shirt, sleeveless vest ( saestem), or camisole, a wool caftan. Shoes - patterned stockings and socks, boots, felt boots, bast shoes ( kut).

Headbands were worn on the head ( yyrkerttet), towel ( turban, vesyak is teeming), a high birch bark cap, lined with canvas with decorations and a bedspread ( Aishon). Girls' clothing - ukotug, scarf or headband, taqya, cap with decorations. Among the northern Udmurts, embroidery, beads, and beads predominated among the decorations, and among the southern Udmurts, coins. Jewelry - chains ( housing), earrings ( pel ogy), rings ( Zundes), bracelets ( poskes), necklace ( all).

• Tolsur ("winter beer") - Christmas
• Vozhodyr (“time of the yuletide evil spirits”) - Christmastide.
• Gyryny poton (“exit of the plow”) or akashka - Easter, the beginning of the spring harvest.
• Gerber - Peter's Day.
• Vyl ӝuk (“new porridge”) - Elijah’s day, preparation of porridge and bread from the new harvest.
• Sӥzyl yuon (“autumn feast”) - the end of the harvest.
• Howl shud, sӥl siyon - the beginning of the slaughter of livestock.

The opening of rivers (yӧ kelyan) and the appearance of the first thawed patches (guzhdor shyd) were also celebrated.

Spiritual culture

The Udmurts created myths, legends, fairy tales (magical, about animals, realistic), and riddles from folklore. The main place is occupied by lyrical song creativity. The epic genre is poorly developed, represented by scattered legends about the Donda heroes; attempts have been made to combine these legends into a cycle like Kalevipoeg.

There is folk music and dance creativity. The dances are the simplest - walking in a circle with dance movements (krugen ekton), pair dancing (vache ekton), there are dances for three and four.

Historical musical instruments: harp (krez), harp (ymkrez), pipe and flute made from grass stems (chipchirgan, uzy guma), bagpipes (byz), etc. In our time, they have been replaced by the balalaika, violin, accordion, guitar.

Folk mythology is close to the mythologies of other Finno-Ugric peoples. It is characterized by antagonistic cosmogony (the struggle between good and evil principles), a three-part division of the world (upper, middle and lower), and the cult of the Sky endowed with personality as the Creator. The supreme deity is Inmar (Kyldysin was also considered one of the main gods). An evil spirit, Inmar's rival - Shaitan. Deity hearth and home, guardian of the clan - vorshud. There are numerous lower spirits: vumurt, vukuzyo - the water spirit, gidmurt - the spirit of the barn, nyulesmurt - the spirit of the forest, tӧlperi - the spirit of the wind, nyulesmurt, telkuzo - the goblin, yagperi - the spirit of the forest, ludmurt - the spirit of meadows and fields, kutos - an evil spirit that sends disease , etc. The influence of folk Christianity and Islam (religious calendar, mythological stories) is very significant.

The pagan clergy was developed - the priest (vӧsya), the butcher (parchas), the healer (tuno). Conventionally, a tӧro can be considered a clergyman - a respected person present at all ceremonies.

Images of folk deities are unknown, although 19th-century ethnographers mention the presence of Udmurt “idols” (made of wood or even silver).

The sacred grove (lud) was revered; some trees had sacred meaning(birch, spruce, pine, rowan, alder).

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Notes

3. According to the 1989 census, there were 714,833 Udmurts and Besermyans in the RSFSR ()
4. (.rar)
5. According to the 1989 census, there were 15,855 Udmurts in Kazakhstan ()
7. Napolskikh V.V. Introduction to historical uralistics. Izhevsk: UdmIYAL, 1997. pp. 48-54.
8. Belykh S.K., Napolskikh V.V.// Linguistica Uralica. T. 30, No. 4. Tallinn, 1994; Sakharnykh D. M.. - Izhevsk: Portal “Udmurtology”, 2008.
9. Right there.
10. www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol4/pub-04-13.pdf
11. www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol3/pub-03-01.pdf
12. Churakov V. S.. - Izhevsk: Journal “Idnakar: methods of historical and cultural reconstruction”, 2007. - No. 1. - pp. 51-64. from the original source January 4, 2012.

Literature

• Pimenov V.V. Udmurts: Ethnosociological essays. - Izhevsk, 1976. (Co-author: L. S. Hristolyubova)
• Pimenov V.V. Udmurts: Experience of component analysis of ethnos. - L., 1977.
• Peoples and Religions of the World: An Encyclopedia. M., 1998.
• Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia: in 2 volumes. M., 1980.
• Peoples of Russia: Encyclopedia / Ed. V. A. Tishkova, M., 1994.
• Peoples of Russia: Picturesque Album. St. Petersburg, printing house of the Public Benefit Partnership, December 3, 1877, Art. 141
• Korobeinikov A. V., Volkova L. A. ISBN 978-5-7029-0374-3
• Sadikov R. R. Traditional religious beliefs and rituals of the Trans-Kama Udmurts (history and modern development trends). Ufa: Center for Ethnological Research UC RAS, 2008.
• Article “Udmurts” // Peoples of Russia. Atlas of cultures and religions. - M.: Design, Information. Cartography, 2010. - 320 pp.: with illustration. ISBN 978-5-287-00718-8
• Vladykin V. E., Hristolyubova L. S. History of ethnography of the Udmurts: A brief historiographical essay with bibliography / Ed. Ph.D. Philosopher Sciences, Associate Professor UdSU L. N. Lyakhova; Reviewers: Dr. History. sciences, prof. V. E. Mayer, Ph.D. history Sciences M.V. Grishkina. - Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 1984. - 144, p. - 2000 copies.(in translation)
• // / Council of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Public Relations Department; Ch. ed. R. G. Rafikov; Editorial Board: V. P. Krivonogov, R. D. Tsokaev. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - Krasnoyarsk: Platinum (PLATINA), 2008. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-98624-092-3.

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1892. - T. VII. - pp. 324-328.
• // Encyclopedic Lexicon: In 17 volumes. - St. Petersburg. : Type. A. Plushara, 1838. - T. XII: VOO-ELM. - pp. 116-117.

Volga Perm Baltic Sami Severnofinskie 3 Ugrians

More than 10 million people From 1 to 10 million people From 500 thousand to 1 million people From 200 thousand to 500 thousand people From 100 thousand to 200 thousand people From 30 thousand to 100 thousand people From 10 thousand to 30 thousand people

An excerpt characterizing the Udmurts

A crowd of men and servants walked across the meadow, with their heads open, approaching Prince Andrei.
- Well, goodbye! - said Prince Andrei, bending over to Alpatych. - Leave yourself, take away what you can, and they told the people to go to Ryazan or Moscow Region. – Alpatych pressed himself against his leg and began to sob. Prince Andrei carefully pushed it aside and, starting his horse, galloped down the alley.
At the exhibition, still as indifferent as a fly on the face of a dear dead man, an old man sat and tapped his bast shoe, and two girls with plums in their hems, which they had picked from the greenhouse trees, ran from there and stumbled upon Prince Andrei. Seeing the young master, the eldest girl, with fear expressed on her face, grabbed her smaller friend by the hand and hid with her behind a birch tree, not having time to pick up the scattered green plums.
Prince Andrei, frightened, hastily turned away from them, afraid to let them notice that he had seen them. He felt sorry for this pretty, frightened girl. He was afraid to look at her, but at the same time he had an irresistible desire to do so. A new, gratifying and calming feeling came over him when, looking at these girls, he realized the existence of other, completely alien to him and just as legitimate human interests as those that occupied him. These girls, obviously, passionately desired one thing - to carry away and finish these green plums and not be caught, and Prince Andrei wished with them the success of their enterprise. He couldn't help but look at them again. Believing themselves to be safe, they jumped out of the ambush and, squealing something in thin voices, holding their hems, ran merrily and quickly through the grass of the meadow with their tanned bare feet.
Prince Andrei refreshed himself a little by leaving the dusty area of ​​the high road along which the troops were moving. But not far beyond the Bald Mountains he again drove onto the road and caught up with his regiment at a halt, near the dam of a small pond. It was two o'clock after noon. The sun, a red ball of dust, was unbearably hot and burned my back through my black frock coat. The dust, still the same, stood motionless above the chatter of the humming, stopped troops. There was no wind, and while driving across the dam, Prince Andrey smelled of mud and the freshness of the pond. He wanted to get into the water - no matter how dirty it was. He looked back at the pond, from which came screams and laughter. The small, muddy, green pond had apparently risen about two quarters high, flooding the dam, because it was full of human, soldier, naked white bodies floundering in it, with brick-red hands, faces and necks. All this naked, white human meat, laughing and booming, floundered in this dirty puddle, like crucian carp stuffed into a watering can. This floundering was filled with joy, and that is why it was especially sad.
One young blond soldier - Prince Andrei knew him - of the third company, with a strap under his calf, crossing himself, stepped back to take a good run and splash into the water; the other, a black, always shaggy non-commissioned officer, waist-deep in water, twitching his muscular figure, snorted joyfully, pouring water on his head with his black hands. There was the sound of slapping each other, and squealing, and hooting.
On the banks, on the dam, in the pond, there was white, healthy, muscular meat everywhere. Officer Timokhin, with a red nose, was drying himself on the dam and was ashamed when he saw the prince, but decided to address him:
- That’s good, your Excellency, if you please! - he said.
“It’s dirty,” said Prince Andrei, wincing.
- We'll clean it up for you now. - And Timokhin, not yet dressed, ran to clean it.
- The prince wants it.
- Which? Our prince? - voices spoke, and everyone hurried so much that Prince Andrey managed to calm them down. He came up with a better idea to take a shower in the barn.
“Meat, body, chair a canon [cannon fodder]! - he thought, looking at his naked body, and shuddering not so much from the cold as from an incomprehensible disgust and horror at the sight of this huge amount bodies rinsing in a dirty pond.
On August 7, Prince Bagration in his Mikhailovka camp on the Smolensk road wrote the following:
“Dear sir, Count Alexey Andreevich.
(He wrote to Arakcheev, but knew that his letter would be read by the sovereign, and therefore, as far as he was capable of this, he thought about his every word.)
I think that the minister has already reported on the abandonment of Smolensk to the enemy. It hurts, it’s sad, and the whole army is in despair, which is the most important place abandoned in vain. I, for my part, asked him personally in the most convincing way, and finally wrote; but nothing agreed with him. I swear to you on my honor that Napoleon was in such a bag as never before, and he could have lost half the army, but not taken Smolensk. Our troops fought and are fighting like never before. I held 15 thousand for more than 35 hours and beat them; but he didn’t want to stay even 14 hours. This is shameful and a stain on our army; and it seems to me that he himself should not even live in the world. If he reports that the loss is great, it is not true; maybe about 4 thousand, no more, but not even that. Even if it’s ten, there’s war! But the enemy lost the abyss...
Why was it worth staying two more days? At least they would have left on their own; for they had no water to drink for the people and horses. He gave me his word that he would not back down, but suddenly he sent a disposition that he was leaving that night. It’s impossible to fight this way, and we can soon bring the enemy to Moscow...
The rumor is that you think about the world. To make peace, God forbid! After all the donations and after such extravagant retreats - put up with it: you will put all of Russia against you, and each of us will be forced to wear a uniform for shame. If things have already gone this way, we must fight while Russia can and while people are on their feet...
We need to command one, not two. Your minister may be a good one in his ministry; but the general is not only bad, but trashy, and the fate of our entire Fatherland was given to him... I’m really going crazy with frustration; forgive me for writing impudently. Apparently, he does not like the sovereign and wishes death for all of us, who advises us to make peace and command the army to the minister. So, I write to you the truth: prepare your militia. For the minister most masterfully leads the guest to the capital with him. Mr. Adjutant Wolzogen casts great suspicion on the entire army. He, they say, is more Napoleon than ours, and he advises everything to the minister. I am not only polite against him, but I obey like a corporal, although older than him. It hurts; but, loving my benefactor and sovereign, I obey. It’s just a pity for the sovereign that he entrusts such a glorious army to such people. Imagine that during our retreat we lost more than 15 thousand people from fatigue and in hospitals; but if they had attacked, this would not have happened. Tell me for God's sake that our Russia - our mother - will say that we are so afraid and why we are giving such a good and diligent Fatherland to the bastards and instilling hatred and shame in every subject. Why be afraid and who to be afraid of? It's not my fault that the minister is indecisive, a coward, stupid, slow and has everything bad qualities. The whole army is completely crying and cursing him to death..."

Among the countless divisions that can be made in the phenomena of life, we can subdivide them all into those in which content predominates, others in which form predominates. Among these, in contrast to village, zemstvo, provincial, and even Moscow life, one can include St. Petersburg life, especially salon life. This life is unchanged.
Since 1805, we have made peace and quarreled with Bonaparte, we have made constitutions and divided them, and Anna Pavlovna’s salon and Helen’s salon were exactly the same as they were, one seven years, the other five years ago. In the same way, Anna Pavlovna spoke with bewilderment about Bonaparte’s successes and saw, both in his successes and in the indulgence of European sovereigns, a malicious conspiracy, with the sole purpose of causing trouble and anxiety to the court circle of which Anna Pavlovna was a representative. Likewise with Helen, whom Rumyantsev himself honored with his visit and considered wonderful smart woman, in the same way, both in 1808 and in 1812, they spoke with delight about a great nation and a great man and looked with regret at the break with France, which, in the opinion of the people gathered in Helen’s salon, should have ended in peace.
Recently, after the arrival of the sovereign from the army, there was some unrest in these opposing circles in the salons and some demonstrations were made against each other, but the direction of the circles remained the same. Only inveterate legitimists were accepted into Anna Pavlovna’s circle from the French, and here the patriotic idea was expressed that there was no need to travel to french theater and that maintaining a troupe costs as much as maintaining a whole corps. Military events were followed greedily, and the most beneficial rumors for our army were spread. In Helen's circle, Rumyantsev's, French, rumors about the cruelty of the enemy and the war were refuted and all Napoleon's attempts at reconciliation were discussed. In this circle, they reproached those who advised too hasty orders to prepare for the departure to Kazan to court and women's educational institutions under the patronage of the Empress Mother. In general, the whole matter of war was presented in Helen’s salon as empty demonstrations that would very soon end in peace, and the opinion of Bilibin, who was now in St. Petersburg and at Helen’s house (every intelligent person should have been with her), reigned that it was not gunpowder, but those who invented, they will solve the matter. In this circle, ironically and very cleverly, although very carefully, they ridiculed the Moscow delight, the news of which arrived with the sovereign in St. Petersburg.
In Anna Pavlovna's circle, on the contrary, they admired these delights and talked about them, as Plutarch says about the ancients. Prince Vasily, who occupied all the same important positions, formed the link between the two circles. He went to see ma bonne amie [his worthy friend] Anna Pavlovna and went dans le salon diplomatique de ma fille [to his daughter’s diplomatic salon] and often, during his constant transfers from one camp to another, he got confused and told Anna Pavlovna what it was necessary to talk to Helen, and vice versa.
Soon after the arrival of the sovereign, Prince Vasily talked with Anna Pavlovna about the affairs of the war, cruelly condemning Barclay de Tolly and being indecisive about who to appoint as commander-in-chief. One of the guests, known as un homme de beaucoup de merite [a man of great merit], having said that he had now seen Kutuzov, who had now been elected head of the St. Petersburg militia, sitting in the state chamber to receive warriors, allowed himself to cautiously express the assumption that that Kutuzov would be the person who would satisfy all the requirements.
Anna Pavlovna smiled sadly and noticed that Kutuzov, apart from troubles, gave nothing to the sovereign.
“I spoke and spoke in the Assembly of Nobles,” interrupted Prince Vasily, “but they did not listen to me.” I said that the sovereign would not like his election as commander of the militia. They didn't listen to me.
“Everyone is some kind of mania for confrontation,” he continued. - And in front of whom? And all because we want to ape the stupid Moscow delights,” said Prince Vasily, confused for a moment and forgetting that Helen should have made fun of the Moscow delights, and Anna Pavlovna should have admired them. But he immediately recovered. - Well, is it proper for Count Kutuzov, the oldest general in Russia, to sit in the chamber, et il en restera pour sa peine! [his troubles will be in vain!] Is it possible to appoint as commander in chief a man who cannot sit on horseback, falls asleep in council, a man of the worst morals! He proved himself well in Bucarest! I'm not even talking about his qualities as a general, but is it really possible at such a moment to appoint a decrepit and blind man, simply blind? A blind general will be good! He doesn't see anything. Playing blind man's buff... he sees absolutely nothing!
Nobody objected to this.
On July 24th this was absolutely true. But on July 29, Kutuzov was granted princely dignity. Princely dignity could also mean that they wanted to get rid of him - and therefore Prince Vasily’s judgment continued to be fair, although he was in no hurry to express it now. But on August 8, a committee was assembled from General Field Marshal Saltykov, Arakcheev, Vyazmitinov, Lopukhin and Kochubey to discuss the affairs of the war. The committee decided that the failures were due to differences in command, and, despite the fact that the people who made up the committee knew the sovereign’s dislike for Kutuzov, the committee, after a short meeting, proposed appointing Kutuzov as commander-in-chief. And on the same day, Kutuzov was appointed plenipotentiary commander-in-chief of the armies and the entire region occupied by the troops.
On August 9, Prince Vasily met again at Anna Pavlovna's with l "homme de beaucoup de merite [a man with great merits]. L "homme de beaucoup de merite courted Anna Pavlovna on the occasion of her desire to be appointed trustee of the women's educational institution Empress Maria Feodorovna. Prince Vasily entered the room with the air of a happy winner, a man who had achieved the goal of his desires.
- Eh bien, vous savez la grande nouvelle? Le prince Koutouzoff est marechal. [Well, do you know the great news? Kutuzov - Field Marshal.] All disagreements are over. I'm so happy, so glad! - said Prince Vasily. “Enfin voila un homme, [Finally, this is a man.],” he said, looking significantly and sternly at everyone in the living room. L "homme de beaucoup de merite, despite his desire to get a place, could not resist reminding Prince Vasily of his previous judgment. (This was discourteous both in front of Prince Vasily in Anna Pavlovna's living room, and in front of Anna Pavlovna, who was just as joyful accepted this news; but he could not resist.)
“Mais on dit qu"il est aveugle, mon prince? [But they say he is blind?],” he said, reminding Prince Vasily of his own words.
“Allez donc, il y voit assez, [Eh, nonsense, he sees enough, believe me.],” said Prince Vasily in his bass, quick voice with a cough, that voice and cough with which he resolved all difficulties. “Allez, il y voit assez,” he repeated. “And what I am glad about,” he continued, “is that the sovereign gave him complete power over all the armies, over the entire region - power that no commander-in-chief has ever had.” This is a different autocrat,” he concluded with a triumphant smile.
“God willing, God willing,” said Anna Pavlovna. L "homme de beaucoup de merite, still a newcomer to court society, wanting to flatter Anna Pavlovna, shielding her previous opinion from this judgment, said.
- They say that the sovereign reluctantly transferred this power to Kutuzov. On dit qu"il rougit comme une demoiselle a laquelle on lirait Joconde, en lui disant: “Le souverain et la patrie vous dekernent cet honneur.” [They say that he blushed like a young lady to whom Joconde would be read, while told him: “The sovereign and the fatherland reward you with this honor.”]
“Peut etre que la c?ur n"etait pas de la partie, [Perhaps the heart was not fully involved],” said Anna Pavlovna.
“Oh no, no,” Prince Vasily interceded warmly. Now he could no longer give up Kutuzov to anyone. According to Prince Vasily, not only was Kutuzov himself good, but everyone adored him. “No, this cannot be, because the sovereign knew how to value him so much before,” he said.
“God only grant that Prince Kutuzov,” said Anpa Pavlovna, “takes real power and does not allow anyone to put a spoke in his wheels - des batons dans les roues.”
Prince Vasily immediately realized who this nobody was. He said in a whisper:
- I know for sure that Kutuzov, as an indispensable condition, ordered that the heir to the crown prince not be with the army: Vous savez ce qu"il a dit a l"Empereur? [Do you know what he said to the sovereign?] - And Prince Vasily repeated the words that Kutuzov allegedly said to the sovereign: “I cannot punish him if he does something bad, and reward him if he does something good.” ABOUT! this is the smartest man, Prince Kutuzov, et quel caractere. Oh je le connais de longue date. [and what a character. Oh, I've known him for a long time.]
“They even say,” said l “homme de beaucoup de merite, who did not yet have court tact, “that His Serene Highness made it an indispensable condition that the sovereign himself should not come to the army.
As soon as he said this, in an instant Prince Vasily and Anna Pavlovna turned away from him and sadly, with a sigh about his naivety, looked at each other.

While this was happening in St. Petersburg, the French had already passed Smolensk and were moving closer and closer to Moscow. The historian of Napoleon Thiers, just like other historians of Napoleon, says, trying to justify his hero, that Napoleon was drawn to the walls of Moscow involuntarily. He is right, as are all historians who seek an explanation of historical events in the will of one person; he is just as right as Russian historians who claim that Napoleon was attracted to Moscow by the art of Russian commanders. Here, in addition to the law of retrospectivity (recurrence), which represents everything that has passed as preparation for an accomplished fact, there is also reciprocity, which confuses the whole matter. A good player who has lost at chess is sincerely convinced that his loss was due to his mistake, and he looks for this mistake at the beginning of his game, but forgets that in every step of his, throughout the entire game, there were the same mistakes that none his move was not perfect. The error to which he draws attention is noticeable to him only because the enemy took advantage of it. How much more complex than this is the game of war, taking place in certain conditions of time, and where it is not one will that guides lifeless machines, but where everything stems from countless collisions of various arbitrarinesses?