Let us now turn to the first Russian sayings. The initial book in its ethnographic overview reports a few fragmentary stories. about the geographical position of Dregovichi and Krivichi. She says that the Slavs, having come from the Danube, settled: “the friends were afraid of the borders of Nripet and Dvina and were afraid of Dregovichi; and the others were afraid of Dvinz and were afraid of Polotsk, for the sake of the river, even to flow into the Dvina, and by the name of Polota, from this they were nicknamed Polochan%.” 4). In another place, the chronicle reports that each tribe had its own princess: “and the Dregovichi are theirs, and the Slovfne are theirs in Novgorod, and others are in Polotz, like and Polochans. and the city of Smolenensk: go there to Krivichi” 5). In the geographical survey we have already seen how much of the land was occupied by the settlements of our tribes. The Dalfe chronicle preserved a fragment about the ethnographic features of the Vrivich tribe, which features were known to the LZtopian only from legend. The latter reports that the Radimichi, Vyatichi, SEFveryans and Yokrivichi “live in the forest, like any other animal, eating everything unclean, and there is shame in them before their fathers and before their daughters-in-law; 6). The exaggerated representation of the Polyanin chronicler, and at that a monk, about the Zrinsky customs of these tribes has already been indicated more than once; features of life from the area of marriage relations and the funeral rite described by him, which he apparently knew well, since
3) Garkavi. Tales of Muslim writers about the Slavs and Russians’ (PV. 1870, pp. 136, 167.
4) Ipatskaya ltop. in ed. Archaeogr. Coma. 1871, b. 3-4.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
66 M. LOVNAR-ZAPOLSKGI.
You could observe these customs in your time (they still do Vyatichi now), it will be of great ethnographic significance 7).
These are the meager geographical and ethnographic details of our sources. But much more important are their hints about the political state of Rus' at that distant time.
The first historical reports about Rus' indicate that its various tribes, living separately, are making attempts to unite, to unite into one state body. Subsequently, under Oleg, the first historical prince of Rus', these attempts were realized and this prince succeeded in uniting the Russian tribes under his rule. But attempts at such a connection have occurred before. About one of them tells Al-Masudi that. The king of the Wolinan tribe Majak Uspfl conquered the Sosfdean tribes, but he failed to keep them in power 8). The constant indications in the chronicles that different Russian tribes lived “0606%”, “kept their princesses”, etc. before the arrival of Rurik, can hardly be attributed to the same account: the chronicles seem to highlight the state of things in the time described, in comparison with the earlier and later (with Oleg®).
Thus, if there were attempts to unite the Russian tribes before Oleg, then these attempts were very insignificant and did not leave any traces. The chronicle repeatedly indicates that each tribe was ruled by “0600$” and had its own “princess”. In addition, we find indications of the existence of separate princes among various tribes, even at a later time. What kind of princes they were, we know for sure. But judging by various pieces of our chronicles, it seems possible to conclude that these ancient princes were no more than leaders and representatives of communities. The ancient Slavs lived in communities. Community life consisted in the fact that several families or clans united for more convenient protection from intruders, etc. d.,