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Where did Russia come from? How did Russia become Christian Orthodox? East Slavs in the 7 8 cc. The origin of the Rus state (862). The Norman theory. Kiev princes & Kiev principality in 9 12 cc. (Oleg, Igor, Olga, Svyatoslav, Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh). The adoption of Christianity (988). The decline of Kiev & the origin of Vladimir Suzdal, Galicia Volhynia & Novgorod principalities; disparities between their political and social structures.
Kievan Rus'' and Mongol Periods [Excerpted from Russia: A Country Study, Glenn E. Curtis, ed. (Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1996). Early History Many ethnically diverse peoples migrated onto the East European Plain, but the East Slavs remained and gradually became dominant. Kievan Rus'', the first East Slavic state, emerged in the ninth century A.D. and developed a complex and frequently unstable political system that flourished until the thirteenth century, when it declined abruptly. Among the lasting achievements of Kievan Rus'' are the introduction of a Slavic variant of the Eastern Orthodox religion and a synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures. The disintegration of Kievan Rus'' played a crucial role in the evolution of the East Slavs into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian peoples. The Inhabitants of the East European Plain Long before the organization of Kievan Rus'', Iranian and other peoples lived in the area of present-day Ukraine. The best known of those groups was the nomadic Scythians, who occupied the region from about 600 B.C. to 200 B.C. and whose skill in warfare and horsemanship is legendary. Between A.D. 100 and A.D. 900, Goths and nomadic Huns, Avars, and Magyars passed through the region in their migrations. Although some of them subjugated the Slavs in the region, those tribes left little of lasting importance. More significant in this period was the expansion of the Slavs, who were agriculturists and beekeepers as well as hunters, fishers, herders, and trappers. By A.D. 600, the Slavs were the dominant ethnic group on the East European Plain. Little is known of the origin of the Slavs. Philologists and archaeologists theorize that the Slavs settled very early in the Carpathian Mountains or in the area of present-day Belarus. By A.D. 600, they had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. The East Slavs settled along the Dnepr River in what is now Ukraine; then they spread northward to the northern Volga River valley, east of modern-day Moscow, and westward to the basins of the northern Dnestr and the western Bug rivers, in present-day Moldova and southern Ukraine. In the eighth and ninth centuries, many East Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking people who adopted Judaism about A.D. 740 and lived in the southern Volga and Caucasus regions. The East Slavs and the Varangians By the ninth century, Scandinavian warriors and merchants, called Varangians, had penetrated the East Slavic regions. According to the Primary Chronicle , the earliest chronicle of Kievan Rus'', a Varangian named Rurik first established himself in Novgorod, just south of modern-day St. Petersburg, in about 860 before moving south and extending his authority to Kiev. The chronicle cites Rurik as the progenitor of a dynasty that ruled in Eastern Europe until 1598. Another Varangian, Oleg, moved south from Novgorod to expel the Khazars from Kiev and founded Kievan Rus'' about A.D. 880. During the next thirty-five years, Oleg subdued the various East Slavic tribes. In A.D. 907, he led a campaign against Constantinople, and in 911 he signed a commercial treaty with the Byzantine Empire as an equal partner. The new Kievan state prospered because it controlled the trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and because it had an abundant supply of furs, wax, honey, and slaves for export. Historians have debated the role of the Varangians in the establishment of Kievan Rus''. Most Russian historians--especially in the Soviet era--have stressed the Slavic influence in the development of the state. Although Slavic tribes had formed their own regional jurisdictions by 860, the Varangians accelerated the crystallization of Kievan Rus''. The Golden Age of Kiev The region of Kiev dominated the state of Kievan Rus'' for the next two centuries. The grand prince of Kiev controlled the lands around the city, and his theoretically subordinate relatives ruled in other cities and paid him tribute. The zenith of the state''s power came during the reigns of Prince Vladimir (r. 978-1015) and Prince Yaroslav (the Wise; r. 1019-54). Both rulers continued the steady expansion of Kievan Rus'' that had begun under Oleg. To enhance their power, Vladimir married the sister of the Byzantine emperor, and Yaroslav arranged marriages for his sister and three daughters to the kings of Poland, France, Hungary, and Norway. Vladimir''s greatest achievement was the Christianization of Kievan Rus'', a process that began in 988. He built the first great edifice of Kievan Rus'', the Desyatinnaya Church in Kiev. Yaroslav promulgated the first East Slavic law code, Rus''ka pravda (Justice of Rus''); built cathedrals named for St. Sophia in Kiev and Novgorod; patronized local clergy and monasticism; and is said to have founded a school system. Yaroslav''s sons developed Kiev''s great Peshcherskiy monastyr'' (Monastery of the Caves), which functioned in Kievan Rus'' as an ecclesiastical academy. Vladimir''s choice of Eastern Orthodoxy reflected his close personal ties with Constantinople, which dominated the Black Sea and hence trade on Kiev''s most vital commercial route, the Dnepr River. Adherence to the Eastern Orthodox Church had long-range political, cultural, and religious consequences. The church had a liturgy written in Cyrillic and a corpus of translations from the Greek that had been produced for the South Slavs. The existence of this literature facilitated the East Slavs'' conversion to Christianity and introduced them to rudimentary Greek philosophy, science, and historiography without the necessity of learning Greek. In contrast, educated people in medieval Western and Central Europe learned Latin. Because the East Slavs learned neither Greek nor Latin, they were isolated from Byzantine culture as well as from the European cultures of their neighbors to the west. In the centuries that followed the state''s foundation, Rurik''s purported descendants shared power over Kievan Rus''. Princely succession moved from elder to younger brother and from uncle to nephew, as well as from father to son. Junior members of the dynasty usually began their official careers as rulers of a minor district, progressed to more lucrative principalities, and then competed for the coveted throne of Kiev. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the princes and their retinues, which were a mixture of Varangian and Slavic elites and small Finno-Ugric and Turkic elements, dominated the society of Kievan Rus''. Leading soldiers and officials received income and land from the princes in return for their political and military services. Kievan society lacked the class institutions and autonomous towns that were typical of West European feudalism. Nevertheless, urban merchants, artisans, and laborers sometimes exercised political influence through a city assembly, the veche, which included all the adult males in the population. In some cases, the veche either made agreements with their rulers or expelled them and invited others to take their place. At the bottom of society was a small stratum of slaves. More important was a class of tribute-paying peasants, who owed labor duty to the princes; the widespread personal serfdom characteristic of Western Europe did not exist in Kievan Rus'', however. The Rise of Regional Centers Kievan Rus'' was not able to maintain its position as a powerful and prosperous state, in part because of the amalgamation of disparate lands under the control of a ruling clan. As the members of that clan became more numerous, they identified themselves with regional interests rather than with the larger patrimony. Thus, the princes fought among themselves, frequently forming alliances with outside groups such as the Polovtsians, Poles, and Hungarians. The Crusades brought a shift in European trade routes that accelerated the decline of Kievan Rus''. In 1204 the forces of the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople, making the Dnepr trade route marginal. As it declined, Kievan Rus'' splintered into many principalities and several large regional centers. The inhabitants of those regional centers then evolved into three nationalities: Ukrainians in the southeast and southwest, Belorussians in the northwest, and Russians in the north and northeast. In the north, the Republic of Novgorod prospered as part of Kievan Rus'' because it controlled trade routes from the Volga River to the Baltic Sea. As Kievan Rus'' declined, Novgorod became more independent. A local oligarchy ruled Novgorod; major government decisions were made by a town assembly, which also elected a prince as the city''s military leader. In the twelfth century, Novgorod acquired its own archbishop, a sign of increased importance and political independence. In its political structure and mercantile activities, Novgorod resembled the north European towns of the Hanseatic League, the prosperous alliance that dominated the commercial activity of the Baltic region between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, more than the other principalities of Kievan Rus''. In the northeast, East Slavs colonized the territory that eventually became Muscovy by intermingling with the Finno-Ugric tribes already occupying the area. The city of Rostov was the oldest center of the northeast, but it was supplanted first by Suzdal'' and then by the city of Vladimir. By the twelfth century, the combined principality of Vladimir-Suzdal'' had become a major power in Kievan Rus''. In 1169 Prince Andrey Bogolyubskiy of Vladimir-Suzdal'' dealt a severe blow to the waning power of Kievan Rus'' when his armies sacked the city of Kiev. Prince Andrey then installed his younger brother to rule in Kiev and continued to rule his realm from Suzdal''. Thus, political power shifted to the northeast, away from Kiev, in the second half of the twelfth century. In 1299, in the wake of the Mongol invasion, the metropolitan of the Orthodox Church moved to the city of Vladimir, and Vladimir-Suzdal'' replaced Kievan Rus'' as the religious center. To the southwest, the principality of Galicia-Volhynia had highly developed trade relations with its Polish, Hungarian, and Lithuanian neighbors and emerged as another successor to Kievan Rus''. In the early thirteenth century, Prince Roman Mstislavich united the two previously separate principalities, conquered Kiev, and assumed the title of grand duke of Kievan Rus''. His son, Prince Daniil (Danylo; r. 1238-64) was the first ruler of Kievan Rus'' to accept a crown from the Roman papacy, apparently doing so without breaking with Orthodoxy. Early in the fourteenth century, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople granted the rulers of Galicia-Volhynia a metropolitan to compensate for the move of the Kievan metropolitan to Vladimir. However, a long and unsuccessful struggle against the Mongols combined with internal opposition to the prince and foreign intervention to weaken Galicia-Volhynia. With the end of the Mstislavich Dynasty in the mid-fourteenth century, Galicia-Volhynia ceased to exist; Lithuania took Volhynia, and Poland annexed Galicia. The Mongol Invasion As it was undergoing fragmentation, Kievan Rus'' faced its greatest threat from invading Mongols. In 1223 an army from Kievan Rus'', together with a force of Turkic Polovtsians, faced a Mongol raiding party at the Kalka River. The Kievan alliance was defeated soundly. Then, in 1237-38, a much larger Mongol force overran much of Kievan Rus''. In 1240 the Mongols sacked the city of Kiev and then moved west into Poland and Hungary. Of the principalities of Kievan Rus'', only the Republic of Novgorod escaped occupation, but it paid tribute to the Mongols. One branch of the Mongol force withdrew to Saray on the lower Volga River, establishing the Golden Horde. From Saray the Golden Horde Mongols ruled Kievan Rus'' indirectly through their princes and tax collectors. The impact of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus'' was uneven. Centers such as Kiev never recovered from the devastation of the initial attack. The Republic of Novgorod continued to prosper, however, and a new entity, the city of Moscow, began to flourish under the Mongols. Although a Russian army defeated the Golden Horde at Kulikovo in 1380, Mongol domination of the Russian-inhabited territories, along with demands of tribute from Russian princes, continued until about 1480. Historians have debated the long-term influence of Mongol rule on Russian society. The Mongols have been blamed for the destruction of Kievan Rus'', the breakup of the "Russian" nationality into three components, and the introduction of the concept of "oriental despotism" into Russia. But most historians agree that Kievan Rus'' was not a homogeneous political, cultural, or ethnic entity and that the Mongols merely accelerated a fragmentation that had begun before the invasion. Historians also credit the Mongol regime with an important role in the development of Muscovy as a state. Under Mongol occupation, for example, Muscovy developed its postal road network, census, fiscal system, and military organization. Kievan Rus'' also left a powerful legacy. The leader of the Rurik Dynasty united a large territory inhabited by East Slavs into an important, albeit unstable, state. After Vladimir accepted Eastern Orthodoxy, Kievan Rus'' came together under a church structure and developed a Byzantine-Slavic synthesis in culture, statecraft, and the arts. On the northeastern periphery of Kievan Rus'', those traditions were adapted to form the Russian autocratic state. taken from : http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Kievan.html ____________________ Origins of the Russian People During the pre-Christian era the vast territory that became Russia was sparsely inhabited by groups of nomadic tribes, many of which were described by Greek and Roman writers. The largely unknown north, a region of extensive forests, was inhabited by tribes later known collectively as Slavs, the ancestors of the modern Russian people. Far more important was the south, where the indeterminate region known as Scythia was occupied by a succession of Asian peoples, including, chronologically, the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians. In these early times, Greek traders and colonists established many trading posts and settlements, particularly along the north coast of the Black Sea and in Crimea. Invasions by Early Inhabitants Migratory movements by exterior peoples were facilitated by the stretches of open plain. Such migrations resulted in successive invasions, the establishment of settlements, and the assimilation of new ethnological elements. Thus, in the early centuries of the Christian era, the Asian peoples of Scythia were displaced by the Goths, who established an Ostrogothic kingdom on the Black Sea. In the 4th century AD the invading Huns conquered and thereafter expelled the Goths, destroying Scythia. The Huns held the territory constituting present-day Ukraine and the region of Bessarabiya (now mostly within Moldova) until their defeat in western Europe in 451. Later came the Avars, followed by the Magyars, and the Khazars, who remained influential until about the mid-10th century. Meanwhile, during this long period of successive invasions, the Slavic tribes dwelling northeast of the Carpathian Mountains had begun a series of migratory movements. As these migrations took place, the western tribes eventually evolved as the Moravians, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks; the southern tribes as the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and the slavicized Bulgars; and the eastern tribes as the modern Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The Eastern Slavs became renowned traders, and the systems of rivers and waterways extending through the territory from the Valdai Hills facilitated the establishment of Slav trading posts, notably the cities of Kiev (now Kyiv), in the south, and Novgorod, in the north. The Valdai Hills region in northwestern Russia is the high point of the eastern European plain and the source of most of its rivers. The easy portages in this region allowed the transport of goods from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Most of the expansion and migratory movements of the Eastern Slavs were from the Valdai Hills. Control of this strategic region was an important element in the Russian domination of eastern Europe. The House of Rurik The political organization of the Eastern Slavs was still largely tribal; they had created no unified system through which their constant tribal conflicts could be resolved. According to Russian tradition recorded in the Primary Chronicle, the chief source of much of early Russian history, internal dissension and feuds among the Eastern Slavs around Novgorod became so violent that they voluntarily chose to call upon a foreign prince who could unite them into one strong state. Their choice was Rurik, or Ryurik, a Scandinavian chief, who in 862 became ruler of Novgorod. Two other Scandinavians, Dir and Askold, possibly legendary figures, gained control of Kiev. From the Scandinavians, called Varangians, or Rus, came the name Rossiya, or Russia, meaning "land of the Rus." (It is debated, however, whether Rus is derived from ruotsi, the Finnish name for the Swedes, or from Rukhs-As, from the name of an Alanic tribe of southern Russia.) The establishment of Rurik and the dynasty he founded initiated a period of internal consolidation, expansion of Slav territory, and the spread of the Slavic people, notably toward the northeast and northwest, where the native Finnic strains were largely absorbed or replaced by Slavs. Oleg and Svyatoslav Rurik was succeeded in 879 by his son Igor, a child for whom Oleg, Rurik''s kinsman, ruled as regent. Prince Oleg, realizing the value of the Kiev region, had the Varangian rulers of that city killed in 882 and then united the two centers, establishing his capital at Kiev. He extended Russian rule considerably, subduing neighboring tribes, and he led his raiders as far south as Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), where he concluded a commercial treaty with Byzantium in 911, the first authentically dated event in Russian history. From that time Russian cultural and trade relations with the Byzantine Empire became continually closer. Igor assumed power in 912, and in 945 he was succeeded by his widow, Olga, who became a Christian in 955. In 964 Olga abdicated in favor of her son, Svyatoslav, the first prince of the house of Rurik to bear a Slav name. With his government centered in Kiev, which rose to a preeminent position among Russian cities, Svyatoslav, who was a great military leader, devoted himself to strengthening the Russian position in the south. He led his troops against the Khazars in the southeast; against the Pechenegs, a warlike, nomadic tribe of the Black Sea steppes; and against the Bulgars. Svyatoslav built a great empire, and commerce and crafts increased under his reign. Vladimir the Great The empire was divided among the prince''s three sons, causing dynastic conflicts that were ended in 980, when the youngest son, Vladimir I (see Vladimir, Saint), later known as Vladimir the Great, became sole ruler. The most significant event of his reign was his conversion to Byzantine Christianity in 988 and the institution of that religion as the official religion of the Russian people. After casting off his several pagan wives, he married Anne, sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II. From its inception, the Russian Orthodox Church differed from its Byzantine parent. Services were offered in liturgical Slavonic, and the church enjoyed a large measure of autonomy, even though it remained under the canonical authority of the patriarch of Constantinople and the Russian ruler was in fact its supreme head. Monasteries and churches were built in Byzantine style, however, and Byzantine culture ultimately became the predominant influence in such fields as architecture, art, and music. Yaroslav the Wise Upon the death of Vladimir in 1015, his dominions were divided among his sons, and strife immediately developed. Vladimir''s eldest son, Svyatopolk, called The Accursed (reigned 1015, 1018-1019), held the supreme power and, to secure his position, murdered his brothers Boris and Gleb. Svyatopolk was, in turn, defeated and deposed by his brother Yaroslav the Wise, prince of Novgorod. Yaroslav attempted to recreate the empire of his grandfather, Svyatoslav, and by 1036 had succeeded in making himself ruler of all Russia. With him, the Kievan Rus state reached its greatest power. Yaroslav made Kiev an imperial capital with magnificent buildings, including the notable Hagia Sophia of Kiev (Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom). Schools were opened, and the grand duke revised the first Russian law code, the Russkaya Pravda (Russian Truth). To consolidate the position of his heirs, Yaroslav devised a system of precedence, grading the various principalities from the smallest to Kiev, the most powerful, so that, as a grand duke of Kiev died, each vassal below him was moved to a larger principality, ending with the throne of Kiev. The Decline of Kievan Rus Although this unique pattern of precedence was nominally practiced, Yaroslav''s death in 1054 signaled the decline of Kievan Rus. His sons shared the empire, and each prince tended to divide his lands among his own sons. Kievan Rus became a group of petty states almost continuously at war with one another. One final attempt was made to unite Kievan Rus by Yaroslav''s grandson, Vladimir II Monomachus, but his death in 1125 ended efforts to form an alliance, and the fragmentation continued. Other Kievan Rus principalities challenged Kiev''s supremacy, particularly Galicia and Volhynia in the west; Suzdal'', in the upper and central parts of the Volga basin; Chernigov and Novgorod-Severskiy, in the Desna basin; Polatsk, which included the basins of the Daugava (also known as Western Dvina) and the Beresina; Smolensk, occupying the upper parts of the basin of the Daugava and the Dnieper; and Novgorod, by far the largest, occupying the land bounded by the Gulf of Finland, Lake Peipus, the upper reaches of the Volga, the White Sea, and the Northern Dvina River. The decline of Kiev was due in part to loss of trade following the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and the consequent migration of the people of Kiev to the north. Novgorod became a flourishing commercial state, which rose to a dominant position and in the 13th century was made the site of a major factory of the Hanseatic League. Kiev also lost its importance as the great national and cultural center, its place taken by the cities of Suzdal'', Vladimir, and, ultimately, Moscow. The East Slavic lands became a loose federation of city-states, held together by a common language, religion, traditions, and customs and ruled by members of the multitudinous house of Rurik, usually at war with one another. Difficulties resulted also from depredations on the frontiers. In the west the Poles, Lithuanians, and the Teutonic Knights encroached on East Slavic territory. In the south it was constantly raided by the Polovtzy nomads; one of these raids was the subject of the Russian epic The Lay of Igor''s Host. The Mongol Invasion In the early 13th century a greater danger than any of these menaced Russia from the east. In 1223 the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan appeared in the southeast. The Polovtzy sent for help to the Russian princes, who came to their aid against this common, greater foe. In 1223, in the Battle of the Kalka River (now Kal''mius River), the Polovtzy-Russian coalition was completely routed. After their victory, however, the Mongols were recalled to Asia by the khan and retreated as rapidly as they had come. For 12 years, they made no move in the direction of Russia. Then, in 1237, Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, led the Mongols back to eastern Russia. On their northward march they captured and destroyed most of the major cities in the Vladimir-Suzdal'' region. The Mongol sweep was halted by the difficult terrain of the forests and swamps south of Novgorod, and Batu Khan was forced to change the direction of his armies. In 1240 he swept over the southwest, destroying Kiev after a desperate defense by that city. The Tatars ravaged Poland and Hungary and progressed as far east as Moravia. In 1242 Batu established his capital at Sarai on the lower Volga (near modern Volgograd), and founded the khanate known as the Golden Horde, which was virtually independent of the Mongol Empire. Ethnic Changes In addition to the havoc it created in Russia, the Mongol invasion was determinative in later Russian history. Tatar control destroyed the elements of self-government by representative assembly that had developed in some Russian cities, arrested the progress of industry and culture, and kept Russia more than two centuries behind the countries of western Europe. Tatar customs, law, and government made their influence felt. The region of Kiev was largely depopulated because of massacres and because much of the Russian population had fled west to escape the Mongol advance. One group, culturally influenced by the Poles and Lithuanians, eventually became known as Belarussians, or White Russians. A second group, formed of the Slavic population from the region of Kiev and adjacent regions, became known as Little Russians, or Malorussians. The region of Kiev, influenced by foreign languages and customs that were superimposed on the traditions of the old Rus, came to be called Ukraine. In northern Russia, the inhabitants became the principal group of Russian Slavs known as the Great Russians, modified principally by various branches of the Finno-Ugrian population. Tribute to the Khanate Although the Mongols did not attack Novgorod, northwestern Russia was menaced by invaders from the west at the same time. The Swedes descended from the Baltic and sought to penetrate the territories of Novgorod. In 1240 a Swedish army landed on the banks of the Neva, and Prince Alexander Yaroslavevich led a Russian army to meet them. The prince so completely defeated the Swedes that he was thenceforth known as Alexander Nevsky, meaning "of the Neva." Two years later the Teutonic Knights, a religious military order, advanced from the west. Alexander led his troops to meet the Germans, crossing the frozen Lake Peipus, and routed them. Faced with continuing danger in the west, Alexander, rather than risk invasion from the south, adopted a policy of loyal submission to the Golden Horde and conciliation with the khan. In 1246 Alexander succeeded his father as grand prince of Novgorod and in 1252 was invested by the khan as grand prince of Vladimir and Suzdal''. Most of the Russian princes followed Alexander''s example, paying tribute and considering themselves vassals of the Tatar rule. http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/history/hiscountries/R/russia.html ____________________ ORGANISED PAGAN CULT IN KIEVAN RUS''. THE INVENTION OF FOREIGN ELITE OR EVOLUTION OF LOCAL TRADITION ? ROMAN ZAROFF Roman Zaroff 1995 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION SELECTED DEITIES AND CONCEPTS IN SLAVIC RELIGION Svarog Dazhbog Svarozhits Perun Veles/Volos Stribog PERSONIFICATION AND ANTHROPOMORPHISATION "CORE" CONCEPTS AND GODS IN SLAVONIC COSMOLOGY EVOLUTION OF THE EASTERN SLAVIC BELIEFS Khors Simargl Mokosh FOREIGN INFLUENCE ON SLAVIC RELIGION CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY A B R E V I A T I O N S RPC - - Russian Primary Chronicle SIC - Song of the Igor''s Campaign INTRODUCTION According to the Laurentian version of the "Russian Primary Chronicle", in the year 980: "... ( Vladimir) set up idols on the hills outside the castle: one of Perun, made of wood with a head of silver and a moustache of gold, and others of Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargl, Mokosh". No doubt, this was an attempt by the Kievan ruler to organise a more centralised, pagan cult to facilitate state building and centralisation. However, on many occasions, it has been claimed that he merely elevated the elite cult. And the beliefs, as well as those gods, were of foreign origin - namely Scandinavian. However, the native Eastern Slavic religion was assumed to be a collection of some animistic beliefs with an inpersonalised "Mother Moist Earth" as a dominant, agricultural deity. Such a assumptiom is a consequence of the paucity of knowledge about Slavic mythology. This is so for a number of reasons. First, in the English speaking world as far as now,no one really attempted to research pre-Christian Slavic religion. The subject usually occupies a short chapter or paragraph in general publications on European mythology - and that is all. This is a surprising situation considering the fact that the Slavs are the largest linguistic sub-family in Europe, numbering close to 300 million people. Secondly, many publications do not go beyond various accepted ideas that originated in the German school of the 1930''s and early 1940''s, championed by Erwin Winecke and Leonard Franz. Briefly, both Winecke and Franz claimed that without outside help the Slavs were incapable of developing any complex beliefs beyond animism due to their racial inferiority and needed an external stimulus from the "Master Race" to invent more complex beliefs or personification of their deities. Thirdly, a number of Russian and Soviet scholars, more or less, accepted these notions. It may well be that those Russians in the West, who were recruited predominantly from post-revolution emigres, were in general deeply religious and conservative. Hence, their views were biased against any pagan beliefs. Meanwhile, many historians in the Soviet Union generally treated any religion as a collection of ancient superstitions not worth investigating. The issue of this organised pagan cult of Kievan Rus'' under Vladimir along with its emergence can be only properly investigated in a broader Indo-European and a common Slavic context. For that reason the first section of the following work will deal with the common Indo-European background and pre-migration Slavic beliefs. Apart from the deities of Vladimir''s pantheon, some other Slavic gods, that were mentioned in other Eastern Slavic sources, will also be investigated. Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged that the following reconstruction of the common ancient Slavic religion is only partial, and explores only selected "core" concepts and deities with some relevance to the later Kievan cult. It is commonly accepted that all the Indo-European languages evolved from closely related Bronze Age dialects collectively termed Proto-Indo-European. Further, certain similarities in names of many ancient deities were also observed. From this premise, a rather simplistic Indo-European pantheon was postulated by the early twentieth century. More recently a comparative analysis of Indo-European beliefs focussed on common functional and conceptual elements rather than on linguistic similarities of the god''s names. Such a study was first attempted by an American scholar of Romanian background - Mircea Eliade. It was further developed and championed by French philologist Georges Dumzil, and is now followed by the "new comparative school" of religious studies world-wide. This new approach focus on the premise that the pre-Christian beliefs of Indo-European people (Germanic, Celtic, Italic, Greek, Baltic, Indian Iranian and Hittite) share certain concepts, ideas and anumber of deities on the functional level. And also, exploring the concept that that various Indo-European people built their own theology and mythology drawing it from a common tradition. However, the "new comparative school" acknowledges that different peoples developed their beliefs on their own, in different conditions and under different influences. The Slavs, as a culturally and linguistically distinct people, emerged in Eastern Europe in a relatively small area. Geographicaly the Slavic cradle was limited in the south by north-eastern slopes of Carpathian Mountains. To the West, their territory probably reached to the upper Vistula river in modern Poland. In the north, the Pripet marshes divided the proto-Slavic group from the proto-Balts. And finally, their eastern boundary was roughly at the Dneper river. As the linguistic uniformity of Slavonic languages suggests, the process of Slavic ethnogenesis must have been completed by the fifth century C.E. - prior to their migration period during the sixth and seventh centuries C.E. The area under discussion was under strong Iranian (to some extend Scythian and strongly Sarmatian) influence, during the firsstmillennium B.C.E. and until the third century C.E. And this explains the strong Iranian influence on pre-Christian Slavic religion. The Scythians and Sarmatians spoke dialects which are classified as Eastern Iranian. Nowdays the Ossetic language of the Caucasus is a sole survivor of this linguistic group. However, for the purpose of clarity, throughout this study both Scythians and Sarmatians will be referred to as Northern Iranians, basically employing a geographical rather than linguistic context. Taking into consideration the relatively small area where the Slavs emerged and that the Slavic languages did not begin to diverge significantly before the tenth Century C.E. , it may be assumed that prior to their migration period their culture and religious beliefs were relatively uniform. This working hypothesis is not implying that Slavic religion was a monolithic and solid set of beliefs, but rather like other tribal religions, a heterogeneous collection of various beliefs revolving around the same common "core" concepts. The question of pre-migration Slavic religion will be addressed through a three-way approach. Firstly, by tracing common Indo-European concepts and ideas in Slavicreligion. Second, by searching for these concepts among the Eastern Slavs, especially among the ordinary people. And thirdly, by looking for the existence of similar concepts among the Western and Southern Slavs. By doing this, we can isolate those beliefs which were common to all Slavs from those which were of foreign influence or a result of later cultural developments in Slavdom. SELECTED DEITIES AND CONCEPTS IN SLAVIC RELIGION Most of the Indo-European mythologies shared a concept of a Sky god, as well as Sun and Fire worship. A common Indo-European world view shared a tri-partite functional division. The first function is sacred power and knowledge. The second, is associated with war. Finally, the third function covers economic activities, such as agriculture, animal husbandry and others. And this spiritual system is reflected in an organised social hierarchy, which found its greatest expression in the original caste division of India. There, society was divided into: priestly class of brahman; warriors - k%atryas; and farmers - Vai%ya. In a similar fashion the functions of principal deities were divided into three main spheres of sovereignity, military and the economic activities. In a peculiar way, the first domain wasoccupied by two deities in a system of dual sovereignity. For example, Indian Varuna and Mitra; Iranian Ashura and Mithra; Germanic Wodan/Odin and Tyr/Tiw; and Italic Jupiter and Dius Fides. The second function was the domain of war gods, such as: Indian Indra, Germanic Donar/Thor, Celtic Taranis, Greek Ares and Italic Mars. Moreover, this tri-partite view found another reflection in the division of world into three spheres - those of heaven, atmosphere and earth. Much of the Indo-European mythologies revolved around the inter-relation of those three separate domains. SVAROG The name of a common proto-Indo-European sky deity derives from a word "deivos" - heavenly, and who was known in a form "Dyaus". Different historical and cultural developments over the millennia resulted in divergence from this concept but it still could be traced among many Indo-European people, either in its function or name. For example, many Indo-European languages associated a similar name with gods, divinities and the sky, such as: the Latin "deus" and even Jupiter himself whose name derived from "Dyau Pater" ,Greek - Zeus , Sanskrit "deva" and Dyaus. The old Germanic Tyr/Tiw and the Saxon god of the eight century called Tiewaz, also fall into that category. Baltic mythology also preserved a Sky deity known as Dievas - "the sky". The Balts and Slavs are culturally and linguisticaly closely related. Because the Baltic languages preserved many ancient Indo-European features it is believed that Slavic languages branched from the common Balto-Slavic dialects. Hence, it is logical to conclude that, in some form or the other, the concept of Sky god existed among the proto-Slavs too. At first the search for a Slavic sky god is disappointing as there was no deity known by the name related to the root "deivos" or to Lithuanian Dievas. It has been suggested by the Polish historian Alexander Gieysztor that Perun originated as a sky god. However, although Perun evinced some attributes of a sky god, the etymology of the name and his original functions point to the common Indo-European god of thunder, rain and weather. It seems that the Slavs abandoned the Dievas-like name of a sky god which they had shared withBalts while under the Northern Iranian influence. The old name echoes only in the term "div", which in the Slavic languages describes a supernatural occurence or some demoniac being. Despite the quite fragmentary state of available evidence, only the god known as Svarog fits the concept. Etymologically, the name Svarog fits perfectly with the sky god because of its celestial connotations. The root "svar" in the name of Svarog is a cognate to the Old Indian "svar", describing upper heavenly worlds. Further, a related word "svargas" means radiant sky and "svarati" shines or gleams. Elsewhere, in a modern Hindi "svarg" means heaven. It is worth noting that around that time the Slavs adopted the Iranian word for the sky "nebo", derived from "nebah", both initially meaning the cloud. The evidence for the Svarog cult among the Slavs is weak and sometimes confused with another deity known as Svarozhits. These issues will be addressed in detail in the section on cosmology. In terms of written sources Svarog appeared in the Russian translation of John Malalas, a Byzantine chronicler of the sixth century. In the Slavic version, Hephaistos was substituted by Svarog, and Helios withDazhbog. The Malalas version goes as follow: "After the death of Hephaistos, his son Helios reigned over the Egyptians for....12 years and 97 days", and "Helios the son of Hephaistos, was very generous". In the Slavic translation we read: "After Svarog reigned his son, named Sun who was also called Dazhbog, for he was a mighty lord". The Slavonic version clearly indicates that the translator was fully aware of the mythological nature of Hephaistos and Helios resulting in substitutions of Slavic deities instead. Usually it has been accepted that the functions of both Slavic gods correspond to Greek deities: that is, Hephaistos and Svarog of fire; and Helios and Dazhbog of Sun. But it is not necessarily the case. It is reasonable to assume that the translator, knowing Hephaistos to be the father of Helios, introduced into the text two Slavic deities who were in a father-son relationship. So, while Dazhbog was a Sun deity, his father Svarog''s domain was not fire. Although in this translation there is no suggestion of Svarog being a Sky god, another account from the other side of Europe supports this claim. Certain relevant Slavic myths were reported byHelmold of Bossau, a German clergyman of the twelfth century: "...one god in heavens ruling over the others. They ( the Slavs ) hold that he, the all powerful one, looks only after heavenly matters; that the others, discharging the duties assigned to them in obedience to him, proceeded from his blood...". It is worthwhile noting, that the concept of a passive god is common among the other Indo-Europeans. Greek Uranos, a sky god, becames incapacitated and an inactive deity after the act of creation. In Indian mythology Dyaus'', a sky god, is also a creator whose involvement in earthly affairs was unclear and indirect afterwards. In the Vedic period his importance was surpassed by Varuna and Mitra, with Varuna appropriating some attributes and functions of Dyaus. Taking into consideration that Sun worship was widespread among the Slavs ( to be discussed later ), it seems that one of the deities fathered by the Slavic Sky god was Sun. This again is a common Indo-European concept, and in Indian mythology the Sun - S%rya is often described as a son of Sky (Dyaus) and Earth. Although the name of the Sky god wasnot mentioned by Helmold, the complementary nature of both stories suggests that he was referring to Svarog. A reinforcement for this claim that Svarog was the father of the major Slavonic gods comes from the name of another Slavic deity, that of Svarozhits, a Fire god. The ending of the name Svarozh-(its), indicates that he was son of Svarog. The endings "its" ( spelled "icz" or "ic" in Polish and "" in Russian ), common in all Slavic languages is a patronymic name, and it is still in use in present day Russia. For example: (Ivanovich), a "son of Ivan". In other countries it has been preserved in surnames: like in Polish - W%ostowicz , "son of W%ast"; or in the former Yugoslavia - Josi%, "son of Joseph ". Some scholars postulated that Svarog and Svarozhits were the same god, and that Svarozhits is a diminutive for Svarog. But it is highly unlikely that such a fierce and fear-inspiring god of fire would be addressed in such a disrespectful way. The relationship between Svarog, Svarozhits and Dazhbog, and their functions, has been interpreted in various ways by many different scholars. However, it only fits together perfectly if we accept the notion that Svarog was the Sky god, and furthermore that he fathered the Sun god ( Dazhbog) and Fire god (Svarozhits). The evidence for Svarog as a common Slavic deity comes mainly from the toponymy. Examples of it include: Swaro%yn near Gda%sk and Swarz%dz near Pozna%, in Poland; Svaren in Czech Republic; and Svaryzh near Pskov in Russia. Morever, the name of the German Mecklenburgian town of Schwerin derives from its old Slavic name Swarzyn. According to Roman Jakobson, a American scholar of Russian background, Svarog under tabu names appears in places like Twaro%na Gra in Poland and Tvaro%na in the Czech Republic. Besides, it could be assumed that whenever or whereever Svarozhits (son of Svarog) was reported, it implied that the concept of Svarog, sky god, was also known. A prime case is the tenth and eleventh centuries cult of Svarozhits in Eastern Germany, then inhabited by Slavs , indicating that the concept of sky god - Svarog - pre-dates the migration period. The explanation for the lack of a more prominent cult of Svarog lies in Helmold''s account. The Slavic Sky god was an otiose and passive god who became removed from earthly affairs. Hence there is not much point in worshipping the "retired" deity and the cult slowly lost its prominence. DAZHBOG The cults of Sun is well attested among many of theIndo-European people. It was especially prominent among the Iranians and Medes of Persia, as well as among Masagetae, Scythians and Sarmatians. In case of the Slavs it is difficult to ascertain how "solar" their religion actually was. It is possible that ''solarisation" of the religion was more prominent among the Eastern Slavs, due to the closer and prolonged contacts with Northern Iranian people. Whatever the case, there is evidence that in Slavic religion the Sun cult played an important part. The Slavic Sun god was called Dazhbog, and it is reasonable to assume that he was a son of Svarog. The name Dazhbog could be translated as " giver of wealth" or " giving god". The root "bog", literally meaning god in all Slavic languages, is a clear Iranian borrowing, from Iranian "bhaga" - god. The widespread Sun cult of Dazhbog featured prominently among the Eastern Slavs, not just as a part of the Kievan pantheon of Vladimir. In the "Tale of Igor''s Campaign", a 12th century Russian epic poem , the Russians are twice referred to as "Dazhbog grandsons". Also in the poem, aprayer of Yaroslav of Galich''s daughter begins with the words: "Bright, thrice-bright Sun!". Regardless of the literary nature of the "Tale", the survival of Dazhbog in popular memory and of sun worship in general indicates that it was deeply rooted in Eastern Slavic beliefs. It definitely would not be a case of short-lived elitist cults. An Arab traveller Al Masudi, reported around the middle of the 10th century that Eastern Slavs were sun worshipers and that they had a temple-like structure with opening dome with some other feature enabling them to watch the sunrise. Although it was most likely an open shrine rather than a temple, it is almost certain that such structures were part of a sun cult. The name Dazhbog does not appear in other Slavic lanuages in association with the Sun deity. However, the name Dazhbog survived in the Polish personal name - Da%bog. And in Serbian folklore it remains as demons called Dajboga and Daba. The cult might have existed in German Baltic region of Wagrien among the Slavic Obodrites, where Helmold of Bossau reported a temple and idol at Pln called Podaga. The name Podaga was interpreted by Roman Jakobson as a corruption of Daboga or Dajboga , but this interpretation is questionable. Nevertheless, the remnants of a sun cult survived among the Slavs till recent times. This clearly demonstrating its importance to all the Slavs since the pre-migration period. The Southern Slavic peasants were known to swear an oath on the Sun, while Bulgarians regarded the Sun as divine. Also, customs of greeting the rising sun were reported all over Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia. Certain medieval Eastern Slavic sources reported the rural custom of bowing to the south (the Sun) at midday. In Germany, in the south-eastern district of Lusatia the Slavic Sorbs were reported to greet the raising sun before entering church on Sunday. In the Western Ukraine a curse was known: "May the Sun make you perish", and in Croatia peasants would say" May the Sun avenge me on you". And in Christian times the Sun has been called "God''s face" or "God''s eye". Clearly this is an echo of the old Indo-European concept where the Sun deity Surja is called an eye of Varuna. The Sun figures prominently in Slavic folklore throughout all Slavdom. It was believed that the Sun resided in the east, in the land of everlasting summer and ofplenty, inhabiting a palace made of gold. The morning and evening auroras were associated with the Sun and were regarded as two virgin divinities. They were called morning and evening Auroras - Zoryas in Slavic. The Zoryas stood on both sides of the Sun''s golden throne. According to one story, the morning Zorya opened the palace gates when the Sun was to begin his daily journey across the sky, while the other one closed the gates after Sun returned at the evening. Similar forms of sun worship and stories about auroras, morning and evening stars (planet Venus), were reported in Baltic mythology. Also, in Iranian mythology, there were two divinities of dawn and dusk associated with the sun god Mithra , and Ushas as Sun companions in Indian mythology. There is also some indirect evidence for the Sun cult among the Slavs. For example, depiction of a wheel or circle in pre-Christian, Indo-European iconography are interpreted as solar symbols, and a large number of such engravings were found on early Slavic pottery. Furthermore, in Indo-European mythology ,it is commonly accepted that the horse is usually associated with the Sun cult. It was reported among many Indo-European people, such as: ancient Indians, Iranians,Germans, Celts, Greeks, Balts and Slavs. Among the Western Slavs, horses associated with the cult of Sventovit of Rgen, Svarozhits of Radogost and Triglav of Szczecin were reported. One of their important function was being used in foretelling the future. Although none of those later and complex cults were purely solar, the incorporation of a horse indicates amalgamation of solar and other elements. It is worth noting, that there is a saying in Russian " - veschiy kon'' ", meaning "prophetic horse" , indicating that use of a sacred horse in foretelling the future was common Slavic concept. SVAROZHITS The cult of Svarozhits, a fire god, and a son of Svarog, also shows common and strong Indo-European roots. Practically all Indo-European people worshipped fire in one or another form. It was of the greatest importance among the ancient Indians. The Iranians were regarded as fire worshipers, and were reported to swear oaths by fire. Also, the ancient Baltic people were reported to worship a female fire goddess, and to believe that fire was brought tothe earth by a thunder god Perkunas. In Indian a fire deity was known as Agni, meaning "fire", with this being a cognate to the Latin word "ignis", Lithuanian "ugnis" and Slavic "ogni"- fire. The Svarozhits cult also appears to be universal to all Slavs. Evidence for the cult comes from two extremes of Slavdom. According to the Russian source known as "Unknown Admirer of Christ ( Bogolubiec) ": "They ( the pagan Slavs ) also address prayer to Fire, calling him Svarogich". The sancticity and divinity of fire survived into the Christian era among most of the Slavs. The 19th century Russian peasants would not spit into the fire or swear at it. Throwing a sheaf into fire was believed to bring luck. There was also a widespread belief that fire had special powers. A fire started by friction using wooden sticks was called a "living fire" and supposed to have a healing properties. For example: sick cattle were driven around "living fire" lit bon-fires in the field to cure them. One of the spells to cast out illness, that began with the words: "Little Fire, Tsar-Fire", seems to be a clear reminiscence of the times when Firewas worshipped as a god. Igniting a "sacred fire" through friction is a common element of wide-spread Indo-European tradition. It is known to have been practised in ancient India , and also was the case with ancient Roman Vestal fire , and it was also reported among the Lithuanians as late as the seventeenth century. Fire was started in this manner as late as the first half of the twentieth century in some parts of rural Poland on Annunciation Day. In Western Slavdom the cult of Svarozhits gained prominence among the Veletian people, a branch of the Polabian Slavs. It was a regional deity and its major temple stood at Radogost, near modern Neuebrandenburg, in eastern Germany. This elaborate cult was an amalgamation of various elements of Slavic religious traditions and it can not be totally equated with the Slavic fire worship of the pre-migration period. It will not be discussed in detail as it was a later development, and the issue goes beyond the scope of this work. Nevertheless, the name of the deity and its associated fire worship clearly show that the cult evolved from a common Slavic concept of a Fire God. PERUN There is also no doubt about the antiquity and Indo-European origins of the Slavic god Perun, the god of thunder and lightning. The name Perun derives from an Indo-European root "perk", "perg" or "per", meaning "to strike" and is directly associated with a striking thunderbolt. In Indian mythology there was a weather god, Parja%ya, whose domain was thunder storms and monsoons. This deity, who also makes things grow, like Perun, is associated with cattle. And among the Balts, a thunder god Perkunas was one of the major deities. There is close conceptual relationship between the foregoing and thunder-associated gods of other Indo-European people, such as: Celtic Taranis; Greek Zeus and Germanic Thor/Donar. Independent developments separated Indo-European beliefs but a certain common concept were preserved. For example, in Germanic mythology the goddess Fjrgynn is the mother of the thunder god Thor. Taking into consideration that in Germanic languages the original Indo-European "p" changed into "f", her name clearly appearsrelated to the stem "perg". In Hittite mythology the stone monster Ullikummi, who fights the weather god Te%ub, is a son of the major god Kumarbi and a rock, a goddess called Peruna% or Piruna%. Unfortunately, Hittite mythology is so mixed up with Semitic and non-Indo-European beliefs that the similarity of name with Parja%ya or Perun may be only a coincidence. On the other hand it may reflect a common Indo-European tradition shared with the Germanic people. Further support for the antiquity of the Perun-like deity in Eastern Europe comes from Mordvinian mythology. In pre-Christian times, Mordvins, an Ugro-Finian people of middle Volga basin, worshiped a thunder god called Purginepaz. This is a clear borrowing from the Indo-European mythology. However, it was not borrowed from the Slavs, as their Eastern branch did not penetrate the middle Volga in pre-Christian times. While at the same time the root "Purg" in Purginepaz suggests some relation to the Baltic "Perk" in Perkunas. The only plausible explanation is that Mordvins borrowed the concept and the god''s name from the Fatyanovo culture of the second half of second millennium B.C.E. The Fatyanovo culture emerged in the Eastern Baltic area and spread along Volga and Oka as far as Ural mountains. Physical anthropology and strong cultural affilitiation of Fatyanovo complex with Kurgan and later Baltic cultures, indicates that they were Indo-European people. They were not Balts and probably not Balto-Slavic people either, but rather culturally and linguisticaly ancestral to both. Whatever the case, this shows that the concept of a Perun-like deity was common amongst the Old European population of Eastern Europe in the middle of the second millennium B.C.E. And this in turn clearly indicates continuity of this common Indo-European concept. The evidence for the concept of a thunder god among the Slavs is relativelly plentiful, with his worship first mentioned among the Southern Slavs. According to the mid 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius: "For they ( Slavs ) believe that one god, the maker of the lighting, is alone lord of all things, and they sacrifice to him cattle and all other victims". There is no doubt that this account refers to Perun. The account does not imply that the Slavs were monotheists, but rather that Perun gained prominence among the Southern Slavs, whose religion evolved into henotheism. There is also evidence, that in the mythology of non-Slavic Albanians, there was a thunder god known as Per%ndi. Again, this is no doubt a borrowing from the Southern Slavs. As a consequence of the relatively early Christianisation of the Southern Slavs, there are no moredirect accounts in relation to Perun from the Balkans. Nevertheless, as late as the first half of the twentieth century, in Bulgaria and Macedonia, peasants performed a certain ceremony meant to induce rain. A central figure in the rite was a young girl called Perperuna, a name clearly related to Perun. At the same time the association of Perperuna with rain, shows conceptual similarities with an Indian god Parja%ya. There was a strong Slavic penetration of Albania, Greece and Romania, between the sixth and tenth centuries. Not surprisingly the folklore of northern Greece also knows Perperuna, Albanians know Pirpirn% and so the Romanians have their Perperona. Also, in a certain Bulgarian folk riddle the word "peru%an" is a substitute for the Bulgarian word " " (grmotevitsa) for the thunder. Moreover, the name of Perun is also commonly found in Southern Slavic toponymy. There are places called: Perun, Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Peruni%ka Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunu%a, Peru%ice, Perudina and Perutovac. In addition, the Eastern Slavs, promised to uphold treaties with the Byzantines by invoking Perun in 907, 945 and 971. The Perun idol stood in Kiev, already by 945, when prince Igor swore to be true to the treaty at the shrine. Therefore, either Vladimir did not erect it or only enlargedthe shrine. But there are more accounts and other evidence showing that the cult was widespread among the ordinary people and in various forms, survived christianization. It is worth noting certain passage in the "Russian Primary Chronicle". It stated that when the Perun idol and its sanctuary was destroyed, the people cried , while, according to the Chronicle of Novgorod, assault on the Perun shrine in Novgorod caused serious uprising and bloody fighting in the city. Surely, both cases implied that it was a well established people''s cult. The survival of worship well into the Christian era is also well attested. The following accounts strongly demonstrate the popularity of the cult among the ordinary people. In a Russian apocrypha of the 12th century, known as " " (Hozhdyene Boguroditsi Po Mukam ), idols of Perun and other gods were mentioned: " And they made gods out of the devils Troyan, Khors, Veles and Perun, and they worshiped these evil devils". A fourteenth century source known as (Slovo Grigoriya) - "The Word of Gregory", says that in remote areas pagans still prayed to Perun. . In the late eighteenth century Russia an ecclesiatic ruling had forbidden the singing of Christian prayers in front of an oak tree. And it has to be remembered that the oak tree was closely associated with the cult of Perun (oak tree worship will be discussed later). Also, an interesting custom was reported near Novgorod, as late as the early twentieth century. Here many travellers or boatsmen, sailing the Volkhov river, would cast a coin into the water, at the spot where Perun shrine was excavated in 1950''s. Finally, after Christianization the cult merged and was transformed into veneration of Saint Elias. This happened most likely because of the Old Testament which credited Saint Elias with the ability to bring rain and thunderstorms. Thus through these means, an obscure Christian saint became a major celebrity in Eastern Slavic Orthodoxy. In the later Christian iconography of Saint Elias, he appears like Perun traversing the sky in the chariot of fire or riding on the horse. He has been also associated with thunders, arrows and oaks. In the early twentieth century, in the north-east of Russia, the following celebration was reported. On the 20th of July, Saint Elias day, a cow was slaughtered and the meatprepared by males. It was then distributed in the church and eaten by the whole congregation. This custom, evidently not being Christian, resembles the sacrificial killing of an animal and the communal consumption of the meat. The veneration of St. Elias with its mixture of pagan and Christian elements is one of the best arguments for the purely Slavic character of Perun and of the cult being widespread among all sections of Eastern Slavic society. Put simply, if Perun was only a deity of the elite and was elevated to prominence at Kiev only for a few years, ordinary people would not have retained the cult for centuries. Neither would the Orthodox Church be forced to accept and tolerate certain evidently pagan beliefs and practices. The name of Perun also appears in Eastern Slavic toponymy. The most famous place is Peryn'' near Novgorod, where the remnants of open site shrine were unearthed by archaeologists , and there was a place on the Dneper known as "Perun''s Shoal". Perun was also a deity of the Western Slavs, although the cult did not show up so prominently. In all Slavic languages, except Polish and Kashubian, the term for thunderbolt is "grom". The term is known to the Poles but more often they call it "piorun", a word clearly deriving from the name of Perun. In Silesia, even today, people say "Ty pieronie !", which in free-lance translation means "you bastard !". Theolder Poles'' saying of dissatisfaction, "do pioruna !", could be translated as "by thunder !". It sounds like nonsense, but if we substitute the old meaning it would be "by Perun !". Very close to the familiar "by Jove !". Similar sayings have survived among Kashubians in the form of "na perna !" and "ty pernie !". It is worthwhile to note that in Kashubian thunder or lighting is called "par%n" not "pern" , indicating that original saying refers to deity rather than to the thunder. In Moravian and Slovakian folklore there are spells using the term "parom" or "hrom" (original Slavic "g" replaced by "h" in Ukrainian, Czech and Slovak languages) interchangeably for thunder. Furthermore, the Slovaks would say "parom do teba" or "do paroma", meaning "may Perun strike you" and "by Perun !", respectively. Among the now almost extinct Polabian Slavs of eastern Germany, a deity called Porenutius (Porenut) was reported on Rgen island by a Danish chronicler of the turn of the 13th century Saxo Gramaticus. Some scholars have interpreted the name as a corrupted form of Perun. However, this interpretation is not uniformlly accepted. Another deity called Proue was mentioned by Helmold as being worshipped in the 12th century nearOldenburg in Wagrien. Its idol stood in an enclosed sanctuary situated in an oak grove. Sacrifices of cattle and sheep, and sometimes humans were performed for this deity, and once a week tribal court and the assembly was held there. Again it has been postulated that the name Proue is a corruption of Perun, taking into consideration that in another version of the chronicle, known as Stettin manuscript, it appears as "Prone". Whatever the case, Proue''s association with oaks and cattle sacrifice indicates close conceptual links with Perun-like deity. Still, however, the strongest evidence for antiquity of the Perun cult, its universality among all the Slavs, and all sections of the Slavic society, comes from the western extreme of Slavdom. In the region of Hanoverian Wendland, west of Elbe river in Germany, a dialect of Obodrite Slavs survived till the end of the eighteenth century. Those Slavs called Thursday a " Per%ndan" - literally a "day of Perun". Evidently, these people were aware that the name for Thursday in German "Donnerstag" means "day of Donar", a continental Germanic war god. Clearly, they had substituted their god Perun for Donar, as it was the Slavic deity thatmost closely resembled the Germanic war god. There is no other explanation, unless we accept that the 18th century Slavic peasants of backward Hanowerian Wendland spent cold nights of the northern European winter passionately reading the "Russian Primary Chronicle". VELES/VOLOS The origins and functions of the god Veles or Volos, are controversial. According to the Laurentian version of the "Russian Primary Chronicle", Veles was the god of cattle. And this view was accepted by the majority of scholars, without questioning. However, there is some indication that he was more than a mere god of the beasts. In Christian times, Veles was replaced by St. Blasius - a patron of domestic animals. It is likely that a monk who had written the "Russian Primary Chronicle" had projected St. Blasius'' functions onto Veles, albeit ignorant of the role of the ancient god. From the scarce written records we know that at the official signing of the treaty with the Byzantines in 907 the whole Kievan army swore by Perun and Veles, and also, in the 971 treaty, the warriors swore by Perun and the "rest of Rus''" by Veles. This shows that Veles was an important god whose functions must have gone much beyond caring for cattle. The importance of cattle for the Eastern Slavs can not be denied, but their economy was agriculturally based. It wouldmake more sense if they swore by the "Mother Earth" rather than Veles. So, this suggests that Veles was also the guardian of the oath. In reference to the punishment for breaking the oath, the offenders would be killed by their own weapons" and " (da budem zoloti yako zoloto)" - " become yellow as gold". Knowing the war function of Perun it seems that punishment by their own weapons must have referred to the wrath of Perun. For other punishment, at first the sentence appears to make no sense at all. However in Russian "" ( zolotukha ) means scrofula, a tuberculosis of bones and lymph glands - a serious and life threatening disease. So, this suggests that Veles was also able to inflict disease as a punishment. Furthermore, from the "Song of Igor''s Campaign" comes a passage referring to the bard Boyan: "Vatic Boyan, grandson of Veles.." , suggesting a clairvoyant and prophetic nature of the god. After Christianisation of Kievan Rus'', Veles was transformed into St. Blasius ( Russian - Vlasiy ), a patron of domestic animals. An interesting insight intothe cult comes from ethnographic data. Well into Christian times in Russia, during the cattle epidemic, peasants carring an icon of St. Blasius and performd certain ritual. A ritual that involved killing an ewe, ram, horse and cow, all being tied together. The rite is a mixture of many traditions and customs, and it is impossible to analyse it in details. Nevertheless, the killing of horses must be an ancient tradition associated with the cult of Veles. Among Indo-Europeans a very common sacrifice of horse was performed to only a few major deities. Hence, in this new perspective, Veles emerges as a deity of great importance, not only as a cattle god, but also as a guardian of the oath, punishing with diseases, and associated with clairvoyance and prophesies. A horse, and possibly some other animals were sacrificed to Veles. Furthermore, his importance could be fully realised if we look closer into the merger of the cult of Veles with St. Blasius. Most historians without much thought accept the simple notion that Veles was a cattle god transformed into the Christian saint of similar patronage. However, there is no doubt that Greek missionaries and Eastern Slavic clergy view the non-christian beliefs as evil and tried as hard aspossible to eradicate any traces of them. If they did not succeed and had to accept a merger of pagan and Christian beliefs, Veles must have been a god of great importance whose cult was deeply rooted in Eastern Slavic tradition. Only Perun, no doubt a major god of the 10th century Eastern Slavs, managed to achieve the same by "transforming" himself into Saint Elias. Some further insight into the functions of Veles comes from Baltic mythology. Both Slavs and Balts are linguistically and culturally closely related and share many similar religious concepts. In Baltic mythology, there is a deity known as Vlinas, Velnias or Vls, very well attested in folklore and toponymy, hence indicating the importance of this god in Baltic beliefs. In folklore Vlinas appears to be a deity or demon of the dead and cattle. And in some Lithuanian legends Velnias is attributed with clairvoyance. Furthermore, according to Marija Gimbutas and Jaan Puhvel, the underworld demons knowns as Pikulas, Pikis or Piktis are alternative names of Vlinas. There is also evidence that Balts sacrificed horse, bull and he-goat to Velnias. So, the similarity of names and functions strongly indicate that both, Veles and Vlinas are conceptualy the same deity. Other historical accounts also mentioned the cult ofVeles on a number of occasions. A Veles statue stood in the suburb called Podol, an area apparently a craftsmen and tradesmen quarter. " A Tale of Vladimir''s Baptism" tells us that this idol was destroyed shortly after conversion. We probably will never know if Veles was included in Vladimir''s pantheon or not. And if not, why his worship was not incorporated into Kievan cult. The cult of Veles is also known from other parts of the Eastern Slavdom. The destruction of a stone idol of Veles was recorded in Rostov district in the 11th century in "The Live of Abraam", a biography of an archimandrite of the Rostov monastery. In the twelfth century source, known as "Hozhdyene Boguroditsi Po Mukam ", Veles is mentioned as still being worshipped in some rural areas. The name of this ancient god was also preserved in Eastern Slavic toponymy. Although many place names may relate to "" - hair in Russian, at least names for two places in Belorussian forests are associated with some supernatural forces called Volosin and Volosach, or the river Velesa in the Smolensk district of Russia seems to be derived from Veles. All this suggests that the cult of Veles was widespread among all sections of Eastern Slavic society. It appears that the borrowing from Baltic mythologycould be excluded and Veles-Vlinas concept comes from common Balto-Slavic tradition. This is supported by evidence from other than the eastern branch of Slavic people. For example, there is a mount called Veles in Bosnia and a place of the same name, Veles, on the river Vardar in Bulgaria. The name of a Greek port on the Aegean coast of Thessaly, Vlos, on the site of ancient Iolcos, may also be of Slavic origin , being a legacy of Slavic penetration into Greece between the 6th and 9th century. In Serbia, one of the names for the constellation of Pleiads is Vla%ici, clearly meaning "children of Vlas". In Western Slavdom, among the Poles of the Tatra Mountains there is a folk tale about the dragon and the mount called Wo%oszyn (phonetically: Voloshin) , while, in Kashubian folk song appears a female spirit called Velevitka (the root: Vele, Velev). In a certain Bohemian folk tale, a bad wife turns into the goose that flies "beyond the sea, to the Veles". In an old Bohemian carol, condemned by Christian priest, a spirit called "vele" brings the people luck and happiness. The word "vele" is meaningless in Czech language, and seems to be an echo of an ancient pagan chant. And the sixteenth century Czech could say about weird ideas "k%veles ti to na%eptal ? (what devil put you up to it ?)". And there is another Czech saying: "u velesa !", as an expression of annoyance. So, despite this indirect evidence, it seems to be cumulatively convincing that Veles was a major god of various functions and known to all branches of Slavdom. Hence his cult definitely pre-dates the migration period. STRIBOG Stribog of the Kievan pantheon appears to be a god of Wind or winds. The word''s etymology is unclear, but the root "stri" may derive from the Slavic "stru" (to flow). Whereas the root "bog" means either means god or wealth. An alternative etymology was postulated by Russian scholars Ivanov and Toporov. According to them, the name Stribog derives from "Patribhagos", a Father God. However, this would make Stribog a major god of a first function, at least among the Eastern Slavs. But it seems to be unlikely considering his rather minor position in the Kievan pantheon and low prominence in Slavic mythology and folklore. There are parallel beliefs in various Indo-European mythologies. For instance in India there was a wind deity called V%yu, also known in ancient Persia as Vayu. Further, a similar deity named Wejopatis was worshipped by the Balts. Besides "The Russian Primary Chronicle" this deity wasmentioned in the "Tale Of Igor''s Campaign",where the winds were called " Stribog''s grandsons". In another passage in the tale, the daughter of Yaroslav of Galich - a 12th century prince - addressed this prayer to the wind: "Wind, Great Wind ! why, lord, blow perversly ? Why carry those Hinish dartlets on your light winglets against my husband''s warriors ?". This seems to link the Wind with some military affairs, which finds a conceptual reflection in the military association of India V%yu and Iranian Vayu. Finally, the Stribog also appears in Eastern Slavic toponymy, such as: Stribozhe Lake or place called Stribozh. But any search for the Stribog cult beyond the borders of Eastern Slavdom does not produce much evidence. Nevertheless, the winds and associated demons are common in Slavic folklore and mythology - from Bulgaria to Poland. Among the Western Slavs, Poles called some winds "stryj", but this mayas well derive from the "stryj" - a term for father''s brother. As for toponomy, there is Strzyboga in central Poland, and in the 13th c., a stream near Gda%sk was called Striboc. The latter suggests that Stribog, like Perun and Veles, might have been a common Slavic deity. How developed this cult was in the pre-migration period is hard to determine. Definietely, it was not as prominent and elaborate as it was in the late tenth century Kiev. The remaining deities of the Kievan pantheon, such as: Khors, Simargl and Mokosh seem to be specifically Eastern Slavic deities and will be discussed later. PERSONIFICATION AND ANTHROPOMORPHISATION The question of Slavic animism is probably sufficiently answered by the fore-going evidence demonstrating that these major common Slavic deities were to a various degree personified. However, the whole issue should, nonetheless, be explored a bit further. It should be pointed out that the personification and antropomorphisation of Slavic deities is also supported by their very names. All the deities discussed above had different names from their functions or their domains. For example, Svarog was a sky god, while the sky is called "nebo" in all Slavic languages. Dazhbog -"the giver of wealth" or "giving god" was a Sun god and the Sun is called "" in Russian, and similary in all other Slavoniclanguages. In a common Slavic myth the Sun takes a journey across the sky - from the east to the west - in his chariot, pulled by flame breathing white horses. This is a broad and general description of the myth as certain details differ from region to region. Nevertheless, the myth cleary indicates that Slavs worshiped the Sun god but not the Sun itself. The name of Svarozhits, a Fire deity, shows clear son-father relationship with Svarog. The "fire" in Russian is "", in Polish "ogie%", and similary in all other Slavonic tongues. It is interesting to note that the noun is cognate to Indian "agni" of the same meaning. Perun is the name of deity, not a thunderbolt, clearly related to perosonified Indian and Baltic deities of a similar function. The thunderbolt in all Slavic languages is called "grom". Veles etymology, although unclear, does not resemble any Slavic name for domestic animals. The same applies to Stribog, god of winds, as wind is called "" in Russian and similary by orher Slavs. Personification and anthropomorhisation of major Slavic deities, should not be a surprise. All the other Indo-European people had a personified and anthropomorphised deities from the earliest times, suggesting that the processbegan already among the Proto-Indo-Europeans, before divergence into separate linguistic branches. It would be extremely unusual if the Slavs would revert to animism after branching off from Balto-Slavic ethno-linguistic stratum. To what degree Slavic gods were personified and anthropomorphised is difficult to establish. Possibly it varied not only between various Slavic branches and tribes but also between social classes. It is worth noting that different conceptions of deity are still common today, even in a very uniform and organised religions. For example, for a Calabrian peasant and a Christian Democrat minister in Italy, a concept of Jesus Christ is definitely very different, although both are Roman Catholics. Beliefs and veneration of multitude of lesser gods, demigods, spirits, waters, wells etc., is an Indo-European phenomena and was common among the Celtic, Germanic, Italic, Slavic and other people , forming a lower layer of their pre-Christian religion. Claims of Slavic animism could emerge as a result of customs and beliefs observed among the Eastern Slavs in Christian times, a situation which arouse out of theeradication of major cults where only the lower strata of beliefs survived in folklore, customs and some rites. While at the same time written records about Slavic religion were scarce. We can imagine a person equipped with a book containing Catholic doctrines but ignorant of the ancient Aztec religion trying to reconstruct pre-Christian beliefs of Mexicans. We would have a similar situation where the upper stratum of Aztec religion was completely wiped out, while Catholicism of the rural Mexicans heavly intermingled with lower stratum of old beliefs. In such a case it would be very likely that conclusion would be: that Aztecs were animists. "CORE" CONCEPTS AND GODS IN SLAVONIC COSMOLOGY As the above evidence shows, the Slavic pre-christian religion was conceptualy rooted in the common Indo-European tradition. It evolved into its own relatively uniform set of beliefs in a specific conditions and circumstances. Where especially Northern Iranian influences played an important part. They had major deities and their personification is also well atested. That does not imply that some animistic elements did not exist, especially on the level of lesser spirits. The expression of particular cults might not have been common among all the Slavs, as the presented evidence often comes from much later times. Nevertheless, the "core" of pre-migration period Slavic religion was acknowledgement of a passive Sky god, known as Svarog. There are some indications that Veles was also a deity ranking among the major gods The Slavs of pre-migration period were clan based, small tribal societies and it seems logical to conclude that lack of political unity and any central authority led to the demise of Svarog and to some degree of the Veles. Svarog was the creator of two deities, Sun and Fire, that being Dazhbog and Svarozhits respectively. This echoes an Indo-European tradition conceptually. In Rig Veda Sun-Surja is created by Dyaus but also often confused or identified with Fire-Agni. From there, it is not hard to conclude that both deities descended from the Sky god. Perun, and his thunderbolt was most likely perceived as the "fire link" between celestial fire of Sun and earthly fire. This clearly reflects a common Indo-European concept of tri-partite division of the world. At the same time, the original deity of the second function, the god of war, faded into oblivion. However, taking into consideration some war like attributes of Perun, it appears that the original deity of weather and thunder was always to some extent associated with war functions. This is supported by evidence of the association of Indian Parja%yawith Indra and military functions. It might have happen that by the time the need for war deity arouse, Perun who fit the it most closely was assigned a function. And this is reinforced by the already presented evidence from Procopius and from Hanoverian Wendland. EVOLUTION OF THE EASTERN SLAVIC BELIEFS Now let us return to the end of the tenth century at Kiev, and Vladimir''s pantheon. As it was already shown, Perun and Dazhbog are major and common Slavic gods. The case of Stribog seem to be unclear and his cult might have not extended far from the Eastern Slavdom. The remaining deities are without doubt specifically Eastern Slavic. KHORS Khors seems to be unique to the Eastern Slavs, and appears to be another version of Dazhbog, that is Sun god. The etymology of his name is Iranian again, and it appears to be cognate to Iranian "khvar", and the modern Persian "Khorsid", both meaning the Sun. It is likely that some easternmost Slavic tribes, possibly those of Tmutorokan, were under much stronger Sarmatian influence, than the rest of the Eastern Slavs. They might then worship the Sun god under its Iranian name. Khors'' inclusion in a Kievan pantheon might have been an attempt to bring some tribal god into the mainstream and state organised cult. The cult is not Vladimir''s invention as the deity and its worship is mentionedin some other source. He appears in the "Tale of Igor''s Campaign", in reference to Vseslav a Russian prince-wizard, of the turn of twelfth century, strongly suggesting his solar character. In the tweltfth century "Hozhdyene Boguroditsi Po Mukam", idol of Khors, alongside that of Troyan, Veles and Perun, are mentioned. The survival of Khors'' memory into the Christian era suggests that the cult was widespread. And that under the name of Khors some sections of Eastern Slavic society worshiped the Sun. SIMARGL Simargl appears to be yet another direct borrowing from the Northern Iranians. In medieval Iranian and Caucasian mythology a bird-like demon with dog head is known as Simurgh, or Senmurv, and was the creature of a "good omen". What the function of the Eastern Slavic Simargl was is unclear. In later Russian folklore s similarly looking creature is sometimes called Paskudj, and it appeared as a decorative motif between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. There is no evidence for this obscure cult anywhere else in Slavdom and it seems confined to its eastern branch. It is also hard to say how and why it was included in the Kievan pantheon. MOKOSH The interpretation of the Mokosh cult, the only female deity in Vladimir''s pantheon poses a great difficulty. Above all the etymology of her name is unclear. An Indo-European etymology is unconvincing and speculative. An Ugrofinian borrowing has been suggested as there was a deity or demon called Moksha. However, Ugro-Finian borrowing from the Slavs can not be excluded either. In Russian folklore Mokosh is associated with a variety of activities such as shearing and spinning. There are also some links with sexuality and fertility. It is possible that Mokosh derives from a Slavic root "mok" or "mokr" - wet. And it that case, she could have been somehow associated with "Mother Moist Earth". Taking into consideration that there is no evidence of personification of Mother Earth in Slavic mytholgy, the possiblity is that Mokosh was such an attempt on behalf of Vladimir. But it has to be acknowledged that the above argument is of highly speculative nature. FOREIGN INFLUENCE ON SLAVIC RELIGION There is no doubt that long association of Slavs with Iranians left a visible mark on their beliefs. Their religion absorbed and incorporated numerous Iranian elements, nevertheless, Slavic beliefs had developed on their own. In this context the deities like Svarog, Svarozhits, Dazhbog, Veles and Stribog should be regarded as Slavic, rather thenIranian. Only Khors and Simargl are clear, and direct borrowings from Northern Iranian pantheon. Finally, the knowledge about Mokosh and her cult is so obscure that any claims in regard to her remain in the sphere of speculations. It is interesting to note that by an overwhelming majority, the champions of Slavic animism and supporters of Norman origin of organised cult in Kiev never substanciate their claims, rarely going beyond simple statement without any evidence being presented. Such statements were made by Alexinsky and Fedotov. For Vlasto and Turville-Petre, Veles was a rustic Slavic deity while Perun a "Varangian god". Additionaly, Turville-Petre says that Perun is not well attested in Slavonic mythology , a claim already disproved by the above work. And in a recent publication, titled "Mother Russia", Joanna Hubbs claimed strong Scandinavian elements in Vladimir''s pantheon, and that Thor was a prototype for Perun. Again, no evidence presented. As far as the author''s research goes, only Nora Chadwick attempted to prove her point in the 1945 publication on Russian history. However, before addressing Chadwick''s claims, let''s analyse the Kievan cult in the context of possible Scandinavian influence. Firstly, we can look into the organisational aspect ofreligious life in Kiev. One of the most common shortfalls in addressing the Slavic religion is a failure to recognize that like any living religion, it was not a static phenomenon. Any religion serves the social function, appropriate for the society that practices it, and both evolve together. Hence in the clan based, small tribal society , there is no need for elaborate, highly organised and hierarchical cults. On the other hand in supra-tribal society, socio-political realities facilitate the emergence of more complex and hierarchical religion. During the migration period and shortly after - that is between the sixth and ninth centuries - the Slavic societies underwent transformation from a clan based to a large tribal form of socio-political organisation. In the case of the Eastern Slavs, this was partly a result of their expansion to the north and east , The process is facilitated when people are on the move, colonising new territories, encountering new challanging environments, circumstances and often hostile locals. This undoubtly created a need for better hierarchical organisation and more clearly defined leadership. Also, during thatperiod, Eastern Slavs came into the contact with, and often were subjugated by nomadic or semi-nomadic people such as Huns, Avars and Khazars. This also stimulated internal socio-political changes. Consequently, by the 9th century, Eastern Slavs were already organised into supra-tribal political units, such as: Polyane, Kriviche, Drevlyane and others. In this context, the religion of the Eastern Slavs had to serve new and different functions, and became more organised, elaborated, and hierarchical. It has to be acknowledged that Scandinavian military organisation and prowess as well as their mercantile spirit played a significant part in the foundation of Kievan Rus''. Nevertheless, the Scandinavan impact on the Eastern Slavs is frequently exaggerated. It is often overlooked that the Scandinavians did not have much to offer in political and religious spheres. Above all, Sweden did not exist as such by then, and on its territory there were a number of independent supra-tribal political units. And those principalities were more or less on a par with the large, regional, tribal political entities of the Eastern Slavdom. In the religious sphere, Scandinavians were also on a similarlevel. Their mythology was often as inconsistent as in the case of the Slavs. It is worthwhile to note, that a formal priesthood did not exist in Scandinavia until the tenth-eleventh century. Furthermore, Scandinavians did not have temples and worshipped their gods at open shrines. It is commonly accepted that later temples and priesthood (from subsequent centuries) came into being as a result of unification trends and to some extent as a response to the ideological challenge of Christianity. So, there is no reason to believe that the evolution of Eastern Slavic religion was the result of any direct Scandinavian influence. Second, we can look into the cult of Perun and how it acquired its war god characteristics and developed henotheistic tendencies. It is hard to say when the atmospheric functions of this deity were surpassed by the military functions. Nevertheless, it is likely that it took place just before the Slavic migration began. This is supported by the fore-going evidence from Hanoverian Wendland, where Perun was conceptually perceived as a similar deity to the Germanic Thor/Donar, and where later contacts with Eastern Slavdom could be safely excluded. It seems natural that the warlike deities would become of greater importance in the societies engaged in frequent warfare. And this is the case of the Eastern Slavs during their northern and eastern expansion of the migration period, as well as a result of later constant conflicts with the people of the steppes. A similar development took place among the Southern Slavs, whoconquered and colonised the Balkans. This is confirmed by the previously cited Procopius account that their dominant deity was a thunder god - no doubt Perun himself. On the other hand, it appears that among the Polish tribes, the cult of Perun never became dominant. Simply because they were surrounded by fellow Slavs and, as a consequence, sheltered from other hostile people. This of course does not imply that inter-tribal warfare among the Slavs did not exist. It did exist, but such inter-tribal conflicts were of a different nature, magnitude and consequences. A similar development took place among the people of Scandinavia, where the cult of Thor gained prominence from the outset of the Viking era. , that is, when warfare became of greater importance to their society. Third, we explore the close association of the Perun cult and the oak tree. There is evidence that sacred and consecrated oaks were situated in some form of enclosure, usually, surrounded by a ditch, a stone ring or a fence. Here sacrifices and offerings were made to Perun. The most common sacrificial animal was a cock, but sometimes on special occasions a bull, bear or he-goat. The sacrificial animals were killed and consumed at the communal eating event. It was believed that such a feast would strengthen the bonds between the group''s members. This association clearly derives from common Indo-European heritage, shared by most of theEuropean people. The oak was a holy tree not only of Germanic Thor/Donar but also of Italic Jupiter, Baltic Perkunas and Celtic Taranis. Also, Greek Zeus was associated with this tree. This universal association of thunder gods with an oak could be explained in the following terms. As oaks are quite tall and large trees, they must have been struck by lightning more often than any other trees. So, this coincidence must have been seen by ancient Indo-Europeans as caused by divine power. There is also a linguistic association of thunder gods with an oak tree. The Indo-European root "perg" - to strike, found in Perun and Perkunas, also appears in oak related terms. In Latin an oak is "quercus", where Indo-European "p" was replaced by Latin "q" . In Celtic "hercos" means "oak forest", where "h" replaced "p". While in Gothic, "fairguni", means "hill covered with oaks", with a typical Germanic change of Indo-European "p" into Germanic "f". Fourth, in popular Slavic mythology Perun''s magic weapon was a bow and arrow. The Slavs believed that arrow-like stones were Perun''s thunderbolts. They were called ( stryela ) - arrow, arrow-bolt, and had certain magic properties when found. Evidence for this belief isoverwhelming, and comes from the Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia and Poland. This again echoes the ancient Indo-European tradition as arrows were associated with the Indian god Parja%ya. At the same time, the most recognisable attribute of Baltic Perkunas was an axe same like the Germanic Thor/Donar who wielded and threw an axe or stone hammer. Fifth, we can explore a shrine devoted to Vladimir''s pantheon. Although we have no description of the Kievan site, presumably a similar shrine was excavated near Novgorod. It is known from historical records that Novgorod had a shrine for Perun and the site excavated nearby at Peryn'' - must be the one. It was an open, circular site 33 metres in diameter enclosed by a ditch, in which a number of sacred fires were burning. A number of large post holes and a centrally located fragments of rectangular stone were interpreted as being bases for the idols. A similar, but smaller site was excavated near Zhitomir on the river Khnylopiata in Ukraine which dated from the second half of the ninth century. Numerous sites, similar to the fore-going, were unearthed all over Slavdom. Just to list a few, therewere two enclosures at Trzebiatw and one at Smo%dzin dated to the ninth and tenth century. Stone encircled sites were located on mount Che%mno, mount Gra Grodowa, Paleni hill, near Wapiennica in Silesia and mount %wi%ty Krzy% in Kielce district ( all in Poland - the ninth - tenth century ). Further, in Bohemia circular, ditched sites were unearthed at Old Kou%im and at Pohansko, both from the ninth century. Generally speaking, the early Slavs did not build temples, but neither did the Scandinavians before the tenth-eleventh century. As a matter of fact the early ancient Indians, Iranians, Celts and Romans, also worshipped their deities in the open. For many Indo-European people the sacred places, were often: the trees or groves; springs and lake; or open, fenced or stone encircled enclosures. Hence, there are no reasons to believe that open, circular shrines of Eastern Slavdom bear any Scandinavian influence. The wooden or sometimes stone idols, often with a moustache are also common finds across Slavdom, dating from the sixth to eleventh centuries. Here again there is no evidence for Norse influence. Now returning to Nora Chadwick. A major problem with her interpretation is her initial assumption that Scandinavianpre-christian religion was somehow superior to that of the Baltic and Slavic peoples, an issue already briefly addressed. In her interpretation of the 971 treaty with the Byzantines, she postulate that a parallel exists with an Icelandic oath taken on a golden ring where Freyr, Njrdr and an unspecified "almighty god" were invoked. She claimed that the name of Veles derives from the Scandinavian Vlsi: a horse penis and a symbol of fertility from the "Saga Of King Olaf Tryggvason". Then by associating Vlsi with the fertility attributes of the god Freyr, she equated Veles with Freyr. In the next step of her reasoning, she introduced Thor as "almighty god" and equated him with Perun. This was followed then by the interpretation of a passage in the Russo-Byzantine treaty, "slain by their own weapon", as a reference to Odin/Wodan. Finally, she arriving at the conclusion that the 971 treaty was really sworn on Odin, Thor and Freyr. However, this interpretation poses serious problems. The passage " (da budem zoloti yako zoloto) - become yellow as a gold", already explained in terms of sickness as a punishment for breaking the oath, has no conceptual link with the Icelandic golden ring. A brief account of laying some gold under the Perun idol by prince Igor in 945, as a part of the oath is hard to interpret and explain. Unfortunately, "The Russian Primary Chronicle" does not specify whether the"gold" of Igor''s was a personal jewellery, some booty or some other artefacts. Consequently, it does not offer any clues which could assist in the interpretation of its symbolism and it could be freely interpreted or linked with most of the religions. Using Chadwick''s logic we may come to the conclusion that the Kievan cult was influenced by Roman Catholicism. After all, Catholics are known to make golden votive offerings to their Saints. Although, the authenticity and antiquity of the "horse penis - Vlsi" story has been questioned , its links with god Freyr seem plausible. Nevertheless, this interpretation fails to explain how Freyr under the name Vlinas, became a major deity of the Baltic people. And how, under the Slavic name Veles, it became known among the Western and Southern Slavs (see earlier paragraph on Volos). In a subsequent step in her study, Chadwick conveniently omitted Njrdr and more or less out of the blue introduced Odin and Thor - mentioned by name neither in Icelandic oath or Russo-Byzantinian treaty. Hence, taking into consideration that the entire interpretation is based on a lengthy sequence of highly speculative arguments it should rather be disregarded. Also, Nora Chadwick claimed that the name of the Kievan deity Khors derives from the Anglo-Saxon "hors" and Old Norse "hross" - both meaning: horse - and that Khors did not appear in other sources. Then by association of horse with horse penis she also linked Khors with both Vlsi and Volos. Evidently, she was unaware that this god was mentioned together with Veles and other deities in " - Hozhdyene Boguroditsi Po Mukam", and once more in "Tale of Igors Campaign". But above all, taking into consideration strong and undisputable Northern Iranian influence on the Slavic religion and languages, the Iranian etymology of Khors and his solar association appear to be more plausible. All together Nora Chadwick''s theories on the origins of later pagan Eastern Slavic religion should rather be addressed in a freudian rather than historical context. Nevertheless, taking into consideration that the Varangians and Slavs co-existed for centuries in the land of Rus'', we could suspect that some diffusion of religious elements took place. For example, a number of ship burials were reported in Russia. This is obviously a Scandinavian custom with similar burials found all over Scandinavia, in Iceland, Brittany and England. It is hard to say who was buried there, but it is likely that at least in some cases the Slavic elite might have adopted these Scandinavian burial custom. It is possible that prince Igor''s act of laying down his weapons under Perun''s idol , reflected a Scandinavian ritual. All Germanic people revered their swords resulting inmany of them endowed with magical and supernatural powers. On the other hand, other people like Scythians worshipped a sword as a war god symbol and are known to perform the sacrifice of a horse and cattle to it. As a matter of fact "celebration" of weapons could be viewed as any warrior ritual, not exclusively Germanic. On the contrary, there is some evidence of slavization of Varangian beliefs in Kievan Rus''. For example, according to Al Masudi, wives of deceased prominent Slavs were burned alive with their husbands. There is no reason to doubt the account as similar customs were practiced by Indians and Sarmatians. However, an account by another Arab trader of the early tenth century, referring to the Varangian Russes, tells as that they buried alive the wives of important man when he dies. There is no evidence for that practice among any other Germanic people and it is reasonable to assume that it was adopted by Varangians from the Eastern Slavs. It is also worth noting that, according to "The Russian Primary Chronicle" treaties with the Byzantines, in 907, 945 and 971were sworn by the Russes on Perun. Regardless of conceptual similarities between the Germanic Thor and the Slavic Perun, the very fact that they swore by a Slavic rather then Scandinavian deity suggests a high degree of slavization of Varangian beliefs. CONCLUSION In summary, it has to be acknowledged that the reconstruction of the "core" Slavic beliefs ( presented above ) may be a subject of criticism, and certain details subject to different interpretations. Nevertheless, it could be said that the pre-migration religion of Slavs was clearly and deeply rooted in the common Indo-European tradition. In this period the Slavic religion shows certain conceptual uniformity but was not a single set of beliefs. It displayed very strong and an indisputable Northern Iranian influence, in both religious concepts and origins of many deities. As fore-going work shows, the alledged animism of pre-Christian Slavic beliefs appeared to be a hard dying legacy of biases of the two German historians of 30''s and early 40''s, Winecke and Franz; and also of the general lack of a serious research on the subject. Moreover, Vladimir''s pantheon was not a foreign, Scandinavian elite cult. It is reasonable to assume that certain Norman elements were incorporated into the Kievan cult but their impact is hardly traceable. In principle, Vladimir''s pantheon was a response to internal socio-political changes and the external needs of the emerging Eastern Slavic state. It was a henotheistic and dynastic cult focussing onthe deity which best served state building purposes - Perun. It was a product of the long evolution of the Eastern Slavic religion which in post-migration times diverged from a relative conceptual unity of the common Slavic beliefs. Eastern Slavic beliefs evolved in specific geographic, ethnic and political conditions, characteristic for Eastern Europe. Its development was the response to those circumstances. Serving new needs and purposes, the Kievan cult must have incorporated new attributes and acquired a new dimension. Nevertheless, those new elements were drawn mainly from Slavic and Northern Iranian heritage, rather than from the Scandinavian one. B I B L I O G R A P H Y P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S Helmold of Bosau, Chronica Slavorum, in F. J. Tschan, editor, The Chronicle of the Slavs (New York: Octagon Books Inc., 1966) Helmold of Bossau, Chronica Slavorum, in J. Strzelczyk & J. Matuszewski, editor & translator, Helmolda Kronika S%owian (Helmold''s Chronicle of the Slavs) (Warszawa, Poland: Pa%stwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974) Herodotus, The Histories, in A. De Slincourt translator, A.R.Burn ed. (Hammondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1986) John Malalas, The Chronicle of John Malalas (Melbourne: Australian Association of Byzantine Studies, 1986) (Povest Vremennykh Let - Laurentian - version), (Moscow, Leningrad: Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, 1950) Procopius of Ceasarea, History of the Wars (Cambridge, Mass., USA: Harward University Press, 1968) The Rig Veda ((Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Limited, 1981) Saxo Grammaticus, Danorum Regum Heroumque Historia, edited & transl. by E. Christiansen ( Oxford: Brittish Archaeoogical Reports, 1981) The Song of Igor''s Campaign, translated by V. Nabokov (London: Weidenfeld And Nicholson, 1960) Thietmar of Merseburg, Chronicon, edited & transl. by M.Z. Jedlicki, ed. ( Pozna%; Poland: Instytut Zachodni, 1953) Vernadsky, G., & Fisher, Jr., R.T., A Source Book for Russian History from Early Times To 1917, Vol. 1 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972) Zenkovsky, S.A. ed., Medieval Russia''s Epics, Chronicles and Tales (New York: E. P. 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