On July 2, 1872, in the town of Kargopol, present-day Arkhangelsk region, Alexander Gilferding, diplomat, politician, Slavic scholar, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, died of typhoid fever. He was one of the first in Russia to study Sanskrit and the connection of this ancient Indian literary language with the Slavic languages.
“There is no need for deceptive dreams, / There is no need for beautiful utopias; / But Rock raises the question: / Who are we in this old Europe? / Random guests? horde, / Coming from Kama and Obi, / That always breathes with rage, / Destroys everything in senseless rage? / Or we are that great people, / Whose name will not be forgotten, / Whose speech is still singing / Consonant with the Sanskrit melody! These lines by Valery Bryusov, written by the poet in July 1914, were the quintessence of the attitude of many Russian intellectuals. A strong territorial tie between Russia and the European continent seemed absurd to thinking people, since mentally their country was in a completely different space. In the 19th century, in search of the origins of domestic civilization, Russian scientists again and again turned to Sanskrit, the ancient Indian literary language.
The theory that appeared then about the common roots of the Slavs and Aryans received support from such prominent Slavists of the century as Izmail Sreznevsky and Alexander Afanasyev.
However, Sanskrit was not open to science in Russia. In 1786, the attention of Europeans was drawn to him by William Jones, an orientalist and philologist, founder of the British Asiatic Society in Calcutta. “No matter how ancient Sanskrit is, it has an amazing structure,” Jones noted. “It is more perfect than Greek, richer than Latin, and more sophisticated than either. And at the same time, it bears such a close resemblance to these two languages, both in the roots of the verbs and in the grammatical forms, that it can hardly be an accident."
Sanskrit, which has existed in writing alone for more than two millennia, has been recognized as a benchmark, a starting point for the study of European languages. The concept of their genealogical unity began to take shape, and the comparative historical method arose in linguistics. Until now, the statement of the philologist, Indologist Friedrich Maximilian Müller remains relevant: "If I were asked what I consider the greatest discovery of the 19th century in the study of the ancient history of mankind, I would give a simple etymological correspondence - Sanskrit Dyaus Pitar = Greek Zeus Pater = Latin Jupiter" … Meanwhile, the largest percentage of words similar in structure, sound and meaning to the Sanskrit vocabulary falls precisely on the Slavic languages, and only then on all other European languages. This conclusion was made, for example,the remarkable Russian Slavic scholar Alexander Fedorovich Hilferding. "The proximity is extraordinary"
He was born in Warsaw on July 14, 1831 in the family of the director of the diplomatic office under the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, a Catholic by religion. At home he mastered ancient and new languages with tutors. Hilferding devoted his youthful work "A Brief Sketch of the History of the Slavic Peoples in the 9th and 10th Centuries" to the topic of the settlement of Slavic tribes, the founding of their first states. Having arrived in Moscow at the age of seventeen, Alexander entered the history and philology faculty of the university, where the teaching environment was mostly Westerners. However, Hilferding joined the Slavophils, in whose circle he became close to Khomyakov, Aksakov, Samarin and the Kireevsky brothers. Slavic studies were for him not a kingdom of abstract ideas, but life itself, that political reality that directly concerned both compatriots and Slavs in Europe. In 1852,After completing his university course, Hilferding was recruited into the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The work "On the affinity of the Slavic language with the Sanskrit", prepared a year later, fully reflected his Slavophil position, according to which the cultural history of the Slavs is isolated from European civilization. “The Slavic language in all its dialects has retained the roots and words that exist in Sanskrit,” writes Hilferding. - In this respect, the closeness of the compared languages is extraordinary. No matter how well the modern scientists have processed other European languages, none of them have found so many words related to Sanskrit, at the first attempt to study its comparative lexical composition … The languages Sanskrit and Russian do not differ from each other by any permanent, organic changes in sounds. Hilferding concludes that the Slavic and Lithuanian languages converge with Sanskrit in five sound laws,"Alien to other branches of the Indo-European tribe." In particular, in the softening of consonants. He explains this closeness by a longer “prehistoric unity and communication”. The scientist gives an extensive list of related words, in his opinion, contained in Russian and Sanskrit.
Here are examples of just a few such vocabulary pairs: "Lamb": aghna - "inviolable"; "Barn": ambarajami - "collecting, saving up"; "To bring down": val - "to move"; "To see": vid - "to recognize"; "Marvel": div - "shine"; "To repent": khai - "to regret"; "Moan": kan - "moan, complain"; "Peel": lup - "peel, cut"; "Raspberry": malin - "bush"; "Dirty trick": phakk - "to act dishonestly"; "Nourish": pitu - "food"; "Beehive": ulva - "hollow". Croatian Slavist Vatroslav Yagich noted Hilferding's monograph, acknowledging a number of correct observations in his analysis, but in general he was skeptical about this work. According to Yagich, in his striving to grasp the immensity, that is, the entire Sanskrit-Slavic lexicon, the author in many cases formed dictionary pairs according to apparent consonance or, with similar meanings, did not take into account more accurate sound signs. Diplomat and Publicist In 1854-1855, Moskovskiye Vedomosti, and in 1859, Russkaya Beseda published a series of articles by Hilferding, Letters on the History of Serbs and Bulgarians.
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This work became, in fact, the first complete study of the medieval history of the analyzed peoples, was highly appreciated in the Slavic countries, and was translated into German and Serbian. As noted by the historiographer Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin, nothing like this has appeared in the scientific literature: “This is not only the history of events and even the change of institutions and everyday features; no, this is the history of concepts and views. " In this respect, the famous work of the Czech Slavist Shafarik "Slavic Antiquities" was outperformed by the "Letters". Hilferding gave remarkable characteristics of Slavic rulers, for example, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I the Great, his son Peter. Alexander Fedorovich did not bypass the activities of the Slavic first teachers. He penned the articles: "When was the Slavic alphabet invented?", "Did Cyril have a direct influence on the Russian Slavs?"Was the Cyrillic alphabet invented by Cyril?", In which an affirmative answer is given, "How do the modern Slavs relate to Cyril and Methodius?" In 1856, Hilferding was appointed consul to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he visited local libraries and where, thanks to his personal connections, he was able to collect a unique collection of old, part of parchment manuscripts. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen.in which an affirmative answer is given, "How do the modern Slavs relate to Cyril and Methodius?" In 1856, Hilferding was appointed consul to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he visited local libraries and where, thanks to his personal contacts, he was able to collect a unique collection of old, part of parchment manuscripts. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen.in which an affirmative answer is given, "How do the modern Slavs relate to Cyril and Methodius?" In 1856, Hilferding was appointed consul to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he visited local libraries and where, thanks to his personal contacts, he was able to collect a unique collection of old, part of parchment manuscripts. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen. In 1856, Hilferding was appointed consul to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he visited local libraries and where, thanks to his personal contacts, he was able to collect a unique collection of old, part of parchment manuscripts. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen. In 1856, Hilferding was appointed consul to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he visited local libraries and where, thanks to his personal contacts, he was able to collect a unique collection of old, part of parchment manuscripts. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen. The scientist will donate dozens of the rarest samples of South Slavic writing 12 years later to the Public Library in St. Petersburg. In 1858, a series of his essays “Bosnia. Travel notes ", which describe the customs, customs, rituals of the South Slavs, historical sights. At the same time, the author points to the catastrophically low level of local culture, including among the Orthodox clergy, to the oppression of the people by the churchmen.on the oppression of the people by the churchmen.on the oppression of the people by the churchmen.
In general, the journalistic, social note in his articles sounds during this period much louder than purely scientific motives. Hilferding the politician overshadows Hilferding the researcher in the works "The Historical Law of the Croatian People", "What Should We Look for a Solution to the Polish Question", "What Are the Russians Fighting with the Poles", "Hungary and the Slavs". Since 1859, Hilferding is the director of the Asian department. Since 1861, he served in the State Chancellery, and two years later became Assistant Secretary of State of the State Council, while participating in the work of the Committee for the Kingdom of Poland. While in this position, he writes a project for the transformation of educational institutions in Poland, the purpose of which is to weaken the influence of the Catholic Church in the local village. Despite the fact that he was almost 30 years younger than Fyodor Tyutchev,the poet communicated with him as an equal and received him in his home. During the Polish uprising of 1863, when a fierce anti-Russian campaign unfolded in the West, Olga Novikova, a publicist who had lived in London for a long time, who had been well-known for her speeches in the English press, turned to Tyutchev. She asked the poet to provide her with his political poems for distribution in England. To this Fyodor Ivanovich replied: “Let me better offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article about Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."When a fierce anti-Russian campaign unfolded in the West, Olga Novikova, a publicist who had lived in London for a long time, turned to Tyutchev for her speeches in the British press. She asked the poet to provide her with his political poems for distribution in England. To this Fyodor Ivanovich replied: “Let me better offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article about Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."When a frenzied anti-Russian campaign unfolded in the West, the publicist Olga Novikova, who had lived in London for a long time, turned to Tyutchev for her speeches in the British press. She asked the poet to provide her with his political poems for distribution in England. To this Fyodor Ivanovich replied: “Let me offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article about Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."Olga Novikova, a publicist who had lived in London for a long time, turned to Tyutchev. She asked the poet to provide her with his political poems for distribution in England. To this Fyodor Ivanovich replied: “Let me offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article about Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."Olga Novikova, a publicist who had lived in London for a long time, turned to Tyutchev. She asked the poet to provide her with his political poems for distribution in England. To this Fyodor Ivanovich replied: “Let me offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article about Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."“Let me better offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article on Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."“Let me better offer you something more worthy … This is Hilferding's long article on Poland … Read it, madam, and advise our European friends to read it. You will render them a service. " Hilferding described the Polish uprising as purely noble, gentry. Gentry, in his estimation, is a hypertrophied estate, "a class of people who have absorbed the entire historical life of the Polish people."
Why do Russians speak Sanskrit? But Hilferding deduced the reasons for what happened not only from social conditions, but also from the historical discord between the Polish and Russian peoples, explained by differences in national character and popular ideals. In April-May 1871, Alexander Fedorovich, at that time the head of the ethnographic department of the Russian Geographical Society, left for the Olonets province. Here, 900 miles from St. Petersburg, he recorded 318 epics from 70 singers in 48 days of continuous transitions, working to complete physical exhaustion. During the second expedition to these distant lands, Hilferding contracted typhus and died at the age of forty. His collection "Onega epics" was published posthumously. Place names to help But back to Sanskrit, the great Vedic language,which not only for Alexander Hilferding was inseparable from the idea of Slavic reciprocity and a single ancestor, synonymous with it. More than a century and a half have passed since the publication of the monograph "On the affinity of the Slavic language with the Sanskrit language". In the XX century, scientists, in particular the outstanding Slavic scholars Oleg Trubachev and Vladimir Toporov, have done a tremendous job of analyzing the vocabulary of the Russian and Indo-European languages. Studies, already on the material of toponyms and elements of the cult of the Slavs and Aryans, were continued by the Indologists Grigory Bongard-Levin and Natalya Guseva, the Iranianist and scythologist Edwin Grantovsky, the ethnographer Svetlana Zharnikova. It has been established that the Russian language contains more than two hundred roots that have correspondences in Sanskrit. It is enough to recall such words as "mother", "son", "house", "alive", "door", "wave". Archeology helps to identify the relationship of the Aryan and Slavic peoples,ethnography, folklore, ethnolinguistics and other scientific disciplines. Vladimir Toporov in the article “Proto-Slavic culture in the mirror of personal names. The element mir-”comprehensively examines the use of the Proto-Slavic root mir- in Old Russian, Croatian, Polish and other Slavic languages. And he compares it to the Sanskrit use of the word mitra.
It is known that in the pantheon of the Rig Veda, a collection of 1017 sacred hymns, the solar deity Mithra personified unity, planetary justice, harmony in marriage. In the Slavic languages, it is customary to call the universe, the unity of people, and justice, and consent in marriage by the same word "peace". Bog vam daj mir i blagoslov - this phrase always sounds during the Croatian wedding ceremony. In Russian, the word "world" is still used in the meaning of "people": "to gather together with the whole world." And in the Rig Veda there is an expression Mitro janan yatayati bruvano, which means: "Mitra gathers people, puts them in order." The element mir- is also present in Slavic names: Kazimir, Ladomir, Miroslav, Radomir, Vladimir …
As for toponymy, an exceptionally ancient section of vocabulary, including the names of rivers, lakes, hills, these names have been preserved for centuries and millennia and therefore are especially valuable. Svetlana Zharnikova lists about 80 hydronyms of the Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions with Sanskrit roots. Among them are Garava: gara - "drink", va - "like". That is, "like a drink." Or Moksha: maksuyu - "fast". Or Tara: tara - "crossing". Sanskrit scholar Durga Prasad Shastri at a conference in February 1964 in the Indian city of Ghaziabad stated that Russian and Sanskrit are two languages in the world that are similar to each other like no others. Similar in word structure, style, syntax. “When I was in Moscow,” Professor Shastri recalled then, “at the hotel they gave me the keys to room 234 and said:“two hundred thirty-four”. In bewilderment, I could not understand whether I was standing in front of a nice girl in Moscow or in Benares or Ujjain in our classical period, about two thousand years ago. In Sanskrit 234 is dwishata tridasha chatwari. " Alexander Hilferding, if he lived in the XX century, would have something to talk about with a colleague from India. And on what.
Georgy Stepanov, Echo of the Planet, no. 24