Contrary to popular belief, polygamy is not unique to the Muslim world. Our ancestors, the Slavs, also had harems, sometimes quite crowded. Of course, this was still in the pagan era, before the adoption of Christianity.
Not so much information has come down to us about the family structure of the East Slavic tribes, but they are more than eloquent.
The main source of information about the life of our ancestors in ancient times remains for us the chronicles, and, above all, the "Tale of Bygone Years", which is attributed to Nestor. From it, we learn, for example, that Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who received the nickname Red Sun, had seven wives and 800 concubines. The chronicler's remark on this matter is very understandable: “Prince Vladimir … was insatiable in fornication”.
As for 800 concubines, Nestor, apparently, nevertheless got excited, or simply wanted, as was customary in those days, to draw an analogy with the Bible and liken his prince to the wise king Solomon, who, as you know, also had a large harem. But be that as it may, one thing is clear - Vladimir Svyatoslavich had many wives and concubines.
And he was not alone in this. All Slavs adhered to similar customs during the pagan period. Each man had as many women as he could feed, the size of the harem is a kind of indicator of status.
At the same time, children from legitimate wives and from concubines, in all likelihood, did not differ much in rights. Prince Vladimir himself was the son of Svyatoslav from Malusha, the slave of Princess Olga. The fact that he was "robichich" he was often reproached, which did not prevent Vladimir from first taking the princely throne in Novgorod, and then in Kiev itself.
The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan, who lived in the 10th century, also writes about the large harems of the ancient Russian leaders and left the most interesting notes about the journey to our lands.
He describes a noble Rus sitting on a bed that is “huge and inlaid with precious gems. And with him sit on this couch 40 girls for his bed. Sometimes he uses one of them as a concubine in the presence of his companions … And he has no other business how to marry (with girls), drink and indulge in entertainment."
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The Eastern Slavs in this sense did not differ from their Western relatives. From historical chronicles, we learn that the prince of the Poles Meshko, before he adopted Christianity, had seven wives, and the Czech prince Slavnik did not lag behind him.
But the most, probably, eloquent information on this subject, "The Tale of Bygone Years" gives about the East Slavic tribes of the Vyatichi, Radimichi, northerners.
The fact is that at the time of Nestor they lived somewhat away from civilization, that is, from Kiev and the lands inhabited by meadows. Vyatichi, for example, lived strongly to the east, in the forests along the banks of the Oka. They were baptized in the time of Nestor, rather formally, and only a hundred years before, in the time of Prince Vladimir and earlier, they were completely distinguished by the primitive simplicity of manners.
Nestor writes with extreme disapproval that the Vyatichi “lived in the woods like animals, ate everything that was unclean, they had shame on their fathers and daughters-in-law; they did not have marriages, but there were games between the villages. They converged on games, on dances and on all demonic games, and here they snatched their wives, with whom someone conspired; had two and three wives … ". The custom of "abducting wives by collusion" is very archaic, just like the custom of polygamy. And there is no doubt that the more "civilized" meadows did the same in their time.
Baptism put an end to it
The chronicle contains a detailed story about how representatives of different faiths - Islam, Jewish religion, Christianity - come to Vladimir and tell the prince about the advantages of their custom. In a sense, Vladimir Svyatoslavich even liked Islam, but he rejected this religion because of the ban on drinking wine, saying the well-known phrase: "The merriment of Russia is drinking." So, due to an addiction to strong drinks, the Slavs parted with polygamy.
But the custom of having many wives and concubines did not go away immediately. For a long time, up to the 12th century, articles were preserved in the church charter, providing for punishment for polygamy.
