More and more often one can come across assertions of a number of "Ukrainian" and even Russian pseudo-historians, who say that the name "Rus", and from him and "Russia", were stolen by Peter I and the Russian people. That in fact, Russia should only be called “Ukraine” (well, maybe also Belarus), but Russia is a country far from Slavism and Russianness, which concocted its own identity, mixing stolen “Ukrainian” and Asian or Finno-Ugric.
Sounds funny? I know, but some people really think so! It's time to vaccinate them against historical ignorance with a taste of Russophobia.
Some myths about Ancient Russia
- Let's start with the fact that the ancient Russian state was located on the territory of modern "Ukraine", Belarus, but also Russia. And in all these lands there lived one people who tried to consolidate into a single state. Yes, of course, Kiev was the capital of this state, but this was not always the case.
- It is believed that Russia was founded in 862. But Rurik did not immediately come to Kiev. For some time the capital of the ancient Russian state was Ladoga, some - Novgorod, according to some sources - also Rusa (Staraya Russa).
- “Ukrainians” can often reproach the Russians for the fact that Moscow was created much later than Kiev. Yes, but why do you forget about Ladoga, Murom, Rostov, Smolensk, Starodub, Novgorod, Izborsk and other cities? All of them are located on the territory of the modern Russian Federation. These cities are more ancient than Moscow, and arose almost simultaneously with those that are in the "Ukraine".
Promotional video:
- Interesting and unexpected for all sorts of Russophobes may be the fact that, of course, they will not write in textbooks: many princes of Kiev were also the rulers of lands on the territory of modern Russia, and often before they began to rule in Kiev. Among them are Oleg the Prophet, Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Yaroslav the Wise
- In addition, to the surprise of many, the ancient Russian state was not called Kievan Rus. This term is academic and appears in historiography only in the 19th century; it was simply derived by historians, but not used by the real inhabitants of this country.
They called their homeland simply Rus or Russian land. The same "Tale of Bygone Years" begins with the words "where did the Russian land go?"
The name "Ukraine"
Surprisingly, not the "mother of Ukrainian cities"
Yes, indeed, the lands of modern Central and Western "Ukraine" were sometimes called the same "Ukraine" in the annals. But you can't stop there!
- So in Peresopnytskyi the Gospel, which, as it is considered to be "Ukrainian" nationalists, is written in the "Ukrainian" language, there is an interesting fragment where "Ukraine" is a border territory.
3rd line from the end: "in Judaic Ukraine"
- In Dahl's dictionary we find the following:
Ukraine is called the land not only, in fact, in Ukraine, but also in Siberia and Moldova
- “Ukraine” was again called the area in Siberia, it is found even in folk songs:
Muscovy and Russia
And finally, let's come to the main myth and the main analysis.
"Muscovy" is a purely foreign-language term that arose in the 15th century (it is important to note that Moscow itself and the Moscow principality appeared much earlier) and was used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. In Western and Northern Europe, as well as in the Holy Roman Empire, the names "Moscovia" and "Russia" coexisted. The Latinism "Muscovy" was not used as a self-name.
The principality itself, since the 16th century, after uniting with others, officially takes the name of the Russian or Russian Kingdom.
- For those who are not in the know, the name "Russia" is simply "Rus" in Greek or Latin. For the first time the word is found in the X century, when it was used by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.
- The title "Prince of All Russia" was worn by the rulers of Moscow since the time of Simeon the Proud (1340 - 1353)
In Muscovy, one speech and one language, namely Russian or Slavic, in all the principalities.
From the "Treatise on the Two Sarmatias" by Matthew Mekhovsky, 1517
- Map of Russia in 1595, compiled by the famous German cartographer Gerard Mercator. Here the whole country is called Russia, and Muscovy is the region to the north-west of the capital.
- Fragment of the map of Abraham Ortelius, 1574. "John Vasilyevich, the great emperor of Russia, prince of Muscovy."
This huge region, called Russia or Sarmatia, has a border in the east along the White Sea, in the west it borders on the German Sea, in the south it stretches to the city of Saray and Kumania, and in the north to the Perm region. Rivers of enormous size flow along it, the largest of which is Edil, which is not inferior in size to the Nile. Also in this land there are the greatest swamps, in which people are unable to stay due to the painful climate there.
Fra Mauro
- On the Fra Mauro map of 1459, the peculiarity of which is that it is turned upside down, as many as five Russians are depicted:
"Rossia" (Red Russia, lat. Rossia Rossa) - southern and southwestern Russia;
"Russia", "Europe" (lat. Evropa Rossia) - northwestern lands;
"Russia Sarmatia or Russia in Europe" (lat. Sarmatia over Rossia in Evropa) - northern lands;
"Russia Bianca, Sarmatia or Russia in Asia" (White Russia, lat. Rossia Biancha, Sarmatia over Rossia in Asia, Great Russia) - eastern;
"Russia Negra" (Black Russia, lat. Rossia Negra) - central and north-eastern Russia.
- German diplomat Sigismund Herberstein began the content of his work "Notes on Muscovy" as follows: "A brief description of Russia and its capital Muscovy."
- Letter of the embassy order (central government agency) from 1721.
- Jacques Margeret, a French soldier, wrote directly about the erroneousness of naming Russia Muscovy, and the Russians Muscovites:
It is a mistake to call them Muscovites, and not Russians, as not only we, who live in the distance, but also their closer neighbors do. They themselves, when asked what nation they are, answer: Russac, that is, Russians, and if they are asked where, they answer: from Moscow, Vologda, Ryazan or other cities … Muscovites can be called residents of only one city; it is as if all the French were called Parisians for the reason that Paris is the capital of the Kingdom of France, and even then with good reason, since Paris has been the capital since time immemorial, and Moscow has been it for only a hundred or two hundred years. Also, the abbreviated title of their sovereign is Zar Hospodar y Veliquei knes N. fsia Russia, which should, in fact, be understood as “the king, lord and grand duke of us, all Russians” or “all Russia” …
- In the ABC of Burtsev-Protopopov (1637) we meet the following: Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich and Patriarch Joseph are called All-Russian
- In the Nishtadt Peace Treaty, signed on August 30, 1721 (3 months before the emergence of the Russian Empire) between "Muscovy" and Sweden, "Muscovy" is called the Russian State.
Copy of the contract in German
- And finally … The very document by which Peter I accepts the title of Emperor of All Russia, and "Muscovy", according to the idea of Russophobes, becomes Russia. And what do we see? The state is already at that time Russian and the people too!
Conclusion: Russophobes are again spreading myths that have no historical foundation. Even before the emergence of the Russian Empire, its lands were called Russia and Rus, and the people were called Russian and Russian. And of course, you can find a lot of maps and information with mentioning the terms "Muscovy", "Muscovites", etc., but, based on the above, we can safely say: this is just one of the variants of the name of the RUSSIAN state and the RUSSIAN people.
Author: Roman Yaniv