The theme of Russian paganism in last years incredibly popular. The ranks of “Rodnovers”, “Slavic-Aryans”, “relatives” and other neo-pagan movements are expanding. Meanwhile, even before the middle of the last century, the debate about Russian paganism was conducted only in scientific circles.

What is paganism

The word "paganism" comes from Slavic word“pagans”, that is, “peoples” who did not accept Christianity. In historical chronicles it also means “worshipper of many gods (idols)”, “idol worshiper”.

The word “paganism” itself is a translation from the Greek “ethnikos” (“pagan”), from “ethnos” (“people”).

From the same Greek root, a people is called an “ethnos,” and the name of the science of “ethnography” is derived from “the study of the material and spiritual culture of peoples.”

When translating the Bible, translators translated the word “Gentile” from the Hebrew terms “goy” (non-Jew) and similar ones. Then the first Christians began to use the word “pagan” to designate representatives of all non-Abramic religions.

The fact that these religions were, as a rule, polytheistic influenced the fact that “paganism” in the broad sense began to be called “polytheism” as such.

Difficulties

There was very little scientific research on Russian paganism until the last third of the 20th century.

In 1902-1934, the Czech philologist Lubor Niederle published his famous work “Slavic Antiquities”. In 1914, the book of the Masonic historian Evgeniy Anichkov “Paganism and Ancient Rus'” was published. At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian paganism was studied by a philologist of Finnish origin, Viljo Petrovich Mansikka (“Religion Eastern Slavs»).

After the First World War, interest in Slavic paganism subsided and awoke again in the second half of the 20th century.

In 1974, the work of Vladimir Toporov and Vyacheslav Ivanov “Research in the field of Slavic antiquities" In 1981 - the book of archaeologist Boris Rybakov “The Paganism of the Ancient Slavs”. In 1982 - the sensational work of philologist Boris Uspensky about the ancient cult of Nicholas of Myra.

If we go to any bookstore now, we will see hundreds of books on Russian paganism on the shelves. Everyone writes about it (even satirists) - the topic is very popular, but today it is extremely difficult to “catch” anything scientific in this ocean of waste paper.

Ideas about Russian paganism are still fragmentary. What do we know about him?

Gods

Russian paganism was a polytheistic religion. This has been proven. The supreme god was Perun, which immediately puts the paganism of the Slavs in a row of religions with the Thunder God at the head of the pantheon (remember Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism).

The so-called “Vladimir Pantheon”, compiled in 980, gives us an idea of ​​the main pagan gods.

In the Laurentian Chronicle we read: “And Volodya began to reign as one in Kyiv and placed idols on a hill outside the dark courtyard. Perun is wooden and his head is silver and otss is gold and Khursa Dazhba and Striba and Simargla and Mokosh [and] I ryakhu in the name of the honorable god... and I eat the demon."...

There is a direct listing of the gods: Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh.

Horse

Khors and Dazhdbog were considered sun gods. If Dazhdbog was recognized Slavic god sun, then Khorsa was considered the sun god of the southern tribes, in particular the Torci, where the Scythian-Alan influence was strong even in the 10th century.

The name Khorsa is derived from the Persian language, where korsh (korshid) means “sun”.

However, the personification of Khors with the sun has been disputed by some scholars. Thus, Evgeny Anichkov wrote that Khors is not the god of the sun, but the god of the month, the moon.

He made this conclusion on the basis of the text “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” which mentions the majestic pagan deity to whom Vseslav of Polotsk crossed the path: “Vseslav the Prince ruled over the people, ruled over the princes of the city, and at night he prowled like a wolf: from Kyiv he hunted to the roosters of Tmutarakan , the great Horse scoured the path like a wolf.”

It is clear that Vseslav crossed the path of Khorsu at night. The Great Horse, according to Anichkov, was not the sun, but the month, which was also worshiped by the Eastern Slavs.

Dazhdbog

There is no dispute regarding the solar nature of Dazhdbog. His name comes from “dazhd” - to give, that is, God willing, giving god, literally: giving life.

According to ancient Russian monuments, the sun and Dazhdbog are synonyms. The Ipatiev Chronicle calls Dazhdbog the sun in 1114: “The sun is the king, the son of Svarog, aka Dazhdbog.” In the already mentioned “Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the Russian people are called Dazhdboz’s grandchildren.

Stribog

Another god from the Vladimir pantheon is Stribog. He is usually considered the god of the winds, but in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” we read: “Behold the winds, Stribozh’s grandchildren, blow arrows from the sea onto Igor’s brave regiments.”

This allows us to talk about Stribog as the god of war. The first part of the name of this deity “stri” comes from the ancient “street” - to destroy. Hence Stribog is the destroyer of good, the destroying god, or the god of war. Thus, Stribog is a destructive principle as opposed to the good Dazhdbog. Another name for Stribog among the Slavs is Pozvizd.

Among the gods listed in the chronicle, whose idols stood on Starokievskaya Mountain, the essence of Simargl is not entirely clear.

Some researchers compare Simargl with the Iranian deity Simurgh (Senmurv), the sacred winged dog, plant keeper. According to Boris Rybakov, Simargl in Rus' in the 12th–13th centuries was replaced by the god Pereplut, who had the same meaning as Simargl. Obviously, Simargl was the deity of some tribe, subject to the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir.

The only woman in the Vladimir pantheon is Mokosh. She's different sources was revered as the goddess of water (the name “Mokosh” is associated with the common Slavic word “get wet”), as the goddess of fertility and birth.

In a more everyday sense, Mokosh was also the goddess of sheep breeding, weaving and women's husbandry.

Mokosh was revered for a long time after 988. This is indicated by at least one of the 16th century questionnaires; During confession, the clergyman was obliged to ask the woman: “Didn’t you go to Mokosha?” Sheaves of flax and embroidered towels were sacrificed to the goddess Mokosha (later Paraskeva Pyatnitsa).

In the book by Ivanov and Toporov, the relationship between Perun and Veles goes back to the ancient Indo-European myth about the duel between the God of Thunder and the Serpent; in the East Slavic implementation of this myth, “the duel between the Thunder God and his opponent occurs due to the possession of a lamb.”

Volos, or Veles, usually appears in Russian chronicles as a “cattle god”, as a god of wealth and trade. “Cattle” - money, tax; "cowwoman" - treasury, "cowman" - tribute collector.

IN Ancient Rus', especially in the North, the cult of Volos was very significant. In Novgorod, the memory of pagan Volos was preserved in the stable name of Volosovaya Street.

The cult of Hair was also in Vladimir on the Klyazma. The suburban Nikolsky-Volosov monastery, built according to legend on the site of the temple of Volos, is famous here. There was also a temple of Volos in Kyiv, down on Podol near the trading piers of Pochayna.

Scientists Anichkov and Lavrov believed that the temple of Volos in Kyiv was located where the boats of the Novgorodians and Krivichi stopped. Therefore, Veles can be considered either the god of the “wider part of the population,” or the “god of the Novgorod Slovenes.”

Veles's book

When talking about Russian paganism, one must always understand that this system of ideas is reconstructed according to the language, folklore, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs. The key word here is “reconstructed”.

Unfortunately, since the middle of the last century, increased interest in the topic of Slavic paganism began to give rise to both poorly proven pseudo-scientific research and outright fakes.

The most famous hoax is the so-called “Veles Book”.

According to the recollections of the scientist’s son, in his last performance At the department’s bureau, Academician Boris Rybakov said: “Historical science faces two dangers. Veles's book. And - Fomenko." And he sat down in his place.

Many people still believe in the authenticity of the Book of Veles. This is not surprising: according to it, the history of the Russians begins in the 9th century. BC e. from forefather Bogumir. In Ukraine, the study of the Book of Veles is even included in school curriculum. This is, to put it mildly, astonishing, since the authenticity of this text is not even fully recognized by the academic community.

Firstly, there are many errors and inaccuracies in the chronology, and secondly, the language and graphics do not correspond to the stated era. Finally, the primary source (wooden tablets) is simply missing.

According to serious scientists, the “Veles Book” is a hoax, allegedly created by the Russian emigrant Yuri Mirolyubov, who in 1950 in San Francisco published its text from the tablets that he never demonstrated.

The famous philologist Anatoly Alekseev expressed the general point of view of science when he wrote: “The question of the authenticity of the Book of Veles is resolved simply and unambiguously: it is a primitive forgery. There is not a single argument in defense of its authenticity; many arguments have been given against its authenticity.”

Although, of course, it would be nice to have “Slavic Vedas”, but only genuine ones, and not written by falsifiers.

The Slavs had a pagan faith, they had several gods, whom they worshiped in accordance with the necessity of life. There was a certain hierarchy among their gods, and each tribe or clan had its own “main” god.

The hierarchy is divided into three levels: highest, middle and lowest. At the highest level, the Slavs had gods who helped in the most vital matters - Svarog, Svarozhichi, Heaven, Earth, Perun. This is evidenced by widespread legends and myths. At the middle level, the Slavs placed gods who help in household, in seasonal work. The gods who embodied the integrity of small communities were also located here - Rod, Chur, female names gods as identification feminine and matrimonial foundations of the clan. At the lowest level, the Slavs placed divine creatures for which they could not find a real explanation: these are brownies and mermaids, goblins and ghouls, and similar unidentified brethren.

In the rites of worship of various gods, the Slavs always observed rituals that had developed over centuries, which made it possible to get what they wanted, not to offend the spirits to whom the appeal was directed, and to protect themselves from divine spirits when they saw the need for it.

Verbal designation of the gods worshiped by the ancient Slavs

The general word "god" was used by Slavs of different tribes. It meant happiness, success in business and endeavors. The word “god” in the languages ​​and dialects of various Slavic tribes was part of the name when designating a different deity, for example, in the names Dazhdbog or Chernobog, Stribog or Belbog, the main particle of the word is “god”, which affirms the general purpose of the name.

The oldest male deity of the Slavs is Rod. He was called upon to unite tribal tribes, maintain discipline and order in communities. This is evidenced by the word itself - “clan”, as a designation of the unity of a group of people. There is another designation for this word, which came from the ancient Slavic language. Among the ancient Slavs, the root “rod” in the word means kinship, a spring of water, profit in crops, the color red and ball lightning, which the Slavs called “rhodia”. Such a variety of concepts speaks only of the great greatness and power of the pagan god.

Favorite god - god of war, Perun

What gods the ancient Slavs worshiped is known today from ancient ballads, legends, and epics. The god of war, Perun, was important for ancient Slavic men, who made them feel like courageous defenders of the clan. Everyone was proud of warriors; a clan without warriors was considered defective. Perun has always been considered among the Slavs as the patron of warriors, the protector of princely squads. For the Slavs, this was a god-manager who could punish for non-compliance with tribal foundations and community laws. Men revered Perun as the giver of courage and masculine strength. At the same time, Perun was the god of thunderclouds, the lord of thunder and lightning. It is he who rides around in a chariot, causing the wheels to rumble, sparkling with his magic staff.

Directly opposite to masculine strength was Belbog - the personification of soft sunlight, good spring sky. In the concept of the ancient Slavs, he embodied goodness, luck, goodness. The sanctuary of Belbog was always built on a high hill, the entrance was directed toward the sunrise, and the interior was decorated with gold and silver. The outside of the sanctuary was also decorated with metal decorations, which played with light with the first rays of the sun, multiplying Sun rays, emphasizing the warmth and kindness of Belbog. In the sanctuary of Belbog it was allowed to remember other gods - Dazhdbog, Lelya, Dogod, Kolyada.

It turns out that the ancient Slavs had more good and good-bringing gods, which speaks of their peaceful orientation, their desire to live in goodness and harmony.

Paganism is a religion based on the belief in several gods at the same time, and not in one creator God, as, for example, in Christianity.

The concept of paganism

The term “paganism” itself is not entirely accurate, since it includes several concepts. Today, paganism is understood not so much as a religion, but as a set of religious and cultural beliefs, and belief in several gods is designated as “totemism,” “polytheism,” or “ethnic religion.”

Paganism of the ancient Slavs is a term that is used to designate a complex of religious and cultural views on the life of the ancient Slavic tribes before they accepted Christianity and converted to new faith. There is an opinion that the term itself in relation to ancient religious and ritual culture The Slavs did not come from the concept of polytheism (many deities), but from the fact that the ancient tribes, although they lived separately, had one language at their core. Thus, Nestor the Chronicler in his notes speaks of these tribes as pagans, that is, having the same language and common roots. Later, this term gradually began to be attributed to Slavic religious views and used to denote religion.

The emergence and development of paganism in Rus'

Slavic paganism began to take shape around the 2nd-1st millennium BC. under the influence of Indo-European culture, when the Slavs began to separate from it into independent tribes. Moving and occupying new territories, the Slavs became acquainted with the culture of their neighbors and adopted certain traits from them. Thus, it was the Indo-European culture that brought Slavic mythology images of the thunder god, the god of cattle and the image of mother earth. The Celts also had a significant influence on the Slavic tribes, who also enriched the Slavic pantheon and, in addition, brought the very concept of “god” to the Slavs, which had not previously been used. Slavic paganism has much in common with German-Scandinavian culture; from there the Slavs took the image of the world tree, dragons and many other deities, which were later transformed depending on living conditions and the characteristics of Slavic culture.

After the Slavic tribes formed and began to actively populate new territories, leave each other and separate, paganism also transformed, each tribe had its own special rituals, its own names for the gods and the deities themselves. So, by the 6th-7th centuries. The religion of the Eastern Slavs was quite noticeably different from the religion of the Western Slavs.

It should be noted that often the beliefs of the top of society were very different from the beliefs of the lower strata and what was believed in major cities and settlements, did not always coincide with the beliefs of small villages.

From the moment the Slavic tribes began to unite, began to form, external relations between the Slavs and Byzantium began to develop, gradually paganism began to be persecuted, old beliefs began to be doubted, even teachings against paganism appeared. As a result, after the Baptism of Rus' in 988, when Christianity became official religion, the Slavs began to gradually move away from old traditions, although the relationship between paganism and Christianity was not easy. According to some information, paganism is still preserved in many territories, and in Rus' it existed for quite a long time, until the 12th century.

The essence of Slavic paganism

Although there are a sufficient number of sources by which one can judge the beliefs of the Slavs, it is difficult to form a unified picture of the world of the East Slavic pagans. It is generally accepted that the essence of Slavic paganism was faith in the forces of nature, which determined human life, controlled it and decided destinies. From here follow the gods - lords of the elements and natural phenomena, mother earth. In addition to the highest pantheon of gods, the Slavs also had smaller deities - brownies, mermaids, etc. Small deities and demons did not have a serious influence on human life, but actively participated in it. The Slavs believed in the existence of a human soul, in the heavenly and underground kingdoms, in life after death.

Slavic paganism has many rituals that are associated with the interaction of gods and people. The gods were worshiped, they were asked for protection, patronage, sacrifices were made to them - most often it was cattle. There is no exact information about the presence of human sacrifices among the pagan Slavs.

List of Slavic gods

Common Slavic gods:

• Mother - Cheese Earth - chief female image, goddess of fertility, they worshiped her and asked for a good harvest, a good offspring;
• Perun - the thunder god, main god pantheon.

Other gods of the Eastern Slavs (also called the Vladimir pantheon):

• Veles is the patron of storytellers and poetry;
• Volos is the patron saint of livestock;
• Dazhdbog is a solar deity, considered the ancestor of all Russian people;
• Mokosh is the patroness of spinning and weaving;
• The clan and women in labor are deities personifying fate;
• Svarog - god-blacksmith;
• Svarozhich is the personification of fire;
• Simargl is a messenger between heaven and earth;
• Stribog is a deity associated with the winds;
• Horse is the personification of the sun.

The Slavic pagans also had various images that personified certain natural phenomena, but were not deities. These include Maslenitsa, Kolyada, Kupala, etc. Effigies of these images were burned during holidays and rituals.

Persecution of pagans and the end of paganism

The more Rus' united, the more it increased its political power and expanded contacts with other, more developed states, the more the pagans were persecuted by adherents of Christianity. After the Baptism of Rus' took place, Christianity became not just a new religion, but a new way of thinking, began to play a huge political and public role. Pagans who did not want to accept the new religion (and there were a lot of them) entered into open confrontation with Christians, but the latter did everything to bring the “barbarians” to reason. Paganism survived until the 12th century, but then began to gradually fade away.

The topic of Russian paganism has been incredibly popular in recent years. The ranks of “Rodnovers”, “Slavic-Aryans”, “relatives” and other neo-pagan movements are expanding. Meanwhile, even before the middle of the last century, the debate about Russian paganism was conducted only in scientific circles.

What is paganism

The word “paganism” comes from the Slavic word “pagans,” that is, “peoples” who did not accept Christianity. In historical chronicles it also means “worshipper of many gods (idols)”, “idol worshiper”.

The word “paganism” itself is a translation from the Greek “ethnikos” (“pagan”), from “ethnos” (“people”).

From the same Greek root, a people is called an “ethnos,” and the name of the science of “ethnography” is derived from “the study of the material and spiritual culture of peoples.”

When translating the Bible, translators translated the word “Gentile” from the Hebrew terms “goy” (non-Jew) and similar ones. Then the first Christians began to use the word “pagan” to designate representatives of all non-Abramic religions.

The fact that these religions were, as a rule, polytheistic influenced the fact that “paganism” in the broad sense began to be called “polytheism” as such.

Difficulties

There was very little scientific research on Russian paganism until the last third of the 20th century.

In 1902-1934, the Czech philologist Lubor Niederle published his famous work “Slavic Antiquities”. In 1914, the book of the Masonic historian Evgeniy Anichkov “Paganism and Ancient Rus'” was published. At the beginning of the 20th century, Finnish-born philologist Viljo Petrovich Mansikka (“Religion of the Eastern Slavs”) studied Russian paganism.

After the First World War, interest in Slavic paganism subsided and awoke again in the second half of the 20th century.

In 1974, the work of Vladimir Toporov and Vyacheslav Ivanov “Research in the Field of Slavic Antiquities” was published. In 1981 - the book of archaeologist Boris Rybakov “The Paganism of the Ancient Slavs”. In 1982 - the sensational work of philologist Boris Uspensky about the ancient cult of Nicholas of Myra.

If we go to any bookstore now, we will see hundreds of books on Russian paganism on the shelves. Everyone writes about it (even satirists) - the topic is very popular, but today it is extremely difficult to “catch” anything scientific in this ocean of waste paper.

Ideas about Russian paganism are still fragmentary. What do we know about him?

Gods

Russian paganism was a polytheistic religion. This has been proven. The supreme god was Perun, which immediately puts the paganism of the Slavs in a row of religions with the Thunder God at the head of the pantheon (remember Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism).

The so-called “Vladimir Pantheon”, compiled in 980, gives us an idea of ​​the main pagan gods.

In the Laurentian Chronicle we read: “And Volodya began to reign as one in Kyiv and placed idols on a hill outside the dark courtyard. Perun is wooden and his head is silver and otss is gold and Khursa Dazhba and Striba and Simargla and Mokosh [and] I ryakhu in the name of the honorable god... and I eat the demon."...

There is a direct listing of the gods: Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh.

Horse

Khors and Dazhdbog were considered sun gods. If Dazhdbog was recognized as the Slavic sun god, then Khorsa was considered the sun god of the southern tribes, in particular the Torci, where the Scythian-Alan influence was strong even in the 10th century.

The name Khorsa is derived from the Persian language, where korsh (korshid) means “sun”.

However, the personification of Khors with the sun has been disputed by some scholars. Thus, Evgeny Anichkov wrote that Khors is not the god of the sun, but the god of the month, the moon.

He made this conclusion on the basis of the text “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” which mentions the majestic pagan deity to whom Vseslav of Polotsk crossed the path: “Vseslav the Prince ruled over the people, ruled over the princes of the city, and at night he prowled like a wolf: from Kyiv he hunted to the roosters of Tmutarakan , the great Horse scoured the path like a wolf.”

It is clear that Vseslav crossed the path of Khorsu at night. The Great Horse, according to Anichkov, was not the sun, but the month, which was also worshiped by the Eastern Slavs.

Dazhdbog

There is no dispute regarding the solar nature of Dazhdbog. His name comes from “dazhd” - to give, that is, God willing, giving god, literally: giving life.

According to ancient Russian monuments, the sun and Dazhdbog are synonyms. The Ipatiev Chronicle calls Dazhdbog the sun in 1114: “The sun is the king, the son of Svarog, aka Dazhdbog.” In the already mentioned “Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the Russian people are called Dazhdboz’s grandchildren.

Stribog

Another god from the Vladimir pantheon is Stribog. He is usually considered the god of the winds, but in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” we read: “Behold the winds, Stribozh’s grandchildren, blow arrows from the sea onto Igor’s brave regiments.”

This allows us to talk about Stribog as the god of war. The first part of the name of this deity “stri” comes from the ancient “street” - to destroy. Hence Stribog is the destroyer of good, the destroying god, or the god of war. Thus, Stribog is a destructive principle as opposed to the good Dazhdbog. Another name for Stribog among the Slavs is Pozvizd.

Among the gods listed in the chronicle, whose idols stood on Starokievskaya Mountain, the essence of Simargl is not entirely clear.

Some researchers compare Simargl with the Iranian deity Simurgh (Senmurv), a sacred winged dog, guardian of plants. According to Boris Rybakov, Simargl in Rus' in the 12th–13th centuries was replaced by the god Pereplut, who had the same meaning as Simargl. Obviously, Simargl was the deity of some tribe, subject to the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir.

The only woman in the Vladimir pantheon is Mokosh. According to various sources, she was revered as the goddess of water (the name “Mokosh” is associated with the common Slavic word “get wet”), as the goddess of fertility and birth.

In a more everyday sense, Mokosh was also the goddess of sheep breeding, weaving and women's husbandry.

Mokosh was revered for a long time after 988. This is indicated by at least one of the 16th century questionnaires; During confession, the clergyman was obliged to ask the woman: “Didn’t you go to Mokosha?” Sheaves of flax and embroidered towels were sacrificed to the goddess Mokosha (later Paraskeva Pyatnitsa).

In the book by Ivanov and Toporov, the relationship between Perun and Veles goes back to the ancient Indo-European myth about the duel between the God of Thunder and the Serpent; in the East Slavic implementation of this myth, “the duel between the Thunder God and his opponent occurs due to the possession of a lamb.”

Volos, or Veles, usually appears in Russian chronicles as a “cattle god”, as a god of wealth and trade. “Cattle” - money, tax; "cowwoman" - treasury, "cowman" - tribute collector.

In Ancient Rus', especially in the North, the cult of Volos was very significant. In Novgorod, the memory of pagan Volos was preserved in the stable name of Volosovaya Street.

The cult of Hair was also in Vladimir on the Klyazma. The suburban Nikolsky-Volosov monastery, built according to legend on the site of the temple of Volos, is famous here. There was also a temple of Volos in Kyiv, down on Podol near the trading piers of Pochayna.

Scientists Anichkov and Lavrov believed that the temple of Volos in Kyiv was located where the boats of the Novgorodians and Krivichi stopped. Therefore, Veles can be considered either the god of the “wider part of the population,” or the “god of the Novgorod Slovenes.”

Veles's book

When talking about Russian paganism, one must always understand that this system of ideas is reconstructed according to the language, folklore, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs. The key word here is “reconstructed”.

Unfortunately, since the middle of the last century, increased interest in the topic of Slavic paganism began to give rise to both poorly proven pseudo-scientific research and outright fakes.

The most famous hoax is the so-called “Veles Book”.

According to the recollections of the scientist’s son, in his last speech at the department’s bureau, Academician Boris Rybakov said: “Historical science faces two dangers. Veles's book. And - Fomenko." And he sat down in his place.

Many people still believe in the authenticity of the Book of Veles. This is not surprising: according to it, the history of the Russians begins in the 9th century. BC e. from forefather Bogumir. In Ukraine, the study of “The Book of Veles” is even included in the school curriculum. This is, to put it mildly, astonishing, since the authenticity of this text is not even fully recognized by the academic community.

Firstly, there are many errors and inaccuracies in the chronology, and secondly, the language and graphics do not correspond to the stated era. Finally, the primary source (wooden tablets) is simply missing.

According to serious scientists, the “Veles Book” is a hoax, allegedly created by the Russian emigrant Yuri Mirolyubov, who in 1950 in San Francisco published its text from the tablets that he never demonstrated.

The famous philologist Anatoly Alekseev expressed the general point of view of science when he wrote: “The question of the authenticity of the Book of Veles is resolved simply and unambiguously: it is a primitive forgery. There is not a single argument in defense of its authenticity; many arguments have been given against its authenticity.”

Although, of course, it would be nice to have “Slavic Vedas”, but only genuine ones, and not written by falsifiers.

The Slavs worshiped natural phenomena and deified them. Our ancestors also believed in good and evil spirits; they held the cult of the family and ancestors in high esteem. The first religious belief of the Eastern Slavs was paganism. Home distinctive feature paganism is polytheism. they worshiped Svarog, Rod, Dazhdbog, Yarilo, Khoros, Stribog, Mokosh and.

Summer was replaced by winter, day was replaced by night. People could not understand why warm days were replaced by frosts and snow began to fall. The Slavs thought that all this depended on the will of the gods and other mysterious forces. If it rained heavily in the summer, people believed that it was the angry god Perun who was sending fiery arrows to the earth, and that is why such terrible thunder roared and bright lightning flashed.

When the rain stopped, it meant that God had calmed down, the Slavs concluded. Perun for them seemed like a giant with a large head, a gray head and a red beard. IN right hand he has a bow and arrows in his left. When carving an idol from wood, people covered the beard and mustache with gold, and the top of the head with silver. They placed the idol on the temple (the highest place), and they brought demands (bloody sacrifices) to the foot.

The victims were birds, animals, and sometimes people. Unlike other pagans, the ancient Slavs did not build temples, they did not have a class of priests, although Magi (interpreters of the will of the gods) existed. This was the faith of the ancient Slavs, pagan.

People did not know why the sun shines, the wind blows, the sky comes in different colors. After thinking, we came to the conclusion that all these phenomena depend on the deities and are in their power. This is how they appeared: the father of the sun - Svarog, the manager air element- Stribog. The Slavs loved their Russian land, so they revered Mokosh, the goddess of the earth.

They composed many songs about the land-nurse. They treated her with reverence and respect. A plowman, for example, before plowing the land, with tears asked forgiveness from Mother Earth, that he would hurt her and tear her with his plow. If a person swore an oath about something and ate or kissed the ground, he had to fulfill his promise. Otherwise, he became an outcast.

The Slavs came up with Domovoy, Leshy, Vodyanoy, Kikimora, Baba Yaga. They believed that at home, in the forest, on the river there must be an owner who can help a person, or maybe destroy him.

Pagan ones were associated with agricultural work and the change of year. The day of the vernal equinox is the holiday of Maslenitsa, the summer solstice - Ivan Kupala, New Year- Carols. They performed special rituals at birth, death, and weddings. All this was accompanied by songs, of which there were a lot.