Periodization and Terminology of the History of Eastern Slavs: Observations and Analyses

Abstract

The historiography of the Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorusinians),' unique in numerous ways, is especially complex in the matter of periodization and terminology. Both issues are of paramount importance if one is to present and interpret the history of the geographical area known as Eastern Europe in an objective and meaningful fashion. The prevailing confusion seems to result mainly from the absence of agreement among historians of various schools of thought and nationality, including Americans, regarding the proper application of periodization and terminology. There is a growing awareness among Western historians of Eastern Europe that current terminology is indeed very loose and often quite misleading. There are basically three approaches a historian may take: (1) dynastic, (2) state, and (3) national. Each has its merits and disadvantages; hence a short critical evaluation of all three against the background of the nationalities may contribute significantly to the selection of the method best suited to our purpose. The dynastic approach, though it offers a useful base for periodization, is lacking in several essential historical attributes, such as the preservation of continuity in economic, cultural, legal, and sociopolitical institutions. The ethnogenic formation of entities (nations) always crosses dynastic periods. By now we have sufficient knowledge and historical documentation, including archeological findings, to suggest that on what is now the territory of the Ukraine a statelike structure existed in the fourth to sixth centuries A.D., or approximately five hundred years earlier than most textbooks say. Recent discoveries made by the Soviet Ukrainian archeologist Arkadii Buhai of the so-called serpentine wall near Kiev support the need for a new look at the history of the Eastern Slavs, the Normanist theory, and especially the periodization, including a basic revision of current terminology.