Anglo-Saxons at Sources of Russian Power
The abundance of Anglo-Saxon place names on the territory of Russia is a big enigma, since until now no obvious traces of Anglo-Saxons in any of the country's regions in historical documents were found. The highest density of Anglo-Saxon place names is observed on the territory of the former Vladimir-Suzdal principality (Ancient Anglo-Saxon Place Names in Continental Europe). From days of yore these places were inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes, and the Slavs advanced here only at the end of the first millennium AD, but a hundred years later there arose the Rostov-Suzdal principality, which quickly seized the lead from Kiev. Even Russian historians are amazed at this. In particular, V. Klyuchevsky wrote that there is no clear answer to the question of where from the new Upper Volga Rus was arisen (KLUCHEVSKIY V.O. 1956: 272). If we agree that the most ancient cities of this region were founded by the Anglo-Saxons, we must think that they laid the foundations of statehood here, uniting under their domination disparate native tribes, although during the heyday of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality they should have been completely assimilated by the local population, obviously, more numerous. To deal with this issue, it is first necessary to find out how the Anglo-Saxons, or rather their ancestors, could get to Central Russia.
The ancestral home of the Anglo-Saxons, defined by the the graphic-analytical method, was located in one of the ethno-producing areas of the Dnieper Basin, namely between the Teterev, Pripyat, and Sluch Rivers. In the process of the disintegration of the Proto-Germanic language, the initial English and Saxon dialects began to form there. Other Germanic peoples had their settlements nearby along the Pripyat River. And in the basin of the left tributaries of the Dnieper lived different Iranian tribes. It was four thousand years ago.
From their ancestral home the Anglo-Saxons spread in different directions both along the banks of the Dnieper, and to the west and east of them. According toponymy, a part of the Anglo-Saxons, crossing the Dnieper, settled along the banks of its left tributaries Sozh and Desna, displacing the Iranians lived there before.
These newcomers can be associated with the emergence of the Sosnitsky variant of Trzciniec culture, common to all Germanic tribes. At about the same time, the neighboring Upper Volga region was inhabited by tribes of the Reticulated Ware which basis on Gorodets and Diakovo cultures developed since the 7th century BC till V century AD. Their creators were considered to be Finno-Ugric tribes of Ves', Merya, Muroma, Meshchera, and Mordvins. (AVDUSIN D.A. 1977: 152-153).
From the area of the Sosnitsia culture, the Anglo-Saxons advanced southeastward and, approximately along the current Kharkiv-Rostov highway, entered the territory of the Donbas. There were rich deposits of copper ore in the vicinity of the city of Stakhanov developed since the Bronze Age. Taking control of the mining and processing of copper, the Anglo-Saxons achieved economic superiority and, accordingly, political dominance in the Northern Azov Sea. They headed a tribal alliance, known in history under the name Alans (in details see Alans – Angles – Saxons).
During the Great Migration of Nations, the Anglo-Saxons, fleeing the Hun invasion, migrated in search of a free land for settlement. Some of them left together with other Germanic tribes for Western Europe, while the other part migrated towards the Upper Volga region, as evidenced by the toponymy of Central Russia, deciphered by the Old English language. Moving along the Oka River, the Anglo-Saxons were looking for convenient places and based there their fortified settlements, which eventually grew in large cities of their time, such as Ryazan and Murom. During long stays nearest terrain was recognized. Thus, half-open spaces were discovered in the Moscow region and in Zalesye ("behind the forest"), suitable for agriculture. The Anglo-Saxons, who have long since mastered farming in their former habitats in the Forest-Steppe, have found the habitual landscape and settled these regions, displacing local Finnish population. Place names of the alleged Anglo-Saxon origin throughout Russia were found more than a hundred and fifty. Some of them may be random coincidences but in some cases this probability can be negligible if the interpretation is confirmed by the features of the terrain or the semantic connection between the constituent parts of the name. In addition, the concentration of place names in a certain territory or their location in the form of a chain can say that at least some of them are decoded correctly. Among the most common names are: Markovo (97 settlements), Churilovo (24), Ryazanovo (22), Boldino (11). Their exact location is on the map Google, here only alleged decoding of the names are given.
Markovo – it seems to be the most common place name of Russia. You can add to it Markino and the derivatives from them. One might think that they all occurred on behalf of a person, but such a name was not so popular in Russia for that the corresponding anthroponyms far surpassed others in number. For example, the anthroponym Matveyevo was found only 20 times, and from the most common name Ivan – only 60. Of course, some of the place names originate on behalf of Mark, but a little, the bulk of them can be compared with OE. mearc, mearca "border", "sign", "mark", "county", "designated space". Such meanings of words are well suited to the names of settlements and are phonetically flawless. It is significant that these toponyms fill the missing links in their chains and are generally distributed among other Anglo-Saxon ones.
Curilovo – there was not found any reliable interpretation of the toponym in Russian, allegedly originating out of the name Churilo, which itself has no explanation. The high prevalence of the place name suggests that it should be based on a commonly used word and such is proposed by OE.ceorl "a man, peasant, husband", which corresponds with Eng. churl. Phonetic correspondence of Russian and English words is good (alternating k – č). We find the same alternation in the names of Chertanovo, Chertkovo, originating from the OE ceart "a wasteland, uncultivated public land" (on the contrary, the names of Kartmazovo, Kartino, etc. of the same origin kept k). Frequent use of the name of Churilovo and its derivatives may indicate that it was common for names of rural settlements assigned them by landowners.
Ryazanovo – the name can be used partially by migrants from the Ryazan region, and the name Ryazan itself may have a Slavic origin, although there is no complete certainty about it. You can keep in mind the OE rāsian "to explore, investigate", which could be used during relocating people when one has to find a suitable place to stay.
Boldino – OE bold "house, home" is good suitable by meaning and phonetically. So could be called the individual estates of landowners.
Below is the map of Google with the marked assumed Anglo-Saxon place names in Central Russia and the most convincing explanations of some of them are given:
Anglo-Saxon place names in Eastern Europe
On the map, the most part of settlements of Anglo-Saxon origin are marked with dark-red points. The settlements of Markovo, Markino and similar have purple color. Hydronyms are marked in blue.
The ancestral home of the Anglo-Saxons is colored red, blue is the territory of the Sosnica culture, the green is the territory of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. Sarmatia is marked in yellow.
The ancestral home of the Anglo-Saxons is colored red, blue is the territory of the Sosnica culture, the green is the territory of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. Sarmatia is marked in yellow.
Berkino, villages in Moscow and Ivanovo Regions, the village of Berkovo in Vladimir Region – OE berc «birch».
Bryansk (Bryn' in chronicle), an administrative center of a region – OE. bryne „fire”.
Dydyldino, a villave in Lenin district of Moscow Region – OE. dead «dead», ielde «people».
Farafonovoо, villages in Oryol and Novgorod Regions, in Udmurtia, a village Farafonovka in Tver Region – OE faran «drive, go», faru “journey”, fōn «take, begin, do something».
Firstovo, two villages in Nizhniy Novgorod Region and a village in Moscoq Region – OE fyrst «first».
Fursovo, seven villages in Kaluga, Ryazan, Tula, and Kirov Regions – OE fyrs «furze, gorse, bramble» (the plant Genísta).
Kotlas, a town, Arkhangelsk Region – OE cot "hut, cabin", læs "pasture".
Linda, a village in town district of Nizhniy Novgorod Region, Linda, a village in Ivanovo Region, two villages Lindovo in Tver Region – OE lind «linden».
Moscow (Moskovъ or Moskovь in chronicle), the capital of Russia, villages Moskva in Tver, Pskov, and Kirov Regions, the Moskva River, lt Tisza – OE mos «bog, swamp», cofa «hut, cabin».
Murom, a town in Vladimir Region – OE mūr «wall», ōm «rust».
Nero, a lake in Yaroslav Region which banks on the city Rostov lies – OE neru "rescue", "food".
Ryazan, a city, 22 villages of Ryazanovo in different regions of Russia – OE. rāsian "explore, investigate". 2. ræsan "overthrow".
Romodanovo, a city in Mordovia, a village in the Glinka district of Smolensk region, villages in Starozhilovsky and Rybnovsky districts of the Ryazan Region – OE. rūma „space”, dān „humid”.
Suzdal, a city in Vladimir Region – OE. swæs «nice, pleasant, loved», dale «valley».
Shenkursk, a town in Atkhangelsk REgion – д.-анг. scencan «to pour, give to drink, present», ūr «richness, wealth».
Vytebet', a river, lt of the Zhixdra River, rt of the Oka – OE. wid(e) «wide», bedd «riverbed».
Volfa, a river, lt of the Seym River, lt of the Desna – OE. wulf wolf.
Yurlovo, three villages in Moscow Region and a village in Pskov Region – OE. eorl «noble man, warrior».
Ziborovo, a village in Zolotukhino district of Kursk Region, Ziborovka, a village in Shebekino district of Belgorod Region, villages Zibrovo in Tula, Oryol, Moscow Regions – OE. sibb «place», rōw "quiet”.
Especially a lot of supposed Anglo-Saxon settlements are located near Moscow. Their density is such that it eliminates the possibility of placing all the names on the map above. For this purpose a map of a larger scale was used (see below).
Some names have given decoding above, for others the following are proposed:
Kuntsevo – OE cynca «cluster, bunch».
Kartmazovo – OE. ceart «a wasteland, wild common land», māga «son, descendant», or maga «powerful, well-off, capable».
Lytkarino – OE. lyt «little», carr «stone, rock».
Mamyri – OE. mamor(a) «deep sleep».
Miusy, a historical district in Moscow – OE. mēos «swamp, bog».
Oboldino – see Boldino.
Penyagino – OE. pæneg «coin, money».
Reutov – OE. reotan «cry, complain».
These place names can be added by the names of the Neglinnaya and Yauza Rivers in Moscow. OE. nægl "nail, peg" suits well for the first river. The derivative of nægling (the name of the sword) is also fixed, but the motivation for such a name of the river remains unclear. The name for the second river can be found in the annals in the form of Auza, so OE. eage "eye, hole" (Old Norse auga) is also well suited for deciphering, although in this case the motivation remains not entirely clear, especially since the right tributaries of the Lama and Gzhat Rivers have the same name.
It could be assumed that the toponymy of the alleged Anglo-Saxon origin actually belonged to the northern Germans, who already in historical times as Varangians acted on the territory of Russia. Indeed, many place names can be deciphered using the Old Icelandic language, which is considered to be "the classical language of the Scandinavian race" (An Icelandic-English Dictionary. Preface) and this fact deceives scientists who hastened to conclude, "that toponymic data are an exposure to Scandinavian colonization in the territory of Ancient Rus» (RYDZEVSKAYA E. A. 1978, 136). In the author's opinion, this is not so, for "none of the Old Russian large urban centers has a name that would be explained accordingly; none of them was founded by Scandinavian aliens" (ibid). Meanwhile, the names of such famous historical centers as Moscow, Ryazan, Suzdal, Murom, Tver can be explained with the help of the Old English language. In addition, there are quite a lot of supposedly Germaniс toponyms, which cannot be deciphered with the help of Old Icelandic. On the other hand, the phonetic correspondence of Russian names with Old English words is very often better than with Old Icelandic in cases where there is a difference between them. For example, OE. ceorl suits better than Old Norse karl to decipher the name of Churilovo, since the derivative of the latter should have the form of Karlovo. In addition, the analysis of historical documents shows that the Varangians did not create their own settlements:
There is not slightest indication of the occupation of unsettled territories by overseas visitors, the clearing and processing of untouched lands, the development of their natural resources, etc. As for the areas inhabited, they were also interested here in another: at first robbery and tribute, and in the future those trade relations that connected them with local shopping centers. The goal of not less important and attractive for their wage service in Russia was not the acquisition of land holdings, but wages and pillage (the vassalage without fief relations – according K. Marx). Undoubtedly, they not only often visited our country in the 9th-11th centuries, but also settled there in some cases; So, for example, it was in Ladoga, in Novgorod, in Kiev, in Smolensk Gnezdov (RYDZEVSKAYA E.A. 1978: 135).
On the contrary, judging by the toponymy, the Anglo-Saxons were interested in mastering the new-found country (compare the meanings of the names used, such as the wasteland, the terrain-space, the earches, the first, farmer-farmer, house, hut, fish). Also, other data say that the question of the Scandinavian colonization of Rus should be considered finally decidedly negative:
Such Scandinavian colonization as in England and Iceland was nowhere in Russia. In addition, the Swedes had no reason for mass emigration to the opposite shore of the Baltic Sea. There were rich and fertile areas In their own country (SAWYER PETER. 2002: 241-242)
With all this in mind, the Anglo-Saxon toponymy, particularly in the interfluve of the Volga and the Oka, can be correlated with the assumption of archaeologists about the penetration of a group of migrants of unknown ethnicity here, which resulted in the final end of the development of Diakovo culture in the 7th century. AD (SEDOV V.V., 2002: 390). Archaeological research has shown that there was no continuity between local antiquities and the culture of the second half of the 1st millennium. The facts testify to the formation of a completely new culture in these places:
The migration process led to a radical restructuring of the resettlement system. The former small settlements, confined to floodplain meadows, are mostly abandoned. Settlements of larger sizes, which had already gravitated to areas with the most fertile soils, were gaining spread. The leading role in the economy of the population is now played by agriculture. Moreover, the materials of archeology give grounds to talk about the development of arable farming with the possible specialization of individual settlements on livestock, hunting and fishing. Significantly, the population increases (SEDOV V.V. 2002: 390).
However, if we even agree with the presence of Anglo-Saxons in the space of the Rostov-Suzdal principality and especially around Moscow, this still does not say anything about the reason for the later successes of the principality and especially the future capital of Russia. We have already assumed the cause of the political elevation of the Anglo-Saxons among the tribal alliance in economic superiority. The same reason must also be sought in this case. The events in Central Russia in the period after the appearance there of the Anglo-Saxons had a big impact on Western Europe due to the activity of the Vikings, which ensured the inflow of huge capital to Scandinavia in the form of Kufic silver dirhams from the countries of the Arab Caliphate (SAWYER PETER, 2002: 14). The point of distribution of silver was Birka, located on the island of Mälaren near Stockholm. A significant part of the riches came there from Bulgaria, often visited by Muslim merchants for barter trade with the local population and the Varangians who arrived there. In exchange for furs, horse skins, wax, honey and slaves, the merchants offered luxuries and silver, the accumulation of which was a great passion for the Varangians. As far as the scale of the slave trade can be judged by the words of Ibn Fadlan, who pointed out that the Rus, arriving in Bulgaria, traditionally had to give one "head" from every dozen slaves to the local tsar. From this it can be concluded that the total number of slaves brought with each Varangian caravan consisting of a multitude of ships could amount to hundreds.
The delivery of silver from Bulgaria to Sweden was carried out in different ways, some of which were preferred for various reasons. It is believed that all the trade went through Novgorod, but it acquired the importance as a shopping center only in the tenth century (SAWYER PETER, 2002: 14), but before that, a shorter and long-established route along the Western Dvina River could be used. The northern Germanic tribes migrated to Scandinavia from their ancestral home by this way at the end of the second millennium BC. (see the section North Germanic Place Names in Belorus, Baltic States, and Russia ). If the Varangians were stocked with wax and honey in Novgorod, then they had no need to return to Sweden by this way back. Finding of a treasure of Kufic coins weighing up to 40 kilograms in Murom indicates that the Varangians traveled along the Oka River, while it was easier to get to Novgorod by sailing along the Volga and further along the Tver River to the rivers of the Baltic basin. From the Oka merchant vessels could go up the Moscow River and then through the Ruza, Vazuza, Dnieper Rivers to get to the Western Dvina. This way is not easy, because several times they would have to pull ships from the river to the river by dragging. The trek lasted several months and from time to time it was necessary to make stops for providing food from the local population, which required certain expenses.
Slave trade is connected with logistical difficulties, so acquisition them by Scandinavian merchants should have taken place in the area nearest to Bulgaria. Rostov and Suzdal, the future centers of the principality didn't lie on the main trade routes, so the slave trade was obviously only base of their subsequent raising. Local princes supplied slaves for the Varangians to the ports on the Oka and Volga at the time of flourishing trade with the countries of the Caliphate. When the flow of dirhams was exhausted due to the reduction in their output by the mints of Samarkand and Bukhara in the second half of the 10th century, Rostov and Suzdal gradually lost their importance, yielded the leading position in the region to Vladimir, and then to the more economically developed Moscow.
The dense concentration of Anglo-Saxon place names around Moscow obviously has a reason in favorable geographical conditions, which caused intensive settlement of this region. At the time of the prince Yuri Dolgoruky (the 12th century), Moscow was already a rich village and the success of the economic activities of the local population was provided by the diversity of the local landscape:
In fact, the Moscow area represented, at first, many rural amenities for the founding of broad agriculture. The so-called Great Meadow of Zamoskvorechye, lying against the Kremlin mountain, delivered a vast pasture for cattle and especially for prince's horse herds. The surrounding meadows and fields with crosserd them rivers and streams served as glorious lands for farming, horticulture, and gardening, not to mention fattened hayfields. There is no doubt that the field adjacent to the Kremlin mountain Kuchkovo was covered with arable land (ZABELiN IVAN. 1905: 4).
The developed cattle breeding, as, obviously, and beekeeping, were for Muscovites a good source of enrichment – horse and goat skins, honey, and wax were in great demand in the East. The Varangians enjoyed the goods here with pleasure, leaving for the local entrepreneurs a considerable part of the silver coins that were earned when selling luxury goods in Birka. Thus, large capital was accumulated in Moscow, which ensured political success for the local elite later.
The existence of an older settlement on the site of ancient Moscow is confirmed by repeated random discoveries of silver items and coins dating from the 10th century. And, obviously, it is not by accidentally that the name of the former village of Penyagino, which now belongs to Moscow, lurks OE pæneg "coin, money". However, numerous settlements of Moscow space of the 7th-9th centuries remain still poorly studied, its history seems vague, especially in the part of ethnogenetic processes (SEDOVV.V., 2002: 390). Yhe Volga-Klyazma interfluve is more explored in archaeological terms, and archaeological finds indicate that the local population was mixed, but the main creators of the Merian culture spread here were not local Finns, but, according to V. Sedov, "Central European newcomers" (ibid: 393). Ethnic heterogeneity of the population of the region forced the aliens, who were in the minority, to build fortified settlements, an example of which may be Sarskoye hillfort on the shore of Lake Nero. Its middle part, enclosed by ramparts, occupied an area of 8,000 square meters. (ibid, 391).
Lake Nero and Sarskoye hillfort.
The photo from the sine Historicsl notes
The map shows that there is a peninsula on Lake Nero, and it is appropriate to give a description of Bulgaria by one of the eastern scholars of the first half of the 10th century:
Ibn Rustah told about some Ruses who lived on the island (or peninsula) of the inner lake, this island was covered with forest, and its circle was equal to three daytime transitions. These people were ruled by a kagan, and raided the Slavs on their ships. They did not cultivate the land, but lived at the expense of the Slavs; Their only occupation was trading, and they sold sables and other furs, as well as slaves for coins (SAWYER PETER, 2002: 265-266)
Ibn Rustah spoke about the Ruses and Slavs, but the ethnicity both people in the modern sense may be erroneous. The local population could call the Ruses as the Varangians and related to them Anglo-Saxons, but the Slavs were absent there at that time. In fact, Arab scholars often talk about a people "Sakaliba" different from the Ruses, and so they could quite generally call the local Finnish population, but not the Slavs, as it is commonly believed.
Most likely the peninsula on the lake, as well as the Sarskoye hillfort, were their strongholds for the Anglo-Saxons. The sense "rusty" of the names of Rostov and another fortress Murom (OE rūst "rust", mūr "wall", ōm "rust") seems to be enigmatic. However, in Germanic, as well as in other languages, the words meaning rust go back to the same root as the words "red" (KLUGE FRIEDRICH, 1989: 606), therefore, OE rūst could mean different shades of red.
Anglo-Saxom place names on the territory of Vladimir-Suzdal principality
Obviously, both Rostov and Murom were the administrative centers of the ruling tribe, the top of which concentrated in its hands a considerable amount of capital earned on trade in furs and slaves from indigenous population. Identifying them with the Anglo-Saxons, we can assume their close cooperation with the Varangians. Moreover, the Anglo-Saxons could join the Varangians in armed actions. There are among the names of Varangians mentioned in the annals which can be most convincingly deciphered only with the help of the Old English language:
Aktewu – OE. āk «oak», đeaw «custom», – u – adjective suffix.
Kutsi – OE. cwic, cucu «quick». Cf. Kuchka.
Prasten – OE. prass «costume, splendor» teon «pull, take, seize».
Stemid – OE. steam «steam, smoke», -ed – adjective suffix.
Tilen – OE. tielen "effort, work, diligence"
Twad – OE. twæde «dual».
Almost all the names of tribes mentioned in the chronicle correspond with the names of modern peoples. The exception is the Merya tribe, of which there is no consensus, although in general it is considered to be a Volga-Finnish one, and some scholars identify the Merya with the Mari people. Obviously, it is true, but it could be an ethnicon, that is, the name of a population of a certain locality. Anglo-Saxons who settled in the Merya region could also be called by this name and by this name participate in the campaigns of the proce Oleg. Other Volga-Finnish tribes (Ves', Muroma) did not take part in the campaigns. As for the name of the Varangians, Old Norse Væringi, from which it allegedly comes, is translated into English as "confederate". They could not call themselves the Varangians, but by that name they could be called by the Anglo-Saxons, whose language was wær "union, contract" and quite possibly, could be the word wæring "ally".
Alex Tolochko in the foreword to his book "Sketches of Primary Russia" writes:
Anyone who begins to study a new historical topic is asked three questions: what reliable evidence has been preserved? What does science say about this? And: how everything was really? (TOLOCHKO ALEKSEY. 2015: 12)
For our study, reliable evidence is toponimy, while historical documents (mostly the Tale of Bygone Years) and materials from previous studies are used very prudent. I fully share the thought of Alex Tolochko that all attempts to expose the early history of Eastern Europe, for lack of other reliable sources, basse upon the Tale of Bygone Years, which he treats critically, pointing to the obvious speculations of the chronicler in those cases when it refers to the affairs of yore. He himself tries analyzing the text of the chronicle to find reliable evidences for his hypothesis that the common name of Rus hides two related communities, even societies – the Scandinavian and Southern Rus. At the same time, he recklessly argues that "we will never know what origin was the word that gave rise to Russia" (ibid: 154). Meanwhile Fin. ruotsi, which has no phonetic correspondences in the North Germanic languages and which from linguists derive the word Rus strikingly resembles Goth. rauþs "red". This suggests that the Goths could call red-bearded Swedes as "the red" and from this word was got by the Finns. Why the Vikings called themselves Ruses is an enigma of the same plan, why Russians also call themselves so, although they have nothing to do with the chronicle of Rus. Neither Rostov-Suzdal nor Ryazan princedoms, nor even Novgorod and Smolensk were not considered to be Rus (NASONOV A.N. 1951: 29).
Developing the idea of the two communities of Russia, Tolochko notes that it is possible to single out among the population of Eastern Europe "village Vikings" engaged in cultivating the land, and in connection with this he writes:
It should be borne in mind that agrarian colonization and long-distance trade are two completely different phenomena in a seemingly uniform stream of Scandinavian advancement to Eastern Europe. Strikingly different occupations, ways of life, cultural experience, social positions were to form, ultimately, and different identities (TOLOCHKO ALEKSEY. 2015; 168).
In what exactly places "village Vikings" left their traces, Tolochko does not specify. But with attention to his conclusion, we can consider them to be Anglo-Saxons. At least in the Moscow area they showed themselves just so. If the "village Vikings" are considered to be Scandinavians for the swords found in rural contexts, what A. Tolochko believes is characteristic of Scandinavia, then this is too little to say about their true origin. Relations between the Anglo-Saxons and the surrounding population, among whom they acquired through violence "living goods" for the practiced slave trade, could not be peaceful. In this regard, and the villagers were supposed to have weapons just in case, and in such conditions a military feudal estate had to form among the Anglo-Saxons, but without a legitimate single ruler. Vague memories of local nobles are contained in the legends of the boyar Stephan Kuchka, who owned Moscow before Yuri Dolgoruky. Historical information about Kuchka is not preserved, but his sons and son-in-law left a mark in history, having organized a conspiracy against Andrei Bogolyubsky and killing him in 1174. M. Tikhomirov believed that the great Kuchka family was a close-knit force in this region and left memory in folk legends until the nineteenth century. (TIKHOMIROBV MIKHAIL. 2003, 35): This memory reflects the hostility of the local boyars to the princely power of Rurik dynasty from Kiev. Kuchka's name may be connected with cuc, cwic "lively, quick".
Formation of the influential nobility took a long time, so its roots must go deep by the time of prosperity of Suzdal and Rostov, interrupted in the second half of the 10th century by a silver crisis. This crisis completed the period of the initial accumulation of capital which was concentrated in the hands of the boyars and they needed to find an application for it with the use of local resources and the existing infrastructure. This opportunity appeared after the entry of Rostov-Suzdal land into the state of Kiev, which, thanks to trade and cultural relations with Byzantium, gained experience in the state building and development of state traditions. In Kiev, the dynastic rule of people "ready to convert economic dominance into political power" is being established (TOLOCHKO ALEKSEY. 2015. 314). In this sense, the region of the Upper Volga, being, in the words of S.M. Solovyov, the "state core" of Russia, was prepared in the best way. Intending to establish dominance in the newfound land, Yaroslav the Wise, posed by his father Vladimir the Great to the reign of Rostov (988-1010), founded the cities of Yaroslavl on the Volga and of Vladimir on the Klyazma, as base points. Alien rejection by the local tribal nobility led to the so-called "revolts of the magicians" in 1024 and in 1071. Usually the magicians are understood as some priests or wizards in accordance with the meaning of the Old Russian vŭlhv "magician". But it is not an affair for magicians to raise revolots, most likely the Anglo-Saxon nobility called themselves "wolves", if we take into account the OE. wulfs "wolfs". It is not clear from the annals how these revolts ended, but there were no big changes in the region until activity was showed by Yuri Dolgoruky here, setting up cities among which were Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yuriev Polsky, Dmitrov and others. His affer was continued by Andrei Bogolyubsky, who became stronger on the reign in 1155 after the seizure of power by his father in Kiev. The building required money and there is no other explanation than that it was provided by the capital accumulated by the local nobility in the good old days.
Especially important evidence for our topic is the fact of participation in the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in the sity of Vladimir of an architect and the German masters who gave the cathedral the features of the Romanesque style first appeared in Russia. According to V.N. Tatishchev architect together with the embassy was sent to Andrei Bogolyubsky by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (ZAGRAEVSKIY S.V. 2013, 184-195). There is also an assumption that some relations between the emperor and the Grand Duke existed expressed, in particular, in the exchange of gifts. Such a relationship is a great historical enigma and its solution may be that contacts with the emperor could be established due to the presence in the principality of the Anglo-Saxons. It is also possible that military experts could attend the German embassy,who helped organize an operation against Kiev in 1169, as a result of which its subsequent decline began. Eleven Russian princes took part in the campaign against Kiev and considerable funds were needed to provide such a huge army, not only ambitious plans.
The construction of cities, in turn, required additional workers due to the influx of the Slavic population, attracted by the government loans and the status of free settlers, what also contributed to the development of agriculture and manufacturing. So gradually the Grand Duchy of Vladimir was being built and gaining strength and at the heart of its success lay the entrepreneurial tradition and capital of the Anglo-Saxons settled here once, but forced over time to seek new happiness somewhere else. The activities of Andrei Bogolyubsky, who needed funds for further town planning and active foreign policy, caused a new dissatisfaction of the "wolves", in particular, from the Kuchkovich clan. Their struggle with the prince ended with his assassination in 1174. One can assume that after such an outcome the Anglo-Saxons considered it best to migrate beyond the Urals, fearing revenge of the prince's numerous relatives (see further The Development of Siberia and Far East by the Anglo-Saxons)
