Severia or Siveria ( orv, Сѣверія, russian: Северщина, translit=Severshchina, uk, Сіверія or ,
translit. ''Siveria'' or ''Sivershchyna'') is a historical region in present-day southwest
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, northern
Ukraine, eastern
Belarus. The largest part lies in modern Russia, while the central part of the region is the city
Novhorod-Siverskyi
Novhorod-Siverskyi ( uk, Новгород-Сіверський ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, although until 18 July 2020 it was incorporated as a city ...
in Ukraine.
Severians
The region received its name from the
Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians ( be, Севяране; bg, Севери; russian: Северяне; uk, Сiверяни, translit=Siveriany) were a tribe or tribal confederation of early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the mi ...
, an
East Slavic tribe which inhabited the territory in the late 1st millennium A.D.; their name is Slavic meaning "Northerners". Their main settlements included seven cities of modern Russia (
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German str ...
,
Rylsk,
Starodub,
Trubchevsk,
Sevsk Sevsk (russian: Севск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Sevsk, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Sevsky District of Bryansk Oblast;
;Rural localities
* Sevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, a settlement in Burlakovskaya ...
,
Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban layout
The location of the settlement was originally as ...
,
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of ...
) and five cities of modern Ukraine (
Liubech
Liubech ( uk, Любеч, russian: Любеч, pl, Lubecz) is an urban-type settlement, previously a small ancient town (first mentioned in 882) connected with many important events in the Principality of Chernigov since the times of Kievan Rus ...
, Novhorod-Siverskyi,
Chernihiv
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...
,
Putyvl,
Hlukhiv).
According to the ''
Primary Chronicle'', the Severians paid tribute to the
Khazars, along with the neighboring
Polans. Prince
Oleg of Novgorod (reigned 879–912) conquered them and incorporated their lands into the new principality of
Kievan Rus'. By the time of
Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) the Severian peoples had lost most of their distinctness, and the areas of Severia along the upper course of the
Desna River
The Desna (russian: Десна́; uk, Десна) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left- tributary of the Dnieper. Its name means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers . became controlled by Chernihiv.
In 1096,
Oleg I of Chernigov (also referred to as ''Oleh'') created a large Severian Principality, which stretched as far as the upper reaches of the
Oka River. Until the end of the century, the principality served as a
buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between ...
against
Cuman attacks. Its most celebrated ruler was
Prince Igor (1150–1202), whose exploits are recounted in the 12th century epic ''
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.
The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campai ...
''.
After the
Mongol invasion of Rus', the principality became largely ruined, however it remained intact throughout repeated
Tatar invasions. Unfortunately, not much is known about this period as Severia was rarely mentioned in written accounts of the 13th century. By the mid 14th century, it was already part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania as appanage duchy,
[Vortman, D., Vermenych, Ya. ]
Novhorod-Siverskyi (НОВГОРОД-СІВЕРСЬКИЙ)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine whose
Gediminid princes (
Ruthenian-speaking and
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
by religion) established their capitals in the cities of Novhorod-Siverskyi,
Starodub, and
Trubchevsk. During the 1501-1503 Lithuanian-Muscovite wars, an ally of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Khan of Great Horde
Sheikh Ahmed
Sheikh Ahmed (died 1529) was the last Khan of the Great Horde, a remnant of the Golden Horde.
Life
He was one of the three sons of Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, the man who lost Russia in 1480. After the assassination of Ahmed Khan in 1481, his s ...
destroyed the duchy's capital Novgorod-Siverskyi which by that time was controlled by Muscovites.
[ After the Lithuanian defeat at the Battle of Vedrosha, the Severian Principality was acquired by Muscovy. After the war the duchy was controlled by Muscovite subject Prince Vasiliy Shemiachich (after he was imprisoned in Moscow in 1523, the duchy was governed by Muscovite voivodes (capetanus)).
During the 18th century, the ]Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks
Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks is a historical term that has multiple meanings.
Officially the post was known as Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host ( uk, Гетьман Війська Запорозького, ''Hetman Viyska Zaporozkoho'').Mytsyk, ...
established residences in the towns of Baturyn
Baturyn ( uk, Бату́рин, ), is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located in Nizhyn Raion (district) on the banks of the Seym River. Baturyn lost its city status in 1923 and received it back only in 2 ...
, Hlukhiv, and Pochep Pochep (russian: Почеп) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Pochep, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Pochepsky District of Bryansk Oblast;
;Rural localities
* Pochep, Okulovsky District, Novgorod Oblast, a vi ...
. Hlukhiv, in particular, developed into a veritable capital of 18th-century Ukraine.
After the Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, the Severian lands, populated by a mixture of Ukrainians and Russians, were divided between the Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
* Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
Soviet republics
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
, finally dividing the land of the former Severians.
Culture
Since the 16th and 17th centuries, the specific Severian icon-painting style had been forming. It was much influenced by conservative Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
specimens which dominated in the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Severian icons are characterized by internal restraint, severeness and asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
. These features survived during the Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
epoch: volume and emotions were almost absent. The collection of Severian icons is preserved in the Museum of Ukrainian home icons
Radomysl Castle is a historical and cultural complex created in 2007–2011 by Olga Bogomolets, a Ukrainian doctor and public activist. The castle's center is an old flour mill built in the town of Radomyshl ( Zhytomyr region, Ukraine) ...
of the Radomysl Castle
Radomysl Castle is a historical and cultural complex created in 2007–2011 by Olga Bogomolets, a Ukrainian doctor and public activist. The castle's center is an old flour mill built in the town of Radomyshl ( Zhytomyr region, Ukraine) ...
.
Severia and Siberia
References
External links
* Golubovsky Peter V. (1881
History Seversk to half of the 14th century — История Северской Земли до половины XIV столетия
a
Runivers.ru
in DjVu format
Siversk principality
in the ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine''
in the ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine''
{{Ukrainian historical regions
Historical regions in Russia
Historical regions in Ukraine
History of Kievan Rus'
Former principalities