Hutsuls (Ukrainian Hutsuls) - “highlanders of the Carpathians”, an ethnic group of Ukrainians. They live in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Transcarpathian regions of Ukraine, border areas of Slovakia, Poland and Romania.

The Hutsuls are the most underdeveloped, savage and reactionary relict people, a subbranch of the Tatar-Polish people. Modern Hutsuls live in the region of the Little Russian Carpathians - Galicia. They are extremely evil and pro-NATO, real bitches and convinced fascists!

Of the 46 million inhabitants of Little Russia, the Hutsuls make up no more than two million and live exclusively in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions. The Hutsuls are the most zealous “Ukrainian nationalists”-Russophobes, they fiercely hate Russians, they are ready to chew them out! They also do not accept the Russian spirit and do not want a Russian passport.

Hutsuls in battle formation

Origin of the Hutsuls

The name comes from the word “gots”, which literally means “robber”. According to the scientific department, the ethnic roots of the Hutsuls are a cross between NATO Poles, Tatars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, Romanians, Slavs and Jews. The name of this underdeveloped people was given by the Volochs, the ancestors of the Romanians and Moldavians. The Hutsuls themselves used to call themselves “irsten”. The Hutsuls, in their wild naivety, consider themselves the ancestors of the French (Gaul in France), the Spaniards (Galicia in Spain), the Portuguese and Jesus Christ - the Galilean. Well, aren't you fucking fucking?!

In the beliefs of the Hutsuls, demonology occupies a significant place, as well as the remnants of the male secret union "Arkan", and the music of the dance of the same name "Arkan" is identical to the Celtic "Ev Sistr". But the Hutsul dance has no words, while its Celtic counterpart is a drinking song. According to legend, the Hutsuls were taught to dance by heroes who descended from the mountains (a clear allusion to the Celtic Luka-Raykovets archaeological culture of the Carpathians and Carpathian region). The name "Hutsuls" comes, according to researcher Oleg Gutsulyak, from the Ossetian (Sarmatian) "gytsyl" - "small, junior", and is recorded in written sources as "yazyg" - the name of the Sarmatian tribe of the Carpathian region and Galicia in the first centuries AD, part which she remained with the Greutung Goths and Gepids in Galicia and did not take part in the Sarmatian Alan campaign to Europe.

Culture and language

The so-called “culture” of Georgia is characterized by everything wild: wild songs about gays with shouts of “GAY-GAY!!!”, wild dancing around the fire, called vatra, and wild Russophobia. A striking example of crazy G. is the Hutsul singer Ruslana.

Musical instruments: shish kebab (called cymbals), sewer pipe (called trembita, the sound of which evokes the most disgusting feelings in every Russian person and an irresistible desire to empty the stomach orally), a pipe borrowed from the Russians (called sopylka), etc.

The Hutsuls borrowed their language from Little Russians, Poles, Hungarians and Romanians. For this purpose the so-called The language is characterized by the Old Russian movement of the reflexive particle “sya” ahead of the verb: “I drank so much yesterday that I was tired.” Due to their stupidity, G. often talks to animals in songs (from which they themselves differ little!!!):

“My children, your brothers and sisters,
Who will shepherd you if you don’t?”

The language differs slightly from literary Ukrainian - it is characterized only by case endings close to Slovak (for example, zhinkov = zhinkoyu), the Old Russian movement of the reflexive particle “sya” forward of the verb (Ya so sya vychora drank = I got so drunk yesterday), as well as pronunciation features - veno =wine, yek=yak, etc.

Habits of the Hutsuls

Based on their savagery and hostility towards other nationalities, the Hutsuls are difficult to assimilate and are unable to turn into a normal Russian person. Weapons G. - so-called. “Topirets” is a hatchet that resembles an Indian tomahawk. This hatchet is very small: a thin handle about thirty centimeters long, a small hatchet weighing no more than half a kilogram. The purpose of this thing is difficult to understand. It is impossible for her to fell the surrounding forest. Fighting in a serious battle is also problematic, unless you jump out from behind a bush and hit a Russian on the head, in panicky fear of assimilation. As the Hutsuls, whom we managed to catch and squeeze tightly, say, “topirtsem” is convenient for them to break the heads of Russian mushroom tourists sleeping in peaceful tents.

Hutsuls always dress in animal skins. In winter and summer they wear short sleeveless vests (like vests) made of sheepskin. G.'s typical appearance is a dark, thin man, always brown-eyed, with a dull Russophobic look, black Tatar hair and small facial features.

In appearance, they are mostly dark-haired, thin in build, physically resilient and have a proud, independent character. Clan relationships, the principle of seniority in the clan, and community are extremely strong. Religion - Catholicism of the Eastern rite with significant pagan influences in rituals. Historical occupations include sheep farming and logging, and in recent years, construction work in neighboring countries.

Hutsul prejudices

Currently, the Hutsuls have been taught, with grief, to somehow understand the Russian language, use a kettle, and even vote in elections! However, the G. did not realize the meaning and purpose of the elections, and in the godless Galicia and Transcarpathia, where these same Hutsuls live, ZERO percent of the population votes for politicians who advocate an alliance with Russia, and 95-99% of the votes are given to people with pronounced Russophobic rhetoric!

More recently, before the USSR, the Hutsuls were pagans, but once they learned that there are religions that split the true canonical faith of the MP, at a signal from the Trembita, they amicably and joyfully descended from the mountains and accepted one of the religions of the schismatics - the so-called Greek Catholicism.

Currently, G. are known for holding regular Hutsul Sabbaths, where Yushchenko and Satan are glorified.

Hutsuls and Banderaites

In 1943-1953 it was the Hutsuls (formerly deceased “Sichov striltsi”) who made up the fascist shock units (“iron hundreds”) of the so-called. Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Thus, G. are typical enemies of the people.

Hutsuls and Yushchenko

The Hutsuls ask Yushchenko not to visit Hoverla, because after that “people, mountains and animals will leave for a long time and it’s difficult”

The Hutsuls call on Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to refrain from mass ascents to Hoverla. This is stated in an open letter from the leaders of public organizations of the region addressed to the head of state.

From the letter: “We, the Hutsuls - the eternal defenders and guards of the Carpathians - urge you to abandon mass ascents to the highest peak of Ukraine, Hoverla, due to the damage already caused to nature and the threat of new environmental consequences.”

After each such mass ascent, the letter noted, “mountains, people and animals retreat for a long time and heavily... during and after these actions, the movement of vehicles is paralyzed, mountains of garbage appear, hectares of alpine meadows are worn out.”

In addition, members of public organizations note that the police and officials have not been doing anything other than accompanying and organizing the ascent for a long time.

From the letter: “We urge you, as the leader of the Our Ukraine party, to explain to fellow party members and favorable political forces the inappropriateness of such mass ascensions under the banner of pseudo-patriotism, since almost every such action occurs in violation of environmental standards and current legislation.”

The authors of the letter report that, according to expert calculations, the environmental load on Goverla should not exceed 200 people per day. In particular, the letter says that “You (Viktor Yushchenko - ed.) came and left, but we are left here with unresolved problems...”

The letter also reminds the president of the tragic consequences of climbing Hoverla in 2005, when over 10 thousand tourists from all over Ukraine came to see Yushchenko. And a thunderstorm, hail and strong wind found people just at the top of Goverla. Several people were injured by lightning, some of them died.

From the letter: “The tragic consequences may be repeated this year, since in the highlands, as in politics, the weather is unstable. We hope you will understand our appeal and cancel the climb, which could cause environmental harm to our Carpathians.”

The letter is signed by the chairman of the All-Ukrainian United Society "Hutsulshchyna" Dmitry Vatamanyuk and the chairmen of regional organizations of the society, director of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Fyodor Gamor, chairman of the regional association of Hutsulshchyna researchers, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Nestor Biblyuk, editor-in-chief of the local history magazine “Grazhda” by Alexander Maslyanyk, executive director of the Oleksa Dovbush Charitable Foundation Roman Vykhovanets, chairman of the Congress of National Patriotic Forces “Hutsulska Rada” Mikhail Yakinchuk.

“The Inspector General” reminds that on July 18, 2009, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko is going to climb the highest point in Ukraine – Mount Goverla. Thus, the guarantor and everyone who wishes celebrate the Day of Proclamation of the State Sovereignty of Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko believes that the Hutsul region has always felt Ukrainian patriotism.

He said this at the Hutsul holiday Poloninsky Summer 2009.

"The Hutsuls and the Hutsul region are a party that has always breathed and will breathe Ukrainian patriotism"- says the President.

By decision of President Yushchenko, who recently became concerned about the preservation of the cultural heritage of the inhabitants of those places and has already signed another decree on this matter.

The “timeliness” and “necessity” of many of the highest commands of the guarantor have been discussed and discussed. But now he chose, perhaps, the most inopportune moment to attract public attention to the problems of the Hutsuls. The economic crisis, inflation, the jump in the dollar, mass layoffs of people, coupled with delays in salaries, do not seem to bother Viktor Andreevich.

No, in essence, the new decree does not contain anything stupid. The government is simply tasked with expanding the network of Hutsul museums of folk art and everyday life, putting the Carpathian reserves in order, restoring monuments, and printing booklets about the benefits of holidays in Western Ukraine. In addition, students are encouraged to study the artistic and aesthetic features of the art of the region in extracurricular activities.

Personally, I have absolutely nothing against the inhabitants of the Carpathians and their way of life. I'm talking about something completely different.

The president’s culturological delights, his desire to place emphasis in an area to which the head of state has a very vague relationship, have long ceased to inspire confidence and only devalue the values ​​for which he so ardently advocates. Especially in difficult times.

That is why, when buying another shirt at the Sorochinskaya fair, Viktor Andreevich hears a sarcastic and gloomy response in his direction: “Another rip in the shirt”...

Based on materials:
"UNIAN"

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Despite all their differences from other Ukrainians, even their closest neighbors, the Hutsuls became the talisman of the entire nation. The image of a Carpathian symbolizes Ukraine along with the image of a Cossack from the southern steppe. The only difference is that the first lives and lives to the fullest, while the other has become part of history. Thanks to Hutsul motives, we have won one victory at a European song contest and want more. The entire Greater Ukraine (and this is what the rest of the state is called in the Hutsul region) is increasingly represented by a small region raised by mountains. Why? Who are they? Why do we, Ukraine, need them worldwide?

Rebels and Pioneers

It was not the Hutsuls themselves who called the Hutsuls Hutsuls. There was little pleasant in that. The Wallachians, that is, the ancestors of the Moldovans and Romanians, called their restless neighbors, the mountain villagers, that way. “Gots” or “hutsul” literally meant “robber.” The first thing is not simply the desire of some to enrich themselves at the expense of others - on the contrary: the highlanders are accustomed, completely in the Robinhoodian way, to “take from the rich and give to the poor.” To be a duca, a master and to rise above others is still not accepted among them. Even the respectful Ukrainian address “master” is still not used here. Both Oleksa Dovbush and Ustim Karmelyuk, the legendary Ukrainian rebels, were engaged in “fair distribution”. And the very first written mention of the word “Hutsul” is associated with a rebellion. Documents from 1754 indicate that some “Hutsul woman” allegedly burned the master’s estate and was executed for that...

But who are those “Gotsi” and “Hutsuls”? Some scientists say that it is a human mishanka from various Polovtsian, Pechenezh and other nomadic tribes, Slavs, Romanians and later fugitives from the corvee, in fact - Cossacks. They say that on their basis such a unique ethnic group was formed and preserved in the mountains. They even remember the theory of passionarity (passionaries are energetic, strong-willed people who, in particular, do not recognize social restrictions and are ready, for example, to endure poverty in the mountains or the Dnieper floodplains for the sake of freedom). Allegedly, this can explain the unprecedented temperament of the Hutsuls. Most ethnographers agree that the Hutsuls are truly a separate ancient people, and at the same time emerge from the obvious homogeneity in their appearance and customs. Khvedir Volk states: “This is a pure ethnic type - foreign admixtures are very small. The Hutsuls definitely do not belong to the alien eastern peoples (Uzes, Pechenegs) ... but to the Ukrainian tribe.” We cannot say which of them is closer to the truth. But the idea that there are two “poles of passion” in Ukraine - Zaporozhye in the south and the Carpathians in the west - you must agree, is interesting...

The Hutsuls called themselves “irsteni” - similar to “Christians”, and perhaps even in Old Russian “peasants”, that is, “peasants”, “villagers” - those who populated the mountains. Pioneers, pioneers! They said about themselves: “What Irsteenin wanted was for his masters not to suffer losses.” The Hutsul-Irsteni never knew corvée, and because of this they were and remain freedom-loving.

Another interesting version. There was such a Turkish horse - “hutsul”. He has taken root in the mountains because he is one of the most thorough horses in the world: he pulls the most, eats the least. Not very beautiful, small, with a black stripe from the head to the tail. I am very very resilient. Only such a one could survive in the harsh conditions of the Carpathians and even help a person survive. Carpathian settlements moved from the valleys to the mountains thanks to just such skates. I supposedly the Irsteni got their name from them. So let it be so...
But there is also this option: not “hutsul” - a robber, but “kuchul” - a nomad. Well, of course, because the mountain men migrated: in the warm season - to the mountain valleys, where the grass is silky and the grazing for the “goods” is excellent, and in the fall - to the valleys, where houses and families awaited them. This rhythm is still relevant today.

It was the Wallachians, who called the Hutsuls Hutsuls, who taught them mountain valley crafts and many other wisdoms of life in the mountains. I both peoples live and are still side by side, practically unmixed. Romanian horses and cows calmly cross the border, graze in Ukraine and then go home, and the shepherd calmly watches this, knowing that no one will touch the cattle.

"A little wild" French

Where did the Hutsul tribe come from, since it has not been inhabited in the Carpathians forever?
Mountains have always been a refuge for the defiant and a prison for the guilty. The Romans also sent their exiles here through Dacia (Romania). There are guesses that the legendary sage Ovid was sent among them (Mount Gadfly in the Carpathians, near Ugly).

Of course, it would be too much to say that the Hutsuls are descendants of the Romans. Rather, it is already true that these are Celts who settled in the Carpathians during a time of great migration of peoples. By the way, the parallel Galicia - Gaul (now France) - Galicia in Spain - Portugal can be traced not only in the names of these regions and countries, but also in the names of villages, rivers and mountains. And also, for example, that the Hutsuls went primarily to France to earn money. In Hutsul Kolomyia the completely Celtic “dana-dana” sounds. Or take the “ideal frog” - there is one in the Carpathians. Here's a “Provençal delicacy” for you! And Lesovik also lives there - the Gallic Satyr was dug up...

Let's say more - completely serious hypotheses are being expressed that the biblical Galilee is supposedly somehow connected with Galicia, and Pontius Pilate is a native of the Carpathians. Why not? After all, ethnic Romans did not lead the Jewish territories, not wanting to take responsibility for the often sweeping and unprecedentedly cruel sentences of local rulers. Pilate was supposedly a Gaul or a Galician (maybe this is the same thing?).

But this is already very deep in the depths of history. This looks much closer to life. One Danube tribe - Slavic or Celtic, they are also called Rutenes - is very unfortunately located at the crossroads of history. Whoever followed those paths beat and pushed them. The Ruteni had no other advice on how to head to the mountains, away from misfortunes, and there they became “Gots”, “Hutsuls”...

This is the problem with the Hutsuls...

How did it happen that the Hutsuls are considered almost a symbol of all Ukrainians, its revival? The secret is simple - they are simply Kept. As an ethnicity, as a culture, as whole individuals. They know exactly who they are, and modern people really miss this. I not only to the inhabitants of Greater Ukraine. Or maybe he has even less than the globalizing and unified Western European. That is why singer Ruslana conquered Eurovision last year - the “united” Europeans saw their neighbors with a completely new and at the same time very familiar face. The same French regularly host prestigious festivals of ethnic music, where they invite folk performers from other countries - because they have not preserved their own. I enjoy it, find myself in it...

Why did the Hutsuls survive? Because other mountain peoples do too. There will be less interference from civilization in the form of all sorts of human scum. Here the harsh living conditions leave the way of life unchanged. It’s so beautiful here and you get so used to everything that you’ll never leave here forever if you were born on this earth.

And why not live in the Carpathians? In the summer - although it is hard peasant labor, it is among fabulous nature. In winter, on the contrary, there is little work, sit and do creativity: embroider, weave, carve, paint Easter eggs, compose songs, celebrate calculus and bright holidays... This eternal cycle exists in the Hutsul region to this day. Paradox: the lack of land gives rise to a craving for any folk craft. The basis of the Hutsul existence is livestock farming, since there is very little arable land in the Carpathians. People feed their “goods” (livestock, that is) from pastures and hayfields. They even say: “It’s a sin to flog the land”: the aridnik (Satan) sits in the depths and rejoices that they are approaching him, plowing the land... The Hutsuls raise livestock, shear wool, and produce all kinds of aesthetics. That's how they live.

I will always be like this. This dictates mountain life. His demands are so strict that they force a person to become sharp. No stranger is used among the Hutsuls. We just ask you not to confuse it with guesting. They welcome you here as if you are not just an inquisitive tourist, but a highly polished person. They will lay you down and feed you without asking who you are or where you are from until you say so. But to live, to mix with them... Strangers are not accepted into society. This is the problem with the Hutsuls...

Tall, has a typically Roman nose, black and dense hair like Kino, but a light face and narrow dark, occasionally blue, eyes. Long legs and hands with long fingers. The woman is small, slender, cheerful, playful, beautiful. Very fast in movements, decisions and conversation. I are beautifully put together - that's a must.

Hutsuls are terribly fond of clothes and have a great taste for it. Men also dress up brightly - even with gold trim. In ancient times, clothing was extremely expensive and was passed down from generation to generation. I Hutsul Hutsul could kill for him.
And also for weapons. It was believed that a Hutsul was armed - a Hutsul was dressed normally. If you have only two pistols behind your wide belt, then you are probably a poor man... They still love to shoot: at Epiphany, at the temple... Of course, only upwards.

I love to show myself off. Hutsul walks around the world, not only to see people, but also to be seen - how beautifully he dresses, how proudly he dances, how skillfully he knows how to work... In some places, these people’s homes are like a continuous upper room, all covered in embroidered towels , carpets and carvings. They themselves often live in a “summer kitchen”, and the house is for guests, for show.

Hutsul is freedom-loving and independent. He will not tolerate any instructions from the side, he is his own chairman. He has an exaggerated sense of dignity (if dignity can ever be too much). Of course, at the moment no one is throwing a weapon at anyone, but in the past it often came to the point of “bashing” (this is when the chairman is hit with an ax). What is the Hutsul offended by? If someone tells him “stupid”, he may still turn a deaf ear, but if “stupid Hutsul” - oh... Don’t risk it! Hutsul is as exalted in himself as Goverla is above Ukraine.

These people are passionate about limitlessness, but also surprisingly delicate, they know how to restrain themselves. Very polite, with a genetic internal culture. They address themselves exclusively as “you,” even to a sixth-grader. Because they are very hot, the Hutsuls have not drunk alcohol for a long time. The entire wedding (two hundred or more people!) was served with a quart of vodka. Everyone drank from one glass and said: “I sniffed the corks.” But if anyone managed to drink, he would sometimes become very violent. He could get jealous, get angry - and for the hatchet...

What happened was what happened, they killed easily, but “fairly.” After all, the Hutsuls were and remain deeply religious Christians. There are nowhere else where there are as many church holidays as they have. They were pagans, they lived among nature - God's creation. All carols and malanka-schedrivkas are imbued with biblical content, but there was also a place in them for the sun, wind, and rain. They launch an inflamed wheel at Yuri from the top, as they did on the same day in pagan times. I if in most of the territory of Ukraine militant atheism leveled both paganism and Christianity, here they live in harmony or, when you want, in the currently fashionable eclecticism.

There are already too many myths about our dear highlanders. It all started with the Nadnipryan Kotsyubinsky and his “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.” This novel, and then the world-famous film by the Armenian Parajanov, created a very mysterious image of the “wild” Hutsul. In the modern pop format it is completed by Ruslana.

Do the Hutsuls, the Ukrainians, the world need this? Probably so. Let the world first absorb something adapted, and then, lo and behold, it will become interested in something authentic. Does the image created by Ruslana correspond to the truth? Of course not. But no matter how much we criticize the singer, she captured the drive of the Hutsul dance. The true character of a Hutsul is manifested precisely in dance, when he lets go of the reins of everyday life. Then there is not a muscle in the body or soul that does not vibrate and vibrate to the triple music!

Oh, mom, what’s going to happen’?

Indeed, what, exactly, will happen to the Hutsul tradition? Will it dissolve in the ocean of globalization, having amused the world with beautiful tricks, and will it become preserved in its own juice? Probably a little of this, a little of that. But in general, Hutsulism will live and, therefore, not stand still. The rigid boundaries of mountain life will not allow you to fall apart into friends. The kiptar will remain on the shoulders because it is light and protects well from the wind. And it also goes well with the most modern jeans... A car will not replace a horse, because it will go where technology is powerless and generally inappropriate. And Hutsul musicians will continue to play at weddings alternately on electronics and authentic. Hutsul tourism won’t spoil it either. They say it will no longer be worse than what drunkenness and post-Soviet unemployment did to them in Soviet times. On the contrary, tourism touches the favorite tune of the mountaineer - “to show oneself.” Do you remember? Plus, all Hutsuls, and this is a fact, adapt very well to modernity, remaining themselves. Even in America you can see things from the Carpathians, following the latest fashion trends. Yes, and in Verkhovyna, girls are pleasing to the eye - “a vest to the knee, a spare tire in fives,” and when it goes, the spare tire diverges... Very erotic and exotic. They are proud that they are in the center of Europe (near the city of Rakhiv), free, beautiful and not at all wild. Well, maybe a little... For strangers.

I had to travel around the Hutsul region more than once: in different years and under different circumstances. It was a long time ago: you can say that this is the land of my childhood. Therefore, now that I am quite a few years old, having specially arrived in the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians for filming, I tried to look at familiar places with a new look: what has changed, what has remained the same, what has blossomed, and what has withered away. What calms the heart of the colorful mountains these days?

The diesel train “Chervona Ruta” moves out of Rakhiv and reluctantly crawls up between the steep mountain slope and the cliff above the Tisa River, overcoming the first pass. The old, bright red train of just a few cars can easily be considered a local landmark: it is at least fifty years old (at least, its “insides”).

I make myself as comfortable as possible by the window, as the cracked wooden seat allows, and absentmindedly glance at the nearby peaks. As you know, geography explains a lot in the history and morals of all peoples. And if we are talking about highlanders, then especially. Thanks to their isolation, they usually manage to retain more originality of culture than the inhabitants of the valley. Who has ever heard that a mountainous country could be easily conquered, converted to a different faith, or imposed a foreign language?.. So the Eastern Carpathians, since civilization came here, changed their formal “owners” several times, in the role of which were the early feudal Russians principalities, then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then the Soviet... But the obstinate Hutsuls always remained themselves, like, say, the Armenians under Turkish rule or the Incas under Spanish rule.

It is noteworthy that even in mountain cultures far from each other, separated by oceans and climatic zones, “rhymes” are easy to detect. The famous Hutsul wind instrument trembita looks like a Tibetan radong, Carpathian hats with a flirty feather are a “paraphrase” of the headdress of the Swiss (look at any image of William Tell). And the antediluvian train crawling between the mountains cannot but be compared with the famous “memorial express” that delivers tourists to Cusco, Peru.

Robbers, nomads and the Carpathians

Hutsuls are ethnic Ukrainians living in the mountainous regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions (several villages are also scattered along the border regions of Slovakia, Poland and Romania). They are considered the indigenous (in any case, the most ancient of those who have survived to this day) population of the Carpathians. As for the language of these villagers, it differs in some ways from literary Ukrainian, for example, in the use of a significant number of Romanian and Hungarian words, as well as in the bizarre structure of the phrase. The origin of the word “Hutsuls,” like the ethnic group itself, is mysterious and controversial. Some associate it with the word “Gotsal” (it seems that in the old days this was what the Carpathians were called), others - with “Kochuli” (nomads), and some scientists hear echoes of the Romanian hocul (robber). The traditional occupations of these people are sheep breeding and timber processing. Religion is Eastern Rite Catholicism, which still retains some pagan elements to this day. A strict count of the population is not carried out, since the concept of “Hutsuls” does not exist in official reporting documents (during the census they are registered as Ukrainians).

The diesel engine “gathers” its remaining strength and, having overcome the last hill in this section, crawls into the tunnel. Once upon a time, right along the course of its movement, there was a border between the Kingdom of Poland as part of the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary (the first railway was built by the Austrians at the end of the 19th century). We emerge from the tunnel in the Carpathian region. Then there is a steep descent, and the train runs much more cheerfully, accompanied along the way not by the pensive Tisa, but by the playful stormy Prut, while outside the window the beads of ancient villages flash, strung on it, as if on a living thread: Voronenko, Vorokhta, Tatarov, Mikulichyn, Yamna ...

From time to time, stopping at the platforms, our old “home on wheels” is gradually filled with bales, sacks and their owners: first, those who return from the market in Rakhiv, then those who go to the market in Vorokhta. Approaching this last point, the driver suddenly sharply squeezes the brakes, and the neatly dressed old woman sitting next to me barely has time, clutching an “antique” reticule to her chest, to dodge a flying bag of cabbage. “I’ll ask again, lady!” - someone’s voice is heard from the dense crowd of passengers, but I no longer have time to recognize who it belongs to, since the flow of people finally carries me into the fresh air.

For these picturesque places, the market is like a carnival. It is obligatory for everyone and for everyone - like a calendar. He sets the rhythm of life. From Monday to Thursday the town sleepily shrinks, and on Friday it again floods with a commercial flood. Now - on Friday. But before, during the long Soviet years, market day was Sunday. I can’t remember who established this order, but it is clear that under communist rule it didn’t matter whether you went to mass on the same day as shopping (although not a great sin, but a sin), or even when... And then, in the early nineties, the Uniate Church regained its rights and returned to a strict way of life. The Sunday service was extended to the appropriate hour, and a special day was set aside for the excited bustle of life.

And they did a good job - they gave the people an extra day off. Although no one established it legislatively, is it possible to work when there is a fair all around? It’s funny to say... Moreover, to get to the market, residents of remote areas need time, and they have to leave early in the morning. The owners and housewives get up in the dark, collect the bales and set off, but no one complains because they are going, I repeat, to a holiday. Do mountaineer villagers have a lot of entertainment in their lives, ways to relax and time to see friends? Or, again, show off their best outfits (the Hutsuls are all dandies): men in tall hats, “club” jackets, embroidered shirts and colored ties, women in traditionally colorful scarves, like the political map of the world. I often find myself thinking: in any other place, this multi-colored aesthetic would seem excessive. And here, in the surroundings of the mountains, which themselves look a little wild, everything is in place.

There are already a lot of people at the stop, much more than can fit in one minibus. But no one is nervous or loses face: everyone stands and decorously waits, surrounded by shapeless “trunks”. You might think that the mountaineers are imperturbable, like the Indians, but in fact, their sedate people mean they are positive.

...It is impossible to stand silently even among unfamiliar Hutsuls for a long time, and after a few minutes I am chatting with an elderly woman. About this and that: “Well, I came from Moscow...” - “What are you saying? And my daughter also has... a husband from Rybinsk.” One should not be surprised by this “too”. For a village resident of Western Ukraine, especially in that part of it where moving from gorge to gorge is a big deal, the world takes on generalized outlines. So to speak, Kharkov is also seen as Paris.

But the internal space of the small homeland is expanding to unprecedented limits and fragmenting. The neighboring village is perceived as a separate, completely different and original world: with its own way of life, dialect, embroidery patterns and its own “nature”. It is also important at what altitude the settlement is located: one of my acquaintances, having quarreled with his wife, always exclaimed: “What kind of understanding can there be in her? There is no understanding. She’s from below!” Moreover, it’s good if it’s a five-kilometer drive from her husband’s house to her native village, but it’s downhill.

Horsemen of the Carpathians

Finally, the long-awaited “Gazelle” arrives and is loaded to capacity, which does not prevent it from reaching a speed that is good in its class on the mountain highway within a minute: about 80 km per hour. The passenger community, accustomed to both speed and bends, also without hesitation unfolds its usual gossip and conversations under the rustle of tires. By the way, my new friend is talking about tires somewhere “at the back” of the minibus: her nephew, they say, was given a bicycle, “but not a special one for the mountains, but an ordinary bicycle. On the very first day the tires were gone - they all “flew”! Well, what is he? He continues to drive around without tires.” Wow, horseman, more Caucasian than Carpathian...

Here we are just passing through densely populated areas. The area where one village flows into another is known precisely for the vigorous activity of the Carpathian horsemen, those fellows who make history textbooks fascinating reading. Near Tatarov, the Galician-Volyn prince Daniil Romanovich (or rather, the king! - the pope sent him, the only one of all the ancient Russian sovereigns, a royal crown) with his son Lev for the first time “flicked on the nose” of the Horde, and until then they had not known defeat from the Slavs. A little further, between Yamnaya and Yaremcha, visitors are taken to the caves of Dovbush - that famous chieftain of Oleksa Dovbush, who hid there with his haiduks from the Polish regular troops, and when they left, from there he launched raids on the gentry’s appanages. And his beloved Dzvinka secretly visited him in the caves, about whom they sing that “the skin of a woman in the soul” is she (“every woman in the soul” is she).

In the 20-30s, this area - Yasinya, Yaremcha, Vorokhta - suddenly acquired the fame of a resort, and Poles and Austrians began to gather there with their families for vacation, and unprecedented institutions appeared: hotels, boarding houses, cafes. Just before the “reunification of Western Ukraine with the USSR,” the first horse-drawn ski lift was even built in Yaremche, making panoramic views accessible to the unsportsmanlike rich. It was considered especially chic to ride a horse right under the cable car cabin when it just soars into the air - this was an activity for a horseman. Now, after the troubled 90s, tourism, of course, is being revived again, but so far, out of old habit, visitors from the CIS prefer the private sector to any resort infrastructure: there is no such house in Yaremche that would not host vacationers on all “important” occasions. holidays. Many people stay in the city itself, but in order to feel the spirit of these places, it is better to settle in the surrounding mountains - “on the outskirts”. My good friend, Vasily Nikolaevich Plitus, lives in one of these hospitable houses. It’s difficult for an unprepared person to get to it: it’s a two-kilometer walk uphill. But a reward awaits there: a warm Hutsul welcome with tea, pretzels, palinka, conversations - and all this will last until the morning.

It goes without saying that only after living a little in such a family, one can recognize what life in the mountains is like and what difficulties pay for its cheerful flavor. Vasily’s grandson, Lyubchik, is not yet fourteen years old, and in any weather he runs several kilometers along a rocky path every day - to and from school. And when he came running from school, the economic “duty” began: including mowing and herding cows—serious matters. The closest run-down store is downstairs, in the city center, so a walk to buy bread takes an hour and a half (at a good Hutsul pace). It is therefore clear, by the way, why traditional local cuisine, which arose taking into account distances and energy costs, is so high in calories and heavy. For the same reason, in the fall, people take bags of food from the market: on long days of snowfall, many villages are completely cut off. It’s important not to stretch your legs here.

Gifts of the Molfars

I was convinced myself that the relatively low Carpathian Mountains, well-trodden by tourists, are still mountains where it is better not to relax, when I once went to shoot a sunset panorama. At about six o'clock the sky suddenly became overcast with lightning speed, and a few minutes later it opened up into fierce torrents. “I should go down quickly,” I thought, but “quickly” was not possible, because it was slippery, and it had already gotten dark. In general, how I managed to find the right forest path among dozens of others, and then not break my neck on it, I don’t know. It was a terrible thunderstorm. About the same as the one summoned by the molfar (sorcerer) in the famous film.

Reasons to remember Sergei Parajanov’s film adaptation of “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Mykola Kotsyubinsky are found at every step in the Rakhiv region. In general, do you know that the Hutsuls themselves once perceived this film as a documentary about their grandparents? In all seriousness. And although everything in this picture is pure fiction, it really looks extremely plausible - in terms of everyday life, morals... All this could happen in the Hutsul region. And it actually happens to this day. Until now, instead of greeting, locals say: “Glory to Icycy Christ,” and in response they hear: “Naviki glory.” To this day, the highest value for the most inveterate “daredevil” is family, and there is no greater misfortune than remaining a “bitter bastard.” The same holidays are celebrated, the same pies are baked and the same tincture is prepared. And the phrase from the film “Everyday is for work, sacred for divination” still expresses the spirit and rhythm of life.

At Christmas time, people go to caroling and place exactly twelve dishes on the table, including the “queen” - the famous kutia made from whole wheat with walnuts, honey and poppy seeds. On Palm Sunday, Great Day (Easter) and the frosty Yardan (Epiphany), there are fewer treats, up to ten types, but all the people go in procession to the icy river or stream to listen to the Holy Liturgy - both touching and joyful. Everyday life, of course, is everyday life, and they have their own activities: herding sheep in the 21st century is not considered shameful even for men with higher education, and God himself ordered their wives to make cheese, embroider and knit, following the example of their great-grandmothers. On Friday, as already mentioned, it is customary to go to the market, on Saturdays to clean the house, Sunday is given to church. In general, a real rural idyll, which you rarely see anywhere on the European continent, except perhaps in Sicily (by the way, like the Sicilians, every self-respecting Hutsul family has relatives in America or at least in Canada).

Anyone who says that everything here remains so pristinely authentic is lying. For example, the scarves that we admired at the market are no longer Hutsul at all, but imported Japanese. And what? The colors are the same, the effect is the same - and it comes out cheaper... National costumes lie in chests and are rarely taken out of there, except for cleaning, however, even in warm weather, many women, by “genetic” memory, wear double skirts and triple sweaters - as soon as it’s not hot them? About twenty years ago you could often see shepherds descending from distant slopes in corduroy jeans received from uncles and cousins ​​overseas. And it turned out very “naturally”: corduroy from a distance looks like traditional Ukrainian velvet.

Such connections between the past and the present give rise to bright and cheerful contrasts. The Hutsuls themselves find it funny: cars are parked on one side of the village street, and horses are parked on the other, and both the bodies and the carts are decorated with the same national carpets. In many houses, stoves are used for cooking and heating in the old fashioned way (gasification of the Rakhiv region is happening right now), and Samsung VCRs are installed on them to save space. And in winter you can watch how the smoke from the chimney gently curls around the satellite dish.

What is what in the Hutsul world?
Polonyny - a plateau in the Carpathians where sheep are grazed - climatically almost the same as alpine meadows
Lizhniki are fleecy rugs made of sheep wool, decorated with geometric patterns. Designed for laying, covering and simply decorating
Pysanky are traditional painted eggs. They are considered an excellent gift (among others) and a product (for tourists)
Trembita is a musical instrument. It is a wooden pipe (up to 3 m long) without valves or valves
Arkan is a Hutsul folk male dance (according to legend, the dance of heroes who came down from the mountains), requires great endurance and preferably dexterity from the dancers (performed with small axes-barts)

Hutsul everyday culture looks very attractive from the outside. And what is attractive in our time is profitable and should be used as souvenirs and sold out. They are trying to do this with the Ukrainian Carpathians. For many years in a row I visited Kolomyia (the cultural and historical “capital” of the Hutsul region), and a couple of years ago I arrived and was upset. On the occasion of the ethnic festival, it was hastily restored, and, having brought out the external gloss for everyone to see, they ruined all the charm. True, at the folk crafts market in Kosovo or in the Kolomyia Pysanka Museum you can still find something worthwhile and unique - a carpet with a decorative pattern, a shirt or something painted from utensils. By the way, the plots of the drawings are only simple in appearance, but in fact they are full of ancient pagan meaning. For example, if you see a triangle, keep in mind that it is a symbol of immortality, male and female strength. Lightning signifies heavenly fire and divine assistance to women in labor. The sun, among other things, protects from evil spirits. And the arrows depicted on the Easter eggs helped to “turn away” the Tatars from the villages. Talismans and generally drawings with hidden magical meanings are still common in this superstitious region. More than once I have heard how illness was explained by the evil eye, and family troubles by someone else’s envy. In place of ancient legends, which sooner or later die out, new ones arise. For example, the entire population avoids the Jewish-Polish cemetery in Kolomyia. They say, naturally, that the souls of the murdered rise from the crypts and call the Nazis and Bolsheviks to account. By the way, I didn’t get any shots of the cemetery - they were the only ones I took during the whole trip. The film, God knows why, turned out to be overexposed. Probably, “shadows of forgotten ancestors” don’t like to be filmed.

“Hutsuls…. Who are these people? This question has arisen more than once among those who have ever been interested in the culture of the peoples of neighboring countries.

However, it is not so easy to answer even for the native residents of Ukraine. That is, they will most likely tell you that these are people who live in the western part of the state, love to sing and attach great importance to clothing in the traditional style, passed down from generation to generation. And that's probably all. It’s a shame, because in this case this distinctive nation will be exactly like the other numerous peoples of Ukraine.

Although it would be worth talking about the Hutsuls first. Why? The thing is that their lifestyle, manner of dressing and worldview have been the subject of study by many scientists for many years, both historians and cultural scientists.

In this article we will try to answer the question of what the Hutsuls are. Readers will learn who these people are from the description of the history, culture and modernity of the nation.

Section 1. General description of the nationality

There is an assumption that the Hutsuls, just like the Lemkos and Boykos, belong to the Carpatho-Rusyn ethnic group. But, despite this opinion, emigrants from Galician and Bukovinian Rusyns believe that their ancestors appeared in the Carpathian Mountains at the beginning of the 6th century. Today, the main part of the Carpatho-Rusyn ethnic group inhabits the border territories of the modern Carpathians, located at the intersection of the Ukrainian, Polish and Slovak borders.

There are also more than half a million people living in separate communities in neighboring countries and in the United States of America. The population of these communities makes up almost ½ of the total number of Rusyns on earth.

Section 2. Origin of the name of the ethnic group

There are many versions of the origin of the word “Hutsuls,” but none of them has direct evidence. Some believe that the Carpathian highlanders got their name from the Ossetian (Sarmatian) word “gytsyl”, which means “small, junior”.

In written sources, this name is recorded as “gytsyl chizg/yazyg” and refers to the Iazygs - a Sarmatian tribe that existed in the Carpathian region and Galicia in the first centuries AD. e. It was they who did not participate in the campaign of the Sarmatian Alans to Europe and remained with the Gepids in Galicia and the Greutung Goths (“small Goths”).

Others express the opinion that the word “Hutsuls” has a slightly different origin - from the word “to roam” (due to the gradual transformation: nomadic-kochuly-gotsul-hutsul).

There is also a hypothesis that the tribe got its name thanks to the name Guts or the verb “gutsaty”.

However, the most common variant of the etymology of the word is a combination of two words - “hutsul” (via Oprishkiv “movement”) with Romanian “robber”. It is not for nothing that this nation is considered a wild (free) people.

Section 3. Where do the Hutsuls live on the territory of Ukraine?

The Hutsuls - along with the Boykos and Lemkos - belong to the Carpathian Mountains. Nowadays, they live on the territory of Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions.

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, these ethnic Ukrainians inhabit the Verkhovyna, Yaremchansky, southern Kosiv, and Nadvoryansky districts.

Their place of residence in the Transcarpathian region is the Rakhiv district. The area of ​​the Hutsul region in Ukraine is 6.5 thousand square meters. km. Its territory also includes the border lands of Romania, where the Maramorosh Hutsuls live.

Section 4. Historical moments

Until the mid-40s of the last century, the Hutsuls, as well as the whole of Western Ukraine, were divided.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, part of their territories belonged to Austria and Hungary. And after 1920, the Hutsul lands were subordinate to Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia. By the end of the 30s of the 20th century, the Hutsul region became part of the Ukrainian SSR.

The first census conducted in 2001 showed that about 21.5 thousand people consider themselves to belong to the ethnological group of Hutsuls.

Section 5. How the Hutsul region was formed

The first historical mention of the Hutsul region appeared in Polish written sources dating from the 14th-15th centuries. For a long time, these peoples of Western Ukraine were freed from feudal duties (panshchina).

Instead, there was a collection in kind and money from the population to pay for the ransom from neighboring landowners. In the middle of the XVII-XVIII centuries. A popular uprising movement began in the lands of the Hutsul region; Oleks Dovbush became the leader of the Ukrainian oprishki movement. And in the 40s of the 19th century, another popular uprising took place, aimed at protecting peasant interests and abolishing the panshchina. This rebel movement was led by Lukyan Kobylitsa.

The most significant historical events of the last century that occurred in the cultural and political life of the Hutsuls include the active work of the Ukrainian Radical Party, the creation of an amateur theater under the leadership of Gnat Khotkevich (1911) and the Sich society of K. Trilevsky, the military actions of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen ( 1914-1915) and the emergence of the Hutsul Republic, which lasted only a few months.

The main part of the modern Hutsul region is located on the territory of Ukraine. The only exceptions are a few villages in the Romanian part of Bukovina and Marmaroschyna.

Section 6. Main type of occupation of the Hutsuls

Since ancient times, the main types of traditional occupations of the Hutsuls are: cattle breeding, forestry, beekeeping and timber rafting along mountain rivers. The Ukrainian Carpathians are ideally suited for such crafts.

The Hutsuls practically did not engage in agriculture, and it was of secondary importance. Folk and artistic crafts occupied a special place in the life of the Hutsuls. Pottery, weaving, production of leather and copper products, wood processing, straw inlay, etc. were developed. Many items of folk craftsmen have survived to this day.

The folk musical instruments of the Hutsuls included the tilinka (calf), an open tube without holes made of willow or hazel. A resident of Transcarpathia, it seemed, could not live a day without his favorite melodies. Almost every one of them mastered the game from early childhood.

Another traditional one was trembita - a wooden pipe up to four meters long without valves or vents, wrapped in birch bark. This type of wind instrument was used to transmit sound signals over long distances. With its help, in the old days, various events were reported (weddings, holidays, death, funerals, etc.), and shepherds announced their location in the mountainous areas.

The Hutsuls also use other musical instruments - the pipe, the accordion and the cymbals, and less often the violin and the jew's harp.

The Hutsuls have highly developed clan relationships and community relations, and shamanism is preserved. They are adherents of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches.

Section 7. What language do the Hutsuls speak?

For communication on the territory of Ukraine among the Hutsuls, the Hutsul dialect of the Ukrainian is used. The Hutsuls speak Ukrainian and Romanian.

And the pronunciation features of Hutsul words are in many ways similar to the Slovak language. This once again indicates that the peoples of Ukraine are very heterogeneous and very often resemble people from European countries more than residents of their own state.

Section 8. Hutsul wedding traditions and rituals

The Hutsuls, whose origins ethnographers never tire of studying, even in our time wear national clothes and strongly adhere to their age-old traditions.

Traditionally, matchmaking and engagement take place in spring, summer and autumn, very rarely in winter. There is no specific time set for weddings, but most often they are held before Lent. It is prohibited to celebrate during any fast.

The first sign of an imminent wedding in the Hutsul region was the presentation of towels by the matchmakers. For a marriage to be long and strong, young people must “stand on a towel.” A long-standing tradition of the Hutsuls is the presentation of kalach on an embroidered towel to young spouses with the pronunciation of wishes for a rich and happy life. The groom rode to the church on horseback.

In general, if we answer briefly the question: “Hutsuls? Who are these people?”, one cannot help but note that they are, first and foremost, funny people.

Judge for yourself, not a single wedding takes place without folk songs and dances, games and amusements, funny jokes and jokes. They bake loaves and rolls, weave and embroider towels. Guests' outfits are decorated with bouquets, which are also hung on trees and gilts. The bride and groom are accompanied all day by boyars, elders, matchmakers and groomsmen.

Section 9. Religious holidays (Christmas and Easter)

Preparations for Christmas begin in advance; a tree called “Didukha” is made from sheaves. According to legend, the souls of ancestors and guardians of the house live in this tree. The day before the holiday, the housewives of the house light a “living fire” from twelve logs in the stove and prepare twelve ritual Lenten herbs.

The holy dinner always consists of kutia - boiled wheat with nuts, honey and poppy seeds. Wheat is considered a symbol of eternity, and honey is a symbol of the prosperity of all the saints in heaven. With the arrival of Christmas, Christmas carols begin. These days, everyone goes visiting guests from village to village, riding horse-drawn sleighs. A week after Christmas, they celebrate the Old New Year, fast on January 18, and Epiphany (Jordan) is celebrated on January 19. Dinner begins only with the appearance of the first star in the sky.

The Easter holiday in the Hutsul region is celebrated in compliance with all traditions and customs. On Palm Sunday, residents bring blessed willow branches from church and lightly beat each member of their family with them. According to ancient customs, willow has healing properties. During Lent, all craftsmen made Easter eggs.

For church consecration, Easter eggs, Easter eggs and other products are placed in the basket. Also, in memory of the suffering of Christ, horseradish and Easter are placed in the basket, which are a symbol of divine light and Christ’s resurrection. Rich Hutsuls rode horses to the church, while poor people walked.

Section 10. Features of Hutsul cuisine

National Hutsul cuisine is very diverse and easy to prepare. The most commonly used products are corn flour, cereals, legumes, potatoes, mushrooms and cheese, which is made from sheep's milk. Dishes of Hutsul cuisine - banush, Hutsul borscht, rosivnitsa, kulesha and much more.

Banush is prepared in a cast iron cauldron over a fire. Sour cream and cream are placed in a cauldron and brought to a boil, salted and carefully sprinkled with corn flour. Banush is considered ready as soon as droplets of fat appear on the surface. The dish is served with feta cheese, mushrooms and cracklings.

To prepare mushroom soup, dry porcini mushrooms are boiled in chicken broth with seasonings, and then vermicelli and herbs are added.

Housewives prepare traditional Hutsul borscht from smoked boiled pork and fermented beets.

Section 11. Hutsuls... Who are these people? Can they be called modern?

Today, the life of the Hutsuls is also little exposed to various political and social upheavals. Folk crafts and cattle breeding are being revived in villages, which is associated with the collapse of collective farms and the cessation of production. For many, this is the main or additional type of income. Almost all families make souvenirs to sell to tourists. Despite this, unlike other residents of Ukraine, Hutsuls have the lowest income.

Some of the Hutsuls, who considered themselves Ukrainians in Soviet times, now consider themselves Rusyns and are separating, although they cannot unite and create a single society of Rusyns with Boykos and Lemkos.

Source: Ruska Pravda

Hutsuls are NOT Slavs

WHAT WERE THE UKRAINES IN Rus'?

From time immemorial, one of the common terms in Russian geography was the word “okrAina” (оукрАіна, Українська - which means “the land located at the EDGE of Rus'”), widely used in toponymy along with such concepts as principality, region, lands. Thus, in the “Word of the Lover of Christ” it was noted: “none of the Ukrainians pray to him to the cursed god Perun.” (E.V. Anichkov. “Paganism and Ancient Rus'”. St. Petersburg, 1914, p. 265). “They will begin to go to war in our Ukraine and our cities,” says the “Tale of Two Embassies.” The action took place under Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich (“Anthology on the history of the Russian language” M., “Enlightenment”, 1990, p. 357). There was some kind of Ukrainian even on the Kola Peninsula - it was called Ukrainian Terskaya (the southern coast of the Kola Peninsula) (M. Vasmer “Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language”, M., “Progress”, 1987, vol. IV., p. 156 -157). To the south of Karelia there was also Kayan Ukraine: “And the Germans took possession of the Kayan Ukraine” (Archimandrite Dosifei “Geographical, historical and statistical description of the Stavropegial first-class Monastery” M., 1836, department I, pp. 36, 38). The 1st Pskov Chronicle of 1481 mentions “Ukraine beyond the Okoya”, and the lands nearby Tula are referred to as “Tula Ukraine”. In the “Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” and in the “2nd Pskov Chronicle” (1481) the so-called “Pskov Ukraine” is described. The “List of Cities” of 1652 mentions the “Ukrainian” cities of Tula, Kashira, Kaluga, Kolomna, Pereslavl, Ryazan Yaroslavets and others, a total of 37 cities (“Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire”, vol. I, collection 1, p. 1649 to December 12, 1825, pp. 278-279). In the same volume we read: “Kaluga and other Ukrainian cities” (p. 487); “In Tula and in other Ukrainian cities” (p. 489); "Ukrainian Sevsk cities"; “Ukrainian Polish cities” (p. 582); “Residents of Little Russian cities come to the Moscow state and to Ukrainian cities” (p. 973). There were also Ukrainians in other Slavic states, for example, in Serbia the city “Biagrad - the capital city of the Ukrainian people” is described (“Historiography of the beginning of the name, glory and expansion of the Slavic people”, St. Petersburg, 1722, p. 56).

From these small examples it is clearly seen that there were a lot of “okrAin” in Rus'. But over time, some terms become outdated and disappear, others come to replace them. This happened with the concept of “principality”, which was modified into “volost”, “province” and, ultimately, into “region”. At the same time, such a toponymic term as “ukraina” one fine day ceased to mean something and almost everywhere disappeared from use as unnecessary, just as other words that do not mean anything in the modern world disappear.

However, one of the okrAins still remains on the geographical map. For a long time it was under foreign control. Since foreigners usually name foreign and occupied territories on their maps as the natives call them, each new occupation power retained the historical name of the Western Russian Lands - “Ukrainian”. At the same time, since the Russian language was alien to the invaders, they distorted the word “UkrAina” in their own way, calling it “UkraIna” in their transcription (emphasis on the third syllable). A good illustration of the misunderstanding of the natives’ speech by aliens is a comparison of the English transcription of the words “China”, “Japan”, Indian and Indian place names - with the pronunciation of the corresponding concepts by the indigenous population of the mentioned territories. So we are not offended by the occupiers for “Ukraine”.

INVENT A NATION AND CONTROL

One of the main conditions for control over the occupied territory from time immemorial is the artificial reformatting of the local ethnic field. Hence, the main task of the occupiers in Western Rus' was an attempt to convince the local population that they were not Russians (which is what people considered themselves to be and this is confirmed by hundreds of historical documents, which we do not cite solely out of a desire not to overload the reader with quotes), but some kind of “Ukrainians” , For example. This was done quite simply: local elites were exterminated, and new elites were put in their place, who pursued the new party policy. Those who were not okhlos and therefore stubbornly continued to call themselves Russian were killed (this is also confirmed by a number of historical documents). A good illustration of the “divide and conquer” tactics is the policy of the Bolsheviks who occupied Western Rus' in 1939: on the one hand, they seemed to reunite the Russian lands, on the other hand, as the true occupiers continued to call them “Ukraine”, including them in a certain “ Ukrainian SSR" (conditional territorial formation on the lands of Little Russia").

AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR

The power of the Bolsheviks over Little Russia and Western Russia in 1991 was inherited by the gentlemen who established the so-called “Territory U”. Having retained their power in exchange for abandoning communist ideology, the party and economic activists unexpectedly faced serious problems: the 50 million population that was under its rule had no reason to consider themselves a single people. If the Soviet of Deputies managed to unite the Ukrainian SSR by demagoguery and de facto being in the same state as the rest of the Russians, then what could unite 50 million of the motley public and turn it into the so-called “Ukrainian ethnic group” after secession?

The reason for the emergence of almost all states on the planet is the existence of one or another ethnic group that this state forms (the second option, a vestige of foreign domination). So, if such an ethnic group as the Finns has formed on Earth, then it is quite natural that the Finnish people will create a Finnish state. The Germans will create a German state, the Jews will create a Jewish state, and so on. Therefore, the only reason for the emergence of a state with the name “Ukraine” can only be the presence in this territory of an ethnic group that identifies itself as “Ukrainians.” Thus, before giving “Ukrainians” the right to national self-determination, they must be defined - that is, proven that they exist.

But with this, the nomenklatura had serious problems - practically the same ones that would have arisen from some hypothetical persons when they tried to proclaim a “Balkan” or “Asia Minor” nation: the scale of these problems is revealed by a look at the political map of these regions. But if it is obvious that a Turk and a Kurd cannot be representatives of the same “Asia Minor” nation, how can a Russian living somewhere in Kharkov and a Hutsul from Ivano-Frankivsk be “Ukrainians”? It is obvious that they are representatives of one ethnic group (“Ukrainian”) to exactly the same extent as Russians and Chechens are representatives of another virtual people - the so-called “Russians”. But, it seems, things were bad with geography and ethnography at the highest party school and the party members began hopeless work.

PROJECT UKRAINE – BASIC MODEL

As a historical basic model of the so-called “Ukrainian state” (hereinafter referred to as “Territory U”), the people were offered a version of the establishment of Ukraine by Rurik, who came to the banks of the Dnieper with his retinue. After the death of Rurik, according to historians of “Territory U”, the unequal struggle with the Finno-Ugric Muscovite kingdom (as Russians from Moscow are considered to be Finno-Ugric) was led by the Zaporozhye Cossacks under the yellow-blue flag. Although the fairy tale turned out to be quite picturesque, nevertheless, not everyone believed in it. For example, the same Poles who made the famous film “With Fire and Sword”. There, for some reason, the Cossacks are fighting under a flag reminiscent of our Andreevsky, but only with red stripes. At the same time, the yellow-blue rag was nowhere near there. We must give the Poles credit for the historical accuracy of the film: the Cossacks really did not fight under the flag of the current “Territory U”. According to a long-standing tradition, the banners of the Cossacks were of various shades of red. Thus, Severin Nalivaiko fought under the red flag, and hetmans Khmelnytsky and Doroshenko fought under the crimson flag.

However, the official “Territory U” did not pay attention to such incidents and therefore always released mummers at state, festive events, and at some official ceremonies: men armed with sabers, dressed in a traditional Cossack costume, with characteristic Zaporozhye mustaches and forelocks. It is obvious that these gentlemen symbolized the so-called “shitty Ukrainians.” The crowd was complemented by women wearing wreaths dressed in peasant costumes.

Teenagers who had seen enough of this performance immediately fled to historical clubs created throughout “Territory U”, where they were dressed as Cossacks and allowed to wave a saber, simultaneously brainwashing them with “Ukrainian nationalism.” However, the experiment failed.

It started with the fact that teenagers, having read historical literature, learned about the Kuban, Don, Terek Cossacks - who once dressed in exactly the same clothes, with exactly the same sabers, mustaches and hairstyles. At the same time, Kuban residents called teenagers and their parents “Little Russian brothers,” while in historical clubs they were told that Muscovites are the main enemies.

In addition, it suddenly turned out that when Catherine II convinced the Cossacks to leave the Sich, they asked the queen to allow them to RETURN TO THEIR PRITUAL LANDS, that is, to the Kuban. This fact recorded in historical documents suggests that the Cossacks self-identified themselves as RUSSIANS, since Kuban is the Russian Land. On June 30, 1792, Catherine II signed a decree on the resettlement of the Black Sea army to the Kuban lands and a grant of grant for eternal possession of them, so that about 25,000 Cossack YARDS (that is, a combat Cossack, plus wife, children and parents) moved to Kuban. The elders were equal in rights to the nobility and received huge estates. In general, the myth about the “dispersal” of the Sich and the confrontation with the Moscow tsars has evaporated. In reality, the Cossacks simply had to be resettled after the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace of 1774 with the Turks: the raids of the Crimean Tatars stopped, and few people needed 25,000 professional soldiers suffering from idleness.

The Zaporozhye Cossacks failed the official ideologists in another way. Thus, a large official correspondence of the Zaporozhye Army has been preserved, from which historians began to cite very interesting quotes. Let’s say, Hetman Bogdan Khmelnytsky in his Belotserkovsky universal of 1648 wrote: “We are informing all of you in common with the Little Russians about this, and to the military company, we are calling you and will be willing to do the military work with them. To whom is dear the pious faith, which is transferred from the Poles to her; who among you loves the integrity of our fatherland, Little Russian Ukraine... - about the liberation of the entire Little Russian people from the misfortunes.” Or here is an excerpt from a response letter to Hetman Khmelnytsky from the Zaporozhye Sich, written on January 3, 1654, before the annexation of Little Russia to great Russia. “And your plan, so that it succeeds and will be with all the people of Little Russia, on both sides of the Dnieper, under the protection of the most powerful and most illustrious monarch of Russia, we recognize it as obedient, and we give our military pleasure to you, but quickly they did not abandon that matter and finished it, like the best creep of our Little Russian Fatherland...” That is, for some reason the Cossacks stubbornly did not call themselves Ukrainians, but preferred the term “Little Russians.” Actually, documents from that time say that there was a REUNION, and not a union of Ukraine with Russia.

As is known, specialists dealt with ideology in the KGB of the USSR, so some of them probably went to serve party members in “Territory U”. And these specialists could not help but see the very dramatic situation in which “Ukrainian statehood” found itself: for example, in the USA “Territory U” was recognized, while the people living in “Territory U” do not want to recognize this state. For example, the presidential elections in “Territory U” are traditionally won by politicians who use the thesis “about unification with Russia” in their election rhetoric. This is strange for an “independent” “state”. I wonder: how many votes would a candidate for chancellor of Germany get if he promised to include Germany in Turkey after coming to power? It turns out that the bulk of the population saw this “independence” in the coffin, just as they dream of placing all the ideologists of “independence” there?

Another example. In 1985 - that is, at the height of the oppression of the “Ukrainian people” by Muscovites - 78 million books were published in the Ukrainian language in the Ukrainian SSR. But in 1999 - at the height of “independence” - only 12 million of them were published. Obviously, in the era of the market, supply is determined solely by demand, and it turns out that there was no demand for booklets on the “Move”. That is, at most 12 million people living in “Territory U” self-identified themselves as Ukrainians (this is at best) - surely a Russian person will not acquire literature in a language he does not understand!? This shows the love of “Ukrainians” for “their” “language”. The collapse of the basic model was obvious.

UKRAINIANS – SECOND EDITION

When the versions of the “Rurik” and “Zaporozhye” history of the origin of “Territory U” died out one after another, the authorities began to frantically search for a new ideological core for the “Ukrainian nation.” There was an urgent need for national culture, national history, national attributes, which had to be presented to the people, otherwise the people somehow began to wonder: why the hell do some people call us “Ukrainians”? For obvious reasons, we are not privy to the secrets of the new development of the ideologists of the statehood of “Territory U”, however, some changes in course could be observed from afar.

From time to time we watch videos about public holidays in “Territory U”, videos about some ceremonies, reports about trips to “Territory U” of our beloved president. And what do we see? The Cossacks with sabers and trousers who had previously been present in abundance at these events disappeared somewhere, and their place was taken by a clearly different component: official delegations are now more and more often greeted by some men in the national clothes of Carpathian cattle breeders. They dance at local festivals. Those dancing and greeting are dressed in short sleeveless jackets made of sheep fur, reminiscent of highlander burkas; they wave small hatchets that resemble Indian tomahawks; they blow on some things that resemble the interfloor span of a riser drain pipe; They dance some strange dances, reminiscent of the dances of the highlanders. And they do it more than professionally - a person cannot blow a trumpet 3-4 meters long if he has not been taught this since childhood? It turns out that it’s not mummers who are invited to the “Territories U” show! Maybe these are the same mysterious “raw Ukrainians”, so to speak - a local variety!? But who is it, where did this fresh stream of inspiration come from into the national Ukrainian idea?

HUTSULS - NEW ROOTS OF UKRAINE

Ukrainian historians, who had hitherto puzzled over the connection of “Territory U” to Rurik, gave up this disastrous task of proving that he was a Ukrainian. Continuing to convince Little Russians that Muscovites are their main enemies also turned out to be a thankless task - the people reacted without enthusiasm. This is where the Hutsuls had to be brought into the light of day, a certain ethnic group considered true and conscious Ukrainians, bearers of the “Ukrainian national idea.” Let’s say, in elections for politicians who support an alliance with Russia - in Galicia and Transcarpathia, where these same Hutsuls live , ZERO percent of the population votes, and 95-99% of the votes are given to people with Russophobic rhetoric. And among the politicians of “Territory U” there are also many people of this interesting, “Ukrainian nationality”. This gives us a reason to take a closer look at the Hutsuls. Who are they, these “shitty beasts” of the titular nation, who determine the domestic and foreign policy of “Territory U”?

Of the 50 million inhabitants of “Territory U,” the Hutsuls make up no more than two million and live exclusively in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions. The Hutsuls are the most zealous “Ukrainian nationalists”; they hate Russians, fiercely. And they hate with some strange, inexplicable hatred. Only a hostile, truly alien ethnic group that has nothing in common with us can hate us like that. But when we talked about the Little Russians, we provided a lot of convincing evidence of commonality. In this regard, it seems appropriate to assume that some residents of Galicia, the Hutsuls, are NOT SLAVS AT ALL!? Let's try to analyze the ethnic roots of this so-called “Ukrainian nationalism”.

HUTSULS TYPE, HATS AND TREMBITAS

You can get some impression of the Hutsul people by watching some director’s masterpiece - “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, plus several Soviet agitprop films about how the right Hutsul communists killed the wrong Hutsul fascists who collaborated with the Germans. However, since our readers are unlikely to have seen the first film, and Soviet agitprop is a cinematic rarity, it is quite possible to use the official chronicle of Vladimir Vladimirovich’s trips to “Territory U” as a visual aid: as soon as you see men in fur jackets in the background blowing in the likeness of a galley oar - these are the Hutsuls. Although already on the basis of studying the appearance of these gentlemen the reader can come to very serious conclusions regarding the ethnicity of these strange people dressed in animal skins, we will go further: we will PROVE that the Hutsuls (that is, “shy Ukrainians”) are some kind of then an incomprehensible relict ethnic group that miraculously survived in the mountains, alien both specifically to the Slavs and to the Indo-European group in general.

There are dozens of versions of the origin of the Hutsuls and, most likely, none of them is correct: this is typical of all hypotheses, the authors of which are trying to figure out the ethnogenesis of the highlanders. In addition to the fact that mountainous areas can serve as a home, mountains are also in many ways a fortress, a shelter for the peoples who settled there. Many, many of the peoples who lived on the plains sank into oblivion, being dissolved into alien ethnic groups or destroyed by the invaders. At the same time, in the Caucasus alone there are more microscopic ethnic groups than in the entire history there were peoples in the entire lowland Europe. In the mountains, there are often cases of the existence of two completely different ethnic groups living on opposite sides of the same mountain (at the same time, their representatives can also fiercely hate each other for centuries!). This happens because it is almost impossible to eradicate any people who have found refuge in mountainous areas due to the inaccessibility of this area for the conquering troops. For example, there are Chechens living in the mountains, whom the Russians have not been able to drive out for a century now. The Uighurs and Tibetans live in the mountains and have been opposing the Chinese for several thousand years. So, some people hostile to other ethnic groups could also have taken refuge in the Carpathians.

According to the version approved by the order from above, written in waste paper for the Secondary School and Universities of “Territory U”, the Hutsuls are the descendants of the so-called White Croats who settled in the Carpathians. Croats are a Slavic ethnic group, part of which took part in the formation of the Russian people. So, one of the brothers - the legendary founders of Kyiv was named Khorev. Also, Choir (Hore, Hora) is one of the gods of the Russian pagan pantheon. The root commonality is thus obvious. Croatian tribes lived not only in the East of the Carpathians. To the West of these mountains lived the so-called Black Croats - future Czechs and Poles. So, “being” White Croats, as the official propaganda of “Territory U” claims, the ancestors of the Hutsuls were, as it were, surrounded by friendly peoples (which cannot be said about the inhabitants of Tibet, Nepalese, Uighurs and the peoples of the Caucasus). Nevertheless, the Slavic brothers, for some reason, drove the Hutsuls into the mountains. Since the Slavic nature of Russians, Poles and Czechs is not questioned by anyone, it can be assumed that the ancestors of the Hutsuls are an ethnic group alien to the Slavs and therefore hostile. Moreover, the Hutsuls, as will be described below, are not white at all, rather dark-skinned.

Although the Hutsuls are now considered Slavs, they speak the Slavic language (the ancestors of the Hutsuls adopted the language from the Slavs, began to enter into mixed marriages with them, and as a result of this, the Hutsuls today are somewhat different from what they were a thousand years ago), nevertheless, even after historical metamorphoses The Hutsuls did not merge with the local Slavic population. The typical appearance of a Hutsul is a dark, thin man, always brown-eyed, with blue-black hair and small facial features. Like, for example, young Bul-Bul ogly. Does this description resemble Rodovan Karadzic, Slobodan Milosevic, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Govel - representatives of the southern and western Slavs well known to our readers? You can even compare the Hutsul musicians with Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin or Vladimir Vladimirovich, a representative of the Eastern Slavs, standing next to them. Are these people similar? Anyone who has seen a significant number of Hutsuls can confidently say that common Slavic features are almost completely absent in them; they are a completely different racial type.

Of course: one of our opponents, through titanic efforts, can find a healthy albino man in the Carpathians and declare him a Hutsul. However, there are also Chechen teips where blondes are not uncommon - their ancestors are simply descendants of mixed marriages with Slavs. In general, the Hutsuls probably also had mixed marriages.

In addition to the type, one can find elements of material culture that sharply distinguish the Hutsuls from the Slavs. We will not describe much; we will present the most obvious evidence. For example, the traditional Hutsul hatchet is the national weapon of this people (the Hutsuls carry it in their belts). This hatchet is very small: a thin handle about thirty centimeters in length, a small ax handle weighing no more than half a kilogram. The purpose of this thing is difficult to understand. It is impossible for her to fell the surrounding forest. Fighting in a serious battle is also problematic, unless you jump out from behind a bush and hit a passerby on the head from behind (by the way, the word “robber” in the language of the Romanians living in the neighborhood sounds like hocul). Thus, if the Hutsul warriors fought with such gizmos, then this was caused either by the specific features of their military tactics (that is, they were robbers and broke the skulls of unwary Slavic travelers with their small hatchets), or the Hutsuls simply did not know metallurgy and were content with processing the bargained goods the inhabitants of the lowlands have objects made of metal (this is how the inhabitants of Africa make arrowheads from tin cans, and the American Indians made spears from knives). Since we are not inclined to see the Hutsuls as ethnic bandits, as the Romanians and Moldovans do, we must admit that they were bad at metallurgy (unlike the Slavs, excellent metallurgists).

In general, a weapon says a lot about its owner. The archetypal symbol of the weapon of a German or Slav is a mace, a long sword, a massive battle ax - a heavy weapon that requires incredible physical strength from the owner - at least to carry a pound club, not to mention the fact that it sometimes needs to be waved. In sagas, epics, and epics, heroes armed with precisely these weapons are described, reflecting the natural, bodily constitution of ethnic groups. It never even occurred to the short and thin-boned Asians to invent something resembling a mace. And since the Asians could not master such an effective weapon as a heavy iron club, their minds gave birth to such exotic things as kusarigama (Japanese fighting sickle on a chain), tzujiebian (Chinese metal fighting whip), pakchigi (technique of fighting with one’s own hair (braid) with woven there with metal objects). Although in the East, of course, various clubs and hammers were used, they were small, and some of them, to facilitate the construction, were made of wood.

Actually, the weight of a weapon indicates not only the power of the owner, but also the strength of his potential opponent. For example, consider the heavy two-handed sword of our ancestors. Its total length (handle plus blade) reached one and a half meters, and its weight was 4-5 kilograms (we are talking about mass weapons, since in the documents there are references to heroes with personal weapons worth a pound or more). It is quite difficult for a Chinese to swing such a thing (given the height of the local epic hero at 160 centimeters), so the Chinese straight jian sword weighs no more than one and a half kilograms. The sharpening angle of the blade of a European sword was at least 45 degrees, that is, the enemy was not “cut,” but “chopped.” Such weapons were created in order to fight warriors clad in heavy armor. In addition, they themselves were shackled in similar armor - the technique of fighting with a five-kilogram iron stick eliminates the possibility of blocking oncoming blows. Consequently, protection from missed blows had to be taken over by armor. From here it is easy to see that our ancestors, firstly, fought with very strong enemies (a goner cannot wear armor), and secondly, the Slavic warrior had enough strength not only to swing a five-kilogram sword for several hours, but also to chop a big man clad in good iron with it , finally, they wore armor, which indicates the development of blacksmithing in the area.

However, let's return to the Hutsul axes. Our remark about the fact that it is convenient for them to break the heads of sleeping people is not unfounded. The fact is that light and compact weapons are, as a rule, weapons of robbers. It is no coincidence that the Chinese call it an-qi (secret weapon). It was also different among different nations, but it was used exclusively by individuals of one category - bandits and hired killers. Chinese bandits used a type of luedao - a flexible sword worn as a belt. Russian robbers used a flail - a heavy piece of iron on a chain that could easily be hidden in a pocket. However, the most popular weapon among robbers is a throwing weapon, so in addition to the sword, ninjas also carried a pack of shuriken, well known from the films of throwing stars. One of the disadvantages of shuriken is its low killing power, the inability to fly over long distances or through sparse vegetation (to throw from bushes), so the Indians living in the forest invented the tomahawk - a small hatchet that flies well through sparse foliage and with which, perched on a tree, It’s easy to break the head of a person walking below. In wall-to-wall combat, the tomahawk is an inconvenient weapon. There are not many analogues of tomahawks in the world, but in all cases they were used by people who lived in the forest (jungle), who were short and thin, that is, they did not have the physical ability to throw, for example, a heavy spear at the enemy. We don’t want to say anything bad about the Hutsul people, but their hatchets are more than very reminiscent of tomahawks.

Having finished with weapons, let's move on to other attributes of the Hutsuls' life. For obvious reasons, 99.9% of our readers have never been inside the traditional home of the Carpathian highlanders; however, the general appearance of their estates is known from medieval engravings: a fortress-like house (like the houses of the Avars and Svans) surrounded by a continuous fence - the so-called grazhda. Who has seen THIS kind of thing in the villages of Little Russia? Any Slavs at all? Such houses are built only by people who are accustomed to living surrounded by enemies (including neighbors from their fellow tribesmen). But who was the enemy of the Hutsuls then? Warlike Moldovans? However, it is completely unusual for Moldovans to put pressure on neighboring peoples, which cannot be said about our ancestors, the Russians - apparently it was they who drove the Hutsuls into the mountains.

The jacket and hat are also a very interesting element of the national Hutsul clothing. Hutsuls wear short sleeveless vests (like vests) made of sheepskin in winter and summer. Moreover, the cut, the manner of wearing, the set of clothes have nothing in common with the Slavic tradition. You will not find anything like this among the Little Russians, the Czechs, the Poles, or any of the Slavs.

The musical instrument of the Hutsuls, the so-called trembita, is also very interesting. This is a hefty pipe up to four meters long, which is hollowed out from mast pines knocked down by lightning (this is understandable - a Hutsul hatchet cannot knock down such a tree, so Hutsul cabinetmakers have to wait for a thunderstorm). The sound made by this thing is very strange and peculiar. If you haven’t watched “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” you can simulate it very closely by going up to the drainpipe of a three-story building and blowing into it. If, after this mystical act, curses and objects thrown from the balcony fly at you from above, you can be sure that representatives of the Indo-European race live there. This is understandable, since among Indo-Europeans such sounds awaken the most disgusting feelings and they want to shut up the source of unpleasant noise as quickly as possible. Why is this happening?

Authoritative researchers once set up an experiment: they studied the influence of certain sounds on different races and ethnic groups. Tam-tams (which, by the way, are present in abundance at the show of Ruslana, nominated for Eurovision, performing Hutsul tunes) are very well received by representatives of African peoples, who simply float with happiness at the sound of the drum. And an Indo-European listening to such drums, after a while, for some reason wants to howl and open his veins. At the same time, the sounds of the horn, the characteristic rhythms of rock, have the opposite effect, remember the hit of the group “Europe”. Readers have probably watched the movie “Vikings.” Consequently, everyone heard the sound of the Viking horn (our ancestors went on the attack with a similar device). If you have the opportunity, listen to the sounds made by the Hutsul trembita (and if this is not possible, ask your neighbor on the floor below to blow a vacuum cleaner into the toilet). What feelings do these sound vibrations awaken in you? Do they resemble the effect of listening to the war cry of the Varangians? Does trembita (gurgling in a drain pipe blown by a compressor) really make the heart of a Russian person beat faster? Calling him into battle? Does it give you a shiver in your back and make you want to crush your enemies' heads? If this is exactly the case for you, then you are obviously a Hutsul, since for a Russian (Little Russians are also meant) the sound of trembita evokes disgust and an irresistible desire to physically eliminate the source of the unpleasant noise.

Is there a fixed, significant difference in the sound perception of different peoples? Moreover: why hasn’t it occurred to any Russian from the Moscow region for a thousand years to break down a birch tree and start blowing into its hollow? Why didn’t this occur to a Serb, a Czech, a Bulgarian, or a Pole? But what’s interesting is that trembita and its analogues are widely represented among the peoples of Central Asia and the Middle East. That is, this three-meter pipe - besides the fact that, from the subjective point of view of an Indo-European, it makes a very unpleasant sound - is clearly not the invention of an Indo-European. Or maybe the Hutsuls sent their Stradivarius to study in Uzbekistan? We cannot doubt the mental integrity of the Hutsul people and assume that all Hutsuls are masochists and deliberately torture themselves with their music?! No, of course - the sound of trembita is close to their hearts and pleasant.

One cannot ignore the very unique national dances of the Hutsuls to the sounds of their pipes: in the manner of representatives of some peoples of the Caucasus, the dancers gather in a close circle, hug and begin to jump in such a lively ring. Can you imagine Svyatoslav and his squad near Constantinople in such a dance? Where, which Slavic people have similar dances?

HUTSULS AND ORTHODOX

As is known, the Vatican propagated this type of Christianity very harshly, making an offer that could not be refused to the ethnic groups conquered by the crusaders. However, not so far from the Carpathians there are other mountains - the Balkans. Serbs have been asked to change their religion for centuries, but they are very stubborn in their faith. Moreover, the question here is not even that Orthodoxy is more correct than Catholicism or belief in Allah: simply, if a person lives in a hard-to-reach area, it is almost impossible to convince him to do something against his will.

This is a feature of all ethnic groups in the mountains. The Turks never converted the Armenians to Islam, the Russians were unable to convince the Chechens to become Orthodox, and the Chinese did not make much progress in introducing the Uyghurs to Confucius. And then suddenly the Vatican missionaries managed to do what thousands of armies could not do! This could happen only in one case: the Hutsuls THEMSELVES descended into the valley and asked to be accepted into Catholicism. One can, of course, assume that the mountaineers were deeply imbued with the teachings of Christ and asked the local authorities (from 1349 the Carpathian region belonged to Catholic Poland) to teach them the faith. However, until 1349, the neighbors of the Hutsuls were also Christians, only Orthodox. Therefore, the Hutsuls were probably familiar with Christianity, but they did not accept this faith. However, with the advent of the new government, unlike the Serbs, they did not go to the mountains, but on the contrary, they unanimously became Catholics, emphasizing their difference from the Little Russians around them.

WHY DO THEY SPEAK SLAVIC

But why do the Hutsuls speak the same language as the Little Russians? There is a ridiculously banal explanation for this. Humanity has plenty of similar episodes. Differences in faith and enmity existed, but besides this, the Hutsuls had to live together with the Slavs. Moreover, the Slavs were stronger and had more advanced technologies, so they had to take this into account. That is, everyday realities, the need to coexist with strong, rich and more technologically advanced opponents forced the Hutsuls to gradually switch to their language, try with all their might to merge with their rivals, so that they would consider the Hutsuls their own: trade with them, allow them to travel around their land, take wives their women and so on. By the way, ethnic groups often act in a similar way when they are persecuted by a stronger people in the territory they occupy; they mimic. Sometimes they disappear without a trace, sometimes like the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, the Copts, standing out among the Arabs for their Christian religion, and sometimes like the Hutsuls, having adopted the language, but inheriting ancient hatred of rivals and persecutors.

CONCLUSION

Thus, let's summarize what has been said. The ancestors of modern Hutsuls are not the indigenous inhabitants of Western Rus', and most likely they are not Slavs and, in general, most likely not even Indo-Europeans. That is, the Germans are an order of magnitude closer to the Little Russians than the Hutsuls. This ethnic group came from somewhere in the South and immediately dressed in fur jackets - it was cold for them here. But he kept musical instruments - trembitas: in their free time from hunting, they played them and yearned for their historical homeland. Being a relict people (for example, some branch of troglodytes unknown to science or something like that), the Hutsuls did not have developed technologies and aggressive Slavic competitors pushed these people into the mountains. Being a weak ethnic group, they responded to the Slavs with quiet hatred: secretly launching their tomahawks, with which they crushed the heads of their enemies from the bushes.

But if the Hutsuls are not our relatives, how can they be part of our brothers, the Little Russians? I have to admit there is no way.

Despite the common language, these are completely different ethnic groups. Therefore, talk about “Ukrainian nationalism” is nothing more than a chimera; one can just as easily come up with “Russian nationalism” or, for example, Transcaucasian nationalism, meaning a single nation of Armenians, Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhazians. Nonsense, and only, however, this nonsense is fed to the so-called “Ukrainian nationalism”, presenting a completely alien, even hostile ethnic group as the national core of “Ukrainians”. One thing is certain, the origins of hatred are not in the threat of independence, but are lost in the mists of time, namely it feeds this so-called “Ukrainian nationalism.” But another thing is clear: this “nationalism” has absolutely no prospects, just like Ukraine as a single state. We have nothing against the Hutsuls or anyone else at all, but it is difficult for the people, and even the same Hutsuls, to live in such a chimerical community. Everything comes out, people in Territory “U” begin to figure out what’s what.

(with abbreviations)

Of the 50 million inhabitants of Ukraine, the Hutsuls make up no more than two million and live exclusively in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions. The Hutsuls are the most zealous “Ukrainian nationalists”; they hate Russians, fiercely. And they hate with some strange, inexplicable hatred. Only a hostile, truly alien ethnic group that has nothing in common with us can hate us like that. But when we talked about the Little Russians, we provided a lot of convincing evidence of commonality. In this regard, it seems appropriate to assume that some residents of Galicia, the Hutsuls, are NOT SLAVS AT ALL!? Let's try to analyze the ethnic roots of this so-called “Ukrainian nationalism”.

HUTSULS TYPE, HATS AND TREMBITAS

You can get some impression of the Hutsul people by watching some director’s masterpiece - “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, plus several Soviet agitprop films about how the right Hutsul communists killed the wrong Hutsul fascists who collaborated with the Germans. However, since our readers are unlikely to have seen the first film, and Soviet agitprop is a cinematic rarity, it is quite possible to use the official chronicle of Vladimir Vladimirovich’s trips to “Territory U” as a visual aid: as soon as you see men in fur jackets in the background blowing in the likeness of a galley oar - these are the Hutsuls. Although already on the basis of studying the appearance of these gentlemen the reader can come to very serious conclusions regarding the ethnicity of these strange people dressed in animal skins, we will go further: we will PROVE that the Hutsuls (that is, “shy Ukrainians”) are some kind of then an incomprehensible relict ethnic group that miraculously survived in the mountains, alien both specifically to the Slavs and to the Indo-European group in general.

There are dozens of versions of the origin of the Hutsuls and, most likely, none of them is correct: this is typical of all hypotheses, the authors of which are trying to figure out the ethnogenesis of the highlanders. In addition to the fact that mountainous areas can serve as a home, mountains are also in many ways a fortress, a shelter for the peoples who settled there. Many, many of the peoples who lived on the plains sank into oblivion, being dissolved into alien ethnic groups or destroyed by the invaders. At the same time, in the Caucasus alone there are more microscopic ethnic groups than in the entire history there were peoples in the entire lowland Europe. In the mountains, there are often cases of the existence of two completely different ethnic groups living on opposite sides of the same mountain (at the same time, their representatives can also fiercely hate each other for centuries!). This happens because it is almost impossible to eradicate any people who have found refuge in mountainous areas due to the inaccessibility of this area for the conquering troops. For example, there are Chechens living in the mountains, whom the Russians have not been able to drive out for a century now. The Uighurs and Tibetans live in the mountains and have been opposing the Chinese for several thousand years. So, some people hostile to other ethnic groups could also have taken refuge in the Carpathians.

According to the version approved by the order from above, written in waste paper for the Secondary School and Universities of “Territory U”, the Hutsuls are the descendants of the so-called White Croats who settled in the Carpathians. Croats are a Slavic ethnic group, part of which took part in the formation of the Russian people. So, one of the brothers - the legendary founders of Kyiv was named Khorev. Also, Choir (Hore, Hora) is one of the gods of the Russian pagan pantheon. The root commonality is thus obvious. Croatian tribes lived not only in the East of the Carpathians. To the West of these mountains lived the so-called Black Croats - future Czechs and Poles. So, “being” White Croats, as the official propaganda of “Territory U” claims, the ancestors of the Hutsuls were, as it were, surrounded by friendly peoples (which cannot be said about the inhabitants of Tibet, Nepalese, Uighurs and the peoples of the Caucasus). Nevertheless, the Slavic brothers, for some reason, drove the Hutsuls into the mountains. Since the Slavic nature of Russians, Poles and Czechs is not questioned by anyone, it can be assumed that the ancestors of the Hutsuls are an ethnic group alien to the Slavs and therefore hostile. Moreover, the Hutsuls, as will be described below, are not white at all, rather dark-skinned.

Although the Hutsuls are now considered Slavs, they speak the Slavic language (the ancestors of the Hutsuls adopted the language from the Slavs, began to enter into mixed marriages with them, and as a result of this, the Hutsuls today are somewhat different from what they were a thousand years ago), nevertheless, even after historical metamorphoses The Hutsuls did not merge with the local Slavic population. The typical appearance of a Hutsul is a dark, thin man, always brown-eyed, with blue-black hair and small facial features. Like, for example, young Bul-Bul ogly. Does this description resemble Rodovan Karadzic, Slobodan Milosevic, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Govel - representatives of the southern and western Slavs well known to our readers? You can even compare the Hutsul musicians with Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin or Vladimir Vladimirovich, a representative of the Eastern Slavs, standing next to them. Are these people similar? Anyone who has seen a significant number of Hutsuls can confidently say that common Slavic features are almost completely absent in them; they are a completely different racial type.

Of course: one of our opponents, through titanic efforts, can find a healthy albino man in the Carpathians and declare him a Hutsul. However, there are also Chechen teips where blondes are not uncommon - their ancestors are simply descendants of mixed marriages with Slavs. In general, the Hutsuls probably also had mixed marriages.

In addition to the type, one can find elements of material culture that sharply distinguish the Hutsuls from the Slavs. We will not describe much; we will present the most obvious evidence. For example, the traditional Hutsul hatchet is the national weapon of this people (the Hutsuls carry it in their belts). This hatchet is very small: a thin handle about thirty centimeters in length, a small ax handle weighing no more than half a kilogram. The purpose of this thing is difficult to understand. It is impossible for her to fell the surrounding forest. Fighting in a serious battle is also problematic, unless you jump out from behind a bush and hit a passerby on the head from behind (by the way, the word “robber” in the language of the Romanians living in the neighborhood sounds like hocul). Thus, if the Hutsul warriors fought with such gizmos, then this was caused either by the specific features of their military tactics (that is, they were robbers and broke the skulls of unwary Slavic travelers with their small hatchets), or the Hutsuls simply did not know metallurgy and were content with processing the bargained goods the inhabitants of the lowlands have objects made of metal (this is how the inhabitants of Africa make arrowheads from tin cans, and the American Indians made spears from knives). Since we are not inclined to see the Hutsuls as ethnic bandits, as the Romanians and Moldovans do, we must admit that they were bad at metallurgy (unlike the Slavs, excellent metallurgists).

In general, a weapon says a lot about its owner. The archetypal symbol of the weapon of a German or Slav is a mace, a long sword, a massive battle ax - a heavy weapon that requires incredible physical strength from the owner - at least to carry a pound club, not to mention the fact that it sometimes needs to be waved. In sagas, epics, and epics, heroes armed with precisely these weapons are described, reflecting the natural, bodily constitution of ethnic groups. It never even occurred to the short and thin-boned Asians to invent something resembling a mace. And since the Asians could not master such an effective weapon as a heavy iron club, their minds gave birth to such exotic things as kusarigama (Japanese fighting sickle on a chain), tzujiebian (Chinese metal fighting whip), pakchigi (technique of fighting with one’s own hair (braid) with woven there with metal objects). Although in the East, of course, various clubs and hammers were used, they were small, and some of them, to facilitate the construction, were made of wood.

Actually, the weight of a weapon indicates not only the power of the owner, but also the strength of his potential opponent. For example, consider the heavy two-handed sword of our ancestors. Its total length (handle plus blade) reached one and a half meters, and its weight was 4-5 kilograms (we are talking about mass weapons, since in the documents there are references to heroes with personal weapons worth a pound or more). It is quite difficult for a Chinese to swing such a thing (given the height of the local epic hero at 160 centimeters), so the Chinese straight jian sword weighs no more than one and a half kilograms. The sharpening angle of the blade of a European sword was at least 45 degrees, that is, the enemy was not “cut,” but “chopped.” Such weapons were created in order to fight warriors clad in heavy armor. In addition, they themselves were shackled in similar armor - the technique of fighting with a five-kilogram iron stick eliminates the possibility of blocking oncoming blows. Consequently, protection from missed blows had to be taken over by armor. From here it is easy to see that our ancestors, firstly, fought with very strong enemies (a goner cannot wear armor), and secondly, the Slavic warrior had enough strength not only to swing a five-kilogram sword for several hours, but also to chop a big man clad in good iron with it , finally, they wore armor, which indicates the development of blacksmithing in the area.

However, let's return to the Hutsul axes. Our remark about the fact that it is convenient for them to break the heads of sleeping people is not unfounded. The fact is that light and compact weapons are, as a rule, weapons of robbers. It is no coincidence that the Chinese call it an-qi (secret weapon). It was also different among different nations, but it was used exclusively by individuals of one category - bandits and hired killers. Chinese bandits used a type of luedao - a flexible sword worn as a belt. Russian robbers used a flail - a heavy piece of iron on a chain that could easily be hidden in a pocket. However, the most popular weapon among robbers is a throwing weapon, so in addition to the sword, ninjas also carried a pack of shuriken, well known from the films of throwing stars. One of the disadvantages of shuriken is its low killing power, the inability to fly over long distances or through sparse vegetation (to throw from bushes), so the Indians living in the forest invented the tomahawk - a small hatchet that flies well through sparse foliage and with which, perched on a tree, It’s easy to break the head of a person walking below. In wall-to-wall combat, the tomahawk is an inconvenient weapon. There are not many analogues of tomahawks in the world, but in all cases they were used by people who lived in the forest (jungle), who were short and thin, that is, they did not have the physical ability to throw, for example, a heavy spear at the enemy. We don’t want to say anything bad about the Hutsul people, but their hatchets are more than very reminiscent of tomahawks.

Having finished with weapons, let's move on to other attributes of the Hutsuls' life. For obvious reasons, 99.9% of our readers have never been inside the traditional home of the Carpathian highlanders; however, the general appearance of their estates is known from medieval engravings: a fortress-like house (like the houses of the Avars and Svans) surrounded by a continuous fence - the so-called grazhda. Who has seen THIS kind of thing in the villages of Little Russia? Any Slavs at all? Such houses are built only by people who are accustomed to living surrounded by enemies (including neighbors from their fellow tribesmen). But who was the enemy of the Hutsuls then? Warlike Moldovans? However, it is completely unusual for Moldovans to put pressure on neighboring peoples, which cannot be said about our ancestors, the Russians - apparently it was they who drove the Hutsuls into the mountains.

The jacket and hat are also a very interesting element of the national Hutsul clothing. Hutsuls wear short sleeveless vests (like vests) made of sheepskin in winter and summer. Moreover, the cut, the manner of wearing, the set of clothes have nothing in common with the Slavic tradition. You will not find anything like this among the Little Russians, the Czechs, the Poles, or any of the Slavs.

The musical instrument of the Hutsuls, the so-called trembita, is also very interesting. This is a hefty pipe up to four meters long, which is hollowed out from mast pines knocked down by lightning (this is understandable - a Hutsul hatchet cannot knock down such a tree, so Hutsul cabinetmakers have to wait for a thunderstorm). The sound made by this thing is very strange and peculiar. If you haven’t watched “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” you can simulate it very closely by going up to the drainpipe of a three-story building and blowing into it. If, after this mystical act, curses and objects thrown from the balcony fly at you from above, you can be sure that representatives of the Indo-European race live there. This is understandable, since among Indo-Europeans such sounds awaken the most disgusting feelings and they want to shut up the source of unpleasant noise as quickly as possible. Why is this happening?

Authoritative researchers once set up an experiment: they studied the influence of certain sounds on different races and ethnic groups. Tam-tams (which, by the way, are present in abundance at the show of Ruslana, nominated for Eurovision, performing Hutsul tunes) are very well received by representatives of African peoples, who simply float with happiness at the sound of the drum. And an Indo-European listening to such drums, after a while, for some reason wants to howl and open his veins. At the same time, the sounds of the horn, the characteristic rhythms of rock, have the opposite effect, remember the hit of the group “Europe”. Readers have probably watched the movie “Vikings.” Consequently, everyone heard the sound of the Viking horn (our ancestors went on the attack with a similar device). If you have the opportunity, listen to the sounds made by the Hutsul trembita (and if this is not possible, ask your neighbor on the floor below to blow a vacuum cleaner into the toilet). What feelings do these sound vibrations awaken in you? Do they resemble the effect of listening to the war cry of the Varangians? Does trembita (gurgling in a drain pipe blown by a compressor) really make the heart of a Russian person beat faster? Calling him into battle? Does it give you a shiver in your back and make you want to crush your enemies' heads? If this is exactly the case for you, then you are obviously a Hutsul, since for a Russian (Little Russians are also meant) the sound of trembita evokes disgust and an irresistible desire to physically eliminate the source of the unpleasant noise.

Is there a fixed, significant difference in the sound perception of different peoples? Moreover: why hasn’t it occurred to any Russian from the Moscow region for a thousand years to break down a birch tree and start blowing into its hollow? Why didn’t this occur to a Serb, a Czech, a Bulgarian, or a Pole? But what’s interesting is that trembita and its analogues are widely represented among the peoples of Central Asia and the Middle East. That is, this three-meter pipe - besides the fact that, from the subjective point of view of an Indo-European, it makes a very unpleasant sound - is clearly not the invention of an Indo-European. Or maybe the Hutsuls sent their Stradivarius to study in Uzbekistan? We cannot doubt the mental integrity of the Hutsul people and assume that all Hutsuls are masochists and deliberately torture themselves with their music?! No, of course - the sound of trembita is close to their hearts and pleasant.

One cannot ignore the very unique national dances of the Hutsuls to the sounds of their pipes: in the manner of representatives of some peoples of the Caucasus, the dancers gather in a close circle, hug and begin to jump in such a lively ring. Can you imagine Svyatoslav and his squad near Constantinople in such a dance? Where, which Slavic people have similar dances?

HUTSULS AND ORTHODOX

As is known, the Vatican propagated this type of Christianity very harshly, making an offer that could not be refused to the ethnic groups conquered by the crusaders. However, not so far from the Carpathians there are other mountains - the Balkans. Serbs have been asked to change their religion for centuries, but they are very stubborn in their faith. Moreover, the question here is not even that Orthodoxy is more correct than Catholicism or belief in Allah: simply, if a person lives in a hard-to-reach area, it is almost impossible to convince him to do something against his will. This is a feature of all ethnic groups in the mountains. The Turks never converted the Armenians to Islam, the Russians were unable to convince the Chechens to become Orthodox, and the Chinese did not make much progress in introducing the Uyghurs to Confucius. And then suddenly the Vatican missionaries managed to do what thousands of armies could not do! This could happen only in one case: the Hutsuls THEMSELVES descended into the valley and asked to be accepted into Catholicism.

One can, of course, assume that the mountaineers were deeply imbued with the teachings of Christ and asked the local authorities (from 1349 the Carpathian region belonged to Catholic Poland) to teach them the faith. However, until 1349, the neighbors of the Hutsuls were also Christians, only Orthodox. Therefore, the Hutsuls were probably familiar with Christianity, but they did not accept this faith. However, with the advent of the new government, unlike the Serbs, they did not go to the mountains, but on the contrary, they unanimously became Catholics, emphasizing their difference from the Little Russians around them.

WHY DO THEY SPEAK SLAVIC

But why do the Hutsuls speak the same language as the Little Russians? There is a ridiculously banal explanation for this. Humanity has plenty of similar episodes. Differences in faith and enmity existed, but besides this, the Hutsuls had to live together with the Slavs. Moreover, the Slavs were stronger and had more advanced technologies, so they had to take this into account. That is, everyday realities, the need to coexist with strong, rich and more technologically advanced opponents forced the Hutsuls to gradually switch to their language, try with all their might to merge with their rivals, so that they would consider the Hutsuls their own: trade with them, allow them to travel around their land, take wives their women and so on. By the way, ethnic groups often act in a similar way when they are persecuted by a stronger people in the territory they occupy; they mimic. Sometimes they disappear without a trace, sometimes like the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, the Copts, standing out among the Arabs for their Christian religion, and sometimes like the Hutsuls, having adopted the language, but inheriting ancient hatred of rivals and persecutors.

CONCLUSION

Thus, let's summarize what has been said. The ancestors of modern Hutsuls are not the indigenous inhabitants of Western Rus', and most likely they are not Slavs and, in general, most likely not even Indo-Europeans. That is, the Germans are an order of magnitude closer to the Little Russians than the Hutsuls. This ethnic group came from somewhere in the South and immediately dressed in fur jackets - it was cold for them here. But he kept musical instruments - trembitas: in their free time from hunting, they played them and yearned for their historical homeland. Being a relict people (for example, some branch of troglodytes unknown to science or something like that), the Hutsuls did not have developed technologies and aggressive Slavic competitors pushed these people into the mountains. Being a weak ethnic group, they responded to the Slavs with quiet hatred: secretly launching their tomahawks, with which they crushed the heads of their enemies from the bushes. But if the Hutsuls are not our relatives, how can they be part of our brothers, the Little Russians? I have to admit there is no way. Despite the common language, these are completely different ethnic groups. Therefore, talk about “Ukrainian nationalism” is nothing more than a chimera; one can just as easily come up with “Russian nationalism” or, for example, Transcaucasian nationalism, meaning a single nation of Armenians, Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhazians. Nonsense, and only, however, this nonsense is fed to the so-called “Ukrainian nationalism”, presenting a completely alien, even hostile ethnic group as the national core of “Ukrainians”. One thing is certain, the origins of hatred are not in the threat of independence, but are lost in the mists of time, namely it feeds this so-called “Ukrainian nationalism.” But another thing is clear: this “nationalism” has absolutely no prospects, just like Ukraine as a single state. We have nothing against the Hutsuls or anyone else at all, but it is difficult for the people, and even the same Hutsuls, to live in such a chimerical community. Everything comes out, people in Territory “U” begin to figure out what’s what.