According to historical sources, from about the 6th century, Slavic unity began to divide into three branches. Thus, the Southern, Western and Eastern Slavs are formed. In ancient times, the latter got a huge territory. The descendants of these tribes became Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians.
The ancient Slavs in antiquity, the resettlement of which took place between the White, Baltic and Black Seas, were engaged in the development of these lands for almost five hundred years. The first information about the formation of the tribes was obtained from the annals of the Tale of Bygone Years. Information is confirmed by archaeological finds.
In ancient times, the Eastern Slavs dispersed into various territories from those "sitting on the Danube."
The tribes who moved to the middle course of the Dnieper near Kiev began to be called "glades." To the north of their settlements lived "northerners." To the northwest of the glades, the Drevlyan tribes formed. They got their name for the territory on which they settled - dense forests. The center of the drevlyans became the city of Iskorosten.
Between Dvina and Pripyat settled tribes, which began to be called "Dregovich". The Slavs settled at the Danube River at the confluence of the Polota River began to be called "Polotsk residents". The upper reaches of the Western Dvina, Dnieper and Volga were inhabited by Krivichi. Smolensk became their center.
According to the annals of information from the Poles ("Poles") came "Vyatichi" and "Radimichi". On Sozh (a tributary of the Dnieper) settled "Radimichi", "Vyatichi" occupied the territory on the Oka.
Duleby or Buzhan populated the territory along the Bug. The settlements that occupied the territory near Lake Ilmen became known as Novgorod (Ilmen) Slovens. Their center was the city of Novgorod.
The ancient Slavs in ancient times formed not just tribes. Moving and occupying certain territories, they formed military and political alliances, which included about a hundred small villages. By the name of the largest and most powerful village, the whole union was called.
Each such formation had its own prince. There is no exact information about whether they chose power at that time or inherited. According to historians, the Eastern Slavs in antiquity created the prerequisites for the formation of statehood in the future, since the unions formed by them were a “germinal” form of the state.
For a long period, the people lived according to their military customs. Thus, the occupations of the Eastern Slavs consisted not only in peaceful industries, but also in military booty. However, the main activity of the people was agriculture.
Located mainly on the shores of lakes, rivers, in areas suitable for agriculture, people cultivated wheat, rye, beans, barley, millet, oats, peas. Hemp and flax, vegetables (garlic, turnips, radishes, cabbage) were grown on the ground. In the northern territories, agriculture was carried out according to the slash-fire system. They cut down the forest in the first year and allowed it to dry. In the second year, stumps were uprooted and set on fire. Then sowing was made into ash. The land was sometimes plowed beforehand, sometimes the unploughed territory was sown. The Slavs received crops from such sites for three to four years. As a result, the Slavs had to cultivate a huge amount of territory, and they were forced to form relatively small settlements.
In the south, agriculture was more highly developed. This was mainly due to weather conditions and more fertile soil than in the north.
Together with agriculture, the Eastern Slavs have developed livestock. The Slavs raised cows, goats, poultry, pigs, sheep. They also raised horses for housekeeping and riding.
Quite widespread among the population was hunting and fishing. An additional economic activity, performing an auxiliary role, among the Slavs was the collection of honey (flight-keeping).