The greeting ritual is significant in terms of initiation. So, from the form of greeting you can understand whether the interlocutor is respected or not, you can understand the gender and social status the person to whom the greeting is assigned. This custom conceals a lot of mysterious and interesting things. Among the Slavs past and present, not everything is clear here either. But there is something worth telling. So the main, core-forming thing is to wish health to the interlocutor. So let's say, the most famous greeting is “God thou art.” This is a wish for health to the Slav. Does everyone remember the epic “You are a good fellow, a good fellow”?
This expression comes from epics. We don’t think it’s worth explaining that the word “hello” is a wish for health. Also, wishes for health can be heard in the greetings “Hey be”, “Zdorovenki buli” and many others. Wishing health to your interlocutor is a sign good manners and respect. If you wanted to greet the house and all its relatives, they said “Peace to your home!” It seems that this goes back to the ritual of greeting Domovoy and Chur. The phrase “Peace to your home” most likely meant a greeting to the Domovoi. The brownie is not just the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but also a later incarnation. It’s just that the process of transformation of the Family – Ancestor – Brownie was not quick. The family began to be forgotten in the 10th century, and in subsequent centuries Rozhanitsy was already revered. But the cult of the ancestor remained in Rus'. Remember the expression when finding an ownerless thing: “Cheers, it’s mine!” This is an ancient call to Rod to witness the find. The Slavs greeted not only each other, but also the Gods. This is where the hypothesis about the self-name of the Slavs comes from the word “Glorify”. The Slavs not only glorified the Gods, but also always treated the surrounding Nature correctly and politely. In epics, this is preserved in the phenomenon that heroes often greet a field, forest, or river. As mentioned above, the Slavs believed that the world is alive, and every living soul needs to be greeted. Have you ever wondered why in the villages they still say hello even to stranger, everyone, even children? A Slav may not name his true name, but he is obliged to say hello. This goes back to the phenomenon that if you wished health to a person, then he will wish it for you too. And accordingly, people, even previously unfamiliar ones, become psychologically closer. And this rapprochement already seems to expose protective circle. And they no longer expect anything bad from a stranger.
The greeting of a person respected in the community was always accompanied by a low bow to the ground. Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a bow from the waist. Strangers could be greeted in different ways, but most often the hand was placed on the heart and then lowered down. A simplified version of the first two types. Although in the first two cases the hand was placed on the heart, this was how the sincerity of intentions was expressed. Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. It is characteristic that the movements in this greeting do not go towards the sun, as some modern Rodnovers try to interpret it, but towards the earth. And this is more than logical, given the fact that the Slavs revered the earth as a Divinity. When studying this issue, it is characteristic and significant that Christian clergy call the pagan Slavs as “idolaters.” They bowed to the idol, thereby expressing greeting and respect. Which is typical for the worldview of the Slavs, since Idols are deceased Ancestors, and one either treats them with respect or not at all. 
The greeting was like an initiation from the interlocutor. What will he wish in return? Yours or someone else’s (this is about the example of “goy thou”)? And today greetings are used strictly on a distinctive basis. So let's say, the ritual of greeting through shaking not the hand, but the wrist. In Rodnoverie, this is not just a characteristic greeting, but also self-identification. This greeting is explained by the antiquity of its use, as they checked whether there was a weapon in the sleeve. The esoteric meaning of this type of greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. This greeting seems to read the other person's code. Today you can find many greetings and “Glory to Rod!”, “Good day!” and many of the phrases listed above. And today, Rodnovers wish health and prosperity to the family. And all word forms of greeting convey warmth and participation in the fate of another person. I am glad that such a variety of greetings, although partially forgotten, has still survived to this day and has changed little!
The greeting ritual is significant in terms of initiation. So, from the form of the greeting you can understand whether the interlocutor is respected or not, you can understand the gender and social status of the person to whom the greeting is assigned. This custom conceals a lot of mysterious and interesting things. Among the Slavs past and present, not everything is clear here either. But, something worth telling. So the main, core-forming thing is to wish health to the interlocutor. So let's say, the most famous greeting is “God thou art.” This is a wish for health to the Slav. Does everyone remember the epic “You are a good fellow, good fellow”?
This expression comes from epics. We don’t think it’s worth explaining that the word “hello” is a wish for health. Also, wishes for health can be heard in the greetings “Hello”, “Zdorovenki Buly” and many others. Wishing your interlocutor health is a sign of good manners and respect. If you wanted to greet the house and all its relatives, they said “Peace to your home!” It seems that this goes back to the ritual of greeting Domovoy and Chur. The phrase “Peace to your home” most likely meant a greeting to the Domovoi. The brownie is not just the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but also the later incarnation of the god Rod. It’s just that the process of transformation of the Family – Ancestor – Brownie was not quick. The family began to be forgotten in the 10th century, and in subsequent centuries Rozhanitsy was already revered. But the cult of the ancestor remained in Rus'. Remember the expression when finding an ownerless thing: “Cheers, it’s mine!” This is an ancient call to Rod to witness the find. The Slavs greeted not only each other, but also the Gods. This is where the hypothesis about the self-name of the Slavs comes from the word “Glorify”. The Slavs not only glorified the Gods, but also always treated the surrounding nature correctly and politely. In epics, this is preserved in the phenomenon that heroes often greet a field, forest, or river. As mentioned above, the Slavs believed that the world is alive, and every living soul needs to be greeted. Have you ever wondered why in villages everyone, even children, still say hello even to a stranger? A Slav may not say his true name, but he is obliged to say hello. This goes back to the phenomenon that if you wished health to a person, then he will wish it for you too. And accordingly, people, even previously unfamiliar ones, become psychologically closer. And this rapprochement already, as it were, sets up a protective circle. And they no longer expect anything bad from a stranger.
The greeting of a person respected in the community was always accompanied by a low bow to the ground. Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a bow from the waist. Strangers could be greeted in different ways, but most often the hand was placed on the heart and then lowered down. A simplified version of the first two types. Although in the first two cases the hand was placed on the heart, this was how the sincerity of intentions was expressed. Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. It is characteristic that the movements in this greeting do not go towards the sun, as some modern Rodnovers try to interpret it, but towards the earth. And this is more than logical, given the fact that the Slavs revered the earth as a Divinity. When studying this issue, it is characteristic and significant that Christian clergy call the pagan Slavs as “idolaters.” They bowed to the idol, thereby expressing greeting and respect. Which is typical for the worldview of the Slavs, since Idols are deceased ancestors, and one either treats them with respect or not at all. There is not a single written source describing the movement from the heart to the sky as a greeting.
The greeting was like an initiation from the interlocutor. What will he wish in return? Yours or someone else’s (this is about the example of “goy thou”)? And today greetings are used strictly on a distinctive basis. So let's say, the ritual of greeting through shaking not the hand, but the wrist. In Rodnoverie, this is not just a characteristic greeting, but also self-identification. This greeting is explained by the antiquity of its use, as they checked whether there was a weapon in the sleeve. The esoteric meaning of this type of greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. This greeting seems to read the other person's code. Today you can find many greetings and “Glory to Rod!”, “Good day!” and many of the phrases listed above. And today, Rodnovers wish health and prosperity to the family. And all word forms of greeting convey warmth and participation in the fate of another person. I am glad that such a variety of greetings, although partially forgotten, has still survived to this day and has changed little!
According to one version, the name “Slavs” comes from the word “glorify”. This seems undeniable, because every Russian greeting is a doxology, even if it is silent.
Pre-Christian greetings
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet fields, rivers, forests, and clouds. People, especially young people, are told: “Go you, good fellow!" The word goy is very old, this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl’s dictionary goit means “fast, live, be healthy.” But there is another interpretation of the greeting “Goy Thou art!”: some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: “You are ours, of our blood.”
So, the word “goy” means “to live,” and “esi” means “to eat.” Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: “You exist now and still be alive!”
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if “goy” means “to live, life,” then “outcast” is its antonym - a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another common greeting in Rus' is “Peace to your home!” It is unusually complete and respectful, because in this way a person greets the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives. Perhaps in pre-Christian Rus', such a greeting also meant an appeal to the brownie and the god of this kind.
Christian greetings
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from then on, from the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: “Christ is in our midst!” - and answer: “It is and will be!” Rus''s road is Byzantium, and the ancient Greek language feels almost familiar. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation “Hayrete!”, which meant “Rejoice!” - and the Russians followed them in accepting this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, this is exactly the refrain that is found in hymns to the Theotokos). Another greeting that emerged during this time was more often used when passing people at work. "God help you!" - he said then. "For the glory of God!" or "Thank God!" - they answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians to this day.
Surely not all versions of ancient greetings have reached us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always “omitted” and the characters went straight to the essence of the conversation. Only in one literary monument- the apocrypha “The Tale of Our Father Agapius” of the 13th century contains a greeting from that time, surprising in its poetry: “Walk well and you will have a good path.”
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. Guests were often kissed this way - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is the kiss of the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is how those close to him greeted the sovereign (sometimes kissing not even his hand, but his foot). This kissing is also part of the priest’s blessing, which is also a greeting. In the church, they also kissed the one who had just received the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both congratulations and a greeting to a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the “formal” meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the hand of the sovereign (ambassadors from non-Christian countries were prohibited from doing so). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and he could kiss him on the head.
After the revolution and Soviet time The tradition of greetings and kisses has weakened, but is now being revived again.
Bowing is a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but remains in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status still bow deeply to each other when meeting, saying goodbye, and as a sign of gratitude). In Rus' it was customary to bow when meeting. But the bows were also different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.” Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. It is interesting that the gesture “from the heart to the earth” is originally Slavic, but “from the heart to the sun” is not. Placing a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility before the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the person in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of most interesting examples- a male “heart to heart” hug, which, at first glance, shows the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality indicates the opposite, because this is how men checked whether a potential dangerous rival had weapons. Separate view hugs - fraternization, sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, as well as people in the church before confession. This ancient Christian tradition, helping a person tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, there were people in churches then, well knowledgeable friend friend, and among them are the offenders and the offended).
Handshakes and hats
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. You can tell a lot by how strong and long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship; close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and are happy to meet could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was as if he was inviting him into his circle. The hand must be “bare” - this rule has been preserved to this day. Open hand indicates trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching not with your palms, but with your hands. Apparently, it was common among warriors: this is how they checked that those they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their lack of weapons. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were allowed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. That's where it went from here Russian expression"casual acquaintance", meaning superficial acquaintance.
"Hello" and "Hello"
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word “hello,” for example, cannot be reduced simply to the word “health,” that is, health. Now we perceive it exactly like this: as a wish for another person to be healthy and for long years life. However, the root of “zdrav” and “zdrov” is found in ancient Indian, Greek, and Avestan languages. Initially, the word “hello” consisted of two parts: “Sъ-” and “*dorvo-”, where the first meant “good”, and the second was related to the concept of “tree”. What does the tree have to do with it? For the ancient Slavs, a tree was a symbol of strength and prosperity, and such a greeting meant that a person wished another this strength, endurance and prosperity. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say “hello.” Free people, equal to each other, this was allowed, but slaves were not. The form of greeting for them was different - “I hit you with my forehead.”
Researchers discovered the very first mention of the word “hello” in a chronicle dated 1057. The author of the chronicles wrote: “Hello, many summers.”
The word "hello" is easier to decipher. It also consists of two parts: “at” + “vet”. The first is found in the words “caress”, “incline” and means closeness, approaching something or someone. The second is in the words “advice”, “answer”, “news”... By saying “hello”, we show closeness (and indeed, we only address close people this way) and, as it were, convey good news to another.
Illustrations: Ekaterina Shestopalova
All his life, with his brilliant articles, he fought to strengthen the Russian state, bravely exposing corrupt officials, liberal democrats and revolutionaries, warning of the threat looming over the country. The Bolsheviks, who seized power in Russia, did not forgive him for this. Menshikov was shot in 1918 with extreme cruelty in front of his wife and six children.
Mikhail Osipovich was born on October 7, 1859 in Novorzhevo, Pskov province near Lake Valdai, in the family of a collegiate registrar. He graduated from the district school, after which he entered the Technical School of the Naval Department in Kronstadt. Then he participated in several long-distance sea voyages, the literary fruit of which was the first book of essays, “Around the Ports of Europe,” published in 1884. As a naval officer, Menshikov expressed the idea of connecting ships and airplanes, thereby predicting the appearance of aircraft carriers.
Feeling called to literary work and journalism, in 1892 Menshikov retired with the rank of staff captain. He got a job as a correspondent for the Nedelya newspaper, where he soon attracted attention with his talented articles. Then he became the leading publicist for the conservative newspaper Novoye Vremya, where he worked until the revolution.
In this newspaper he wrote his famous column “Letters to Neighbors,” which attracted the attention of the entire educated society of Russia. Some called Menshikov “a reactionary and a Black Hundred” (and some still do). However, all this is malicious slander.
In 1911, in the article “Kneeling Russia,” Menshikov, exposing the machinations of the Western behind-the-scenes against Russia, warned:
“If a huge fund is being raised in America with the goal of flooding Russia with murderers and terrorists, then our government should think about it. Is it possible that even today our state guard will not notice anything in time (as in 1905) and will not prevent trouble?”
The authorities did not take any measures in this regard at that time. What if they accepted? It is unlikely that Trotsky-Bronstein, the main organizer of the October Revolution, would have been able to come to Russia in 1917 with the money of the American banker Jacob Schiff!
Ideologist of national Russia
Menshikov was one of the leading publicists conservative direction, speaking as an ideologist of Russian nationalism. He initiated the creation of the All-Russian National Union (VNS), for which he developed a program and charter. This organization, which had its own faction in the State Duma, included moderate-right elements of educated Russian society: professors, retired military officers, officials, publicists, clergy, and famous scientists. Most of them were sincere patriots, which many of them later proved not only by their struggle against the Bolsheviks, but also by their martyrdom...
Menshikov himself clearly foresaw the national catastrophe of 1917 and, like a true publicist, sounded the alarm, warned, and sought to prevent it. “Orthodoxy,” he wrote, “freed us from ancient savagery, autocracy freed us from anarchy, but the return before our eyes to savagery and anarchy proves that a new principle is needed to save the old ones. This is a nationality... Only nationalism is able to return to us our lost piety and power.”
In the article “The End of the Century,” written in December 1900, Menshikov called on the Russian people to maintain their role as a nation-forming people:
“We Russians slept for a long time, lulled by our power and glory, but then one heavenly thunder struck after another, and we woke up and saw ourselves under siege - both from the outside and from the inside... We do not want someone else’s, but ours - Russian - land must be ours."
Menshikov saw the opportunity to avoid revolution in strengthening state power, in a consistent and firm national policy. Mikhail Osipovich was convinced that the people, in council with the monarch, should be governed by officials, and not by them. With the passion of a publicist he showed mortal danger bureaucracy for Russia: “Our bureaucracy... has reduced historical strength the nation is gone."
The need for fundamental change
Menshikov maintained close relationships with the great Russian writers of that time. Gorky admitted in one of his letters that he loved Menshikov because he was his “enemy by heart,” and enemies “better to tell the truth.” For his part, Menshikov called Gorky’s “Song of the Falcon” “evil morality,” because, according to him, what saves the world is not the “madness of the brave” who bring about the uprising, but the “wisdom of the meek,” like Chekhov’s Lipa (“In the Ravine”).
There are 48 letters to him from Chekhov, who treated him with constant respect. Menshikov visited Tolstoy in Yasnaya, but at the same time criticized him in the article “Tolstoy and Power,” where he wrote that he was more dangerous for Russia than all the revolutionaries combined. Tolstoy answered him that while reading this article he experienced “one of the most desirable and dear feelings to me - not just goodwill, but straight love for you...”.
Menshikov was convinced that Russia needed radical changes in all areas of life without exception, this was the only way to save the country, but he had no illusions. “There are no people - that’s why Russia is dying!” – Mikhail Osipovich exclaimed in despair.
Until the end of his days, he gave merciless assessments of the complacent bureaucracy and the liberal intelligentsia: “In essence, you have long drunk away everything that is beautiful and great (below) and devoured (above). They unraveled the church, the aristocracy, and the intelligentsia.”
Menshikov believed that every nation must persistently fight for its national identity. “When it comes,” he wrote, “to the violation of the rights of a Jew, a Finn, a Pole, an Armenian, an indignant cry rises: everyone shouts about respect for such a sacred thing as nationality. But as soon as the Russians mention their nationality, their national values: indignant cries rise - misanthropy! Intolerance! Black Hundred violence! Gross tyranny!
The outstanding Russian philosopher Igor Shafarevich wrote: “Mikhail Osipovich Menshikov is one of a small number of insightful people who lived in that period of Russian history, which to others seemed (and still seems) cloudless. But sensitive people even then, on turn of the 19th century and the 20th centuries saw the main root of the impending troubles that later befell Russia and which we are still experiencing (and it is not clear when they will end). Menshikov saw this fundamental vice of society, which carries with it the danger of future deep upheavals, in the weakening of the national consciousness of the Russian people...”
Portrait of a modern liberal
Many years ago, Menshikov energetically exposed those in Russia who, as today, reviled it, relying on the “democratic and civilized” West. “We,” Menshikov wrote, “do not take our eyes off the West, we are fascinated by it, we want to live just like that and no worse than how “decent” people live in Europe. Under the fear of the most sincere, acute suffering, under the weight of a felt urgency, we need to furnish ourselves with the same luxury that is available to Western society. We must wear the same clothes, sit on the same furniture, eat the same dishes, drink the same wines, see the same sights that Europeans see. In order to satisfy their increased needs, the educated stratum is making ever greater demands on the Russian people.
The intelligentsia and the nobility do not want to understand that high level consumption in the West is linked to its exploitation of much of the rest of the world. No matter how hard Russian people work, they will not be able to achieve the level of income that the West receives by siphoning off unpaid resources and labor from other countries for their benefit...
The educated stratum demands extreme effort from the people in order to ensure a European level of consumption, and when this does not work out, it is indignant at the inertia and backwardness of the Russian people.”
Didn’t Menshikov, more than a hundred years ago, with his incredible insight, paint a portrait of the current Russophobic liberal “elite”?
Courage for honest work
Well, aren’t these words of an outstanding publicist addressed to us today? “The feeling of victory and victory,” Menshikov wrote, “the feeling of domination on one’s land was not at all suitable for bloody battles. Courage is needed for all honest work. All that is most precious in the fight against nature, all that is brilliant in science, the arts, wisdom and faith of the people - everything is driven precisely by the heroism of the heart.
Every progress, every discovery is akin to revelation, and every perfection is a victory. Only a people accustomed to battle, imbued with the instinct of triumph over obstacles, is capable of anything great. If there is no sense of dominance among the people, there is no genius. Noble pride falls - and a person becomes a slave from a master.
We are captives of slavish, unworthy, morally insignificant influences, and it is precisely from here that our poverty and weakness, incomprehensible among a heroic people, arises.”
Wasn't it because of this weakness that Russia collapsed in 1917? Isn’t that why the mighty Soviet Union? Isn’t that the same danger that threatens us today if we give in to the global onslaught on Russia from the West?
Revenge of the revolutionaries
Those who undermined the foundations Russian Empire, and then in February 1917 they seized power in it, did not forget and did not forgive Menshikov for his position as a staunch statesman and fighter for the unity of the Russian people. The publicist was suspended from work at Novoye Vremya. Having lost their home and savings, which were soon confiscated by the Bolsheviks, the winter of 1917–1918. Menshikov spent time in Valdai, where he had a dacha.
In those bitter days, he wrote in his diary: “February 27, 12.III. 1918. Year of the Russian great revolution. We are still alive, thanks to the Creator. But we are robbed, ruined, deprived of work, expelled from our city and home, doomed to starvation. And tens of thousands of people were tortured and killed. And all of Russia was thrown into the abyss of shame and disaster unprecedented in history. What will happen next is scary to think about - that is, it would be scary if the brain were not already sated and filled to the point of insensibility with impressions of violence and horror.”
In September 1918, Menshikov was arrested, and five days later he was shot. A note published in Izvestia said: “The emergency field headquarters in Valdai shot the famous Black Hundred publicist Menshikov. A monarchist conspiracy was uncovered, headed by Menshikov. An underground Black Hundred newspaper was published calling for the overthrow of Soviet power.”
There was not a word of truth in this message. There was no conspiracy and Menshikov no longer published any newspaper.
He was retaliated against for his previous position as a staunch Russian patriot. In a letter to his wife from prison, where he spent six days, Menshikov wrote that the security officers did not hide from him that this trial was an “act of revenge” for his articles published before the revolution.
The execution of the outstanding son of Russia took place on September 20, 1918 on the shore of Lake Valdai opposite the Iversky Monastery. His widow, Maria Vasilievna, who witnessed the execution with her children, later wrote in her memoirs: “Arriving in custody at the place of execution, the husband stood facing the Iversky Monastery, clearly visible from this place, knelt down and began to pray. The first salvo was fired to intimidate, but this shot wounded left hand husband near the hand. The bullet tore out a piece of meat. After this shot, the husband looked back. A new salvo followed. They shot me in the back. The husband fell to the ground. Now Davidson jumped up to him with a revolver and shot him point-blank twice in the left temple.<…>The children saw the shooting of their father and cried in horror.<…>Security officer Davidson, having shot him in the temple, said that he was doing it with great pleasure.”
Today, Menshikov’s grave, miraculously preserved, is located in the old city cemetery of the city of Valdai (Novgorod region), next to the Church of Peter and Paul. Only many years later did the relatives achieve rehabilitation famous writer. In 1995, Novgorod writers, with the support of the Valdai public administration, opened a marble memorial plaque with the words: “Executed for his beliefs.”
In connection with the anniversary of the publicist, the All-Russian Menshikov Readings were held at the St. Petersburg State Maritime Technical University. “In Russia there was and is no publicist equal to Menshikov,” emphasized Captain 1st Rank Reserve Mikhail Nenashev, Chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement, in his speech.
Vladimir Malyshev
The greeting ritual is significant in terms of initiation. So, from the form of the greeting you can understand whether the interlocutor is respected or not, you can understand the gender and social status of the person to whom the greeting is assigned. This custom conceals a lot of mysterious and interesting things. Among the Slavs past and present, not everything is clear here either. But, something worth telling. So the main, core-forming thing is to wish health to the interlocutor. So let's say, the most famous greeting is “God thou art.”
This is a wish for health to the Slav. Does everyone remember the epic “You are a good fellow, good fellow”?
This expression comes from epics. We don’t think it’s worth explaining that the word “hello” is a wish for health.
Also, wishes for health can be heard in the greetings “Hello”, “Zdorovenki Buly” and many others. Wishing your interlocutor health is a sign of good manners and respect. If you wanted to greet the house and all its relatives, they said “Peace to your home!” It seems that this goes back to the ritual of greeting Domovoy and Chur. The phrase “Peace to your home” most likely meant a greeting to the Domovoi. The brownie is not just the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but also the later incarnation of the god Rod. It’s just that the process of transformation of the Family – Ancestor – Brownie was not quick. The family began to be forgotten in the 10th century, and in subsequent centuries Rozhanitsy was already revered. But the cult of the ancestor remained in Rus'. Remember the expression when finding an ownerless thing: “Cheers, it’s mine!” This is an ancient call to Rod to witness the find. The Slavs greeted not only each other, but also the Gods. This is where the hypothesis about the self-name of the Slavs comes from the word “Glorify”. The Slavs not only glorified the Gods, but also always treated the surrounding nature correctly and politely. In epics, this is preserved in the phenomenon that heroes often greet a field, forest, or river. As mentioned above, the Slavs believed that the world is alive, and every living soul needs to be greeted. Have you ever wondered why in villages everyone, even children, still say hello even to a stranger? A Slav may not say his true name, but he is obliged to say hello. This goes back to the phenomenon that if you wished health to a person, then he will wish it for you too. And accordingly, people, even previously unfamiliar ones, become psychologically closer. And this rapprochement already, as it were, sets up a protective circle. And they no longer expect anything bad from a stranger.
The greeting of a person respected in the community was always accompanied by a low bow to the ground. Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a bow from the waist. Strangers could be greeted in different ways, but most often the hand was placed on the heart and then lowered down. A simplified version of the first two types. Although in the first two cases the hand was placed on the heart, this was how the sincerity of intentions was expressed. Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. It is characteristic that the movements in this greeting do not go towards the sun, as some modern Rodnovers try to interpret it, but towards the earth. And this is more than logical, given the fact that the Slavs revered the earth as a Divinity. When studying this issue, it is characteristic and significant that Christian clergy call the pagan Slavs as “idolaters.” They bowed to the idol, thereby expressing greeting and respect. Which is typical for the worldview of the Slavs, since Idols are deceased ancestors, and one either treats them with respect or not at all. There is not a single written source describing the movement from the heart to the sky as a greeting.
The greeting was like an initiation from the interlocutor. What will he wish in return? Yours or someone else’s (this is about the example of “goy thou”)? And today greetings are used strictly on a distinctive basis. So let's say, the ritual of greeting through shaking not the hand, but the wrist. In Rodnoverie, this is not just a characteristic greeting, but also self-identification. This greeting is explained by the antiquity of its use, as they checked whether there was a weapon in the sleeve. The esoteric meaning of this type of greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. This greeting seems to read the other person's code. Today you can find many greetings and “Glory to Rod!”, “Good day!” and many of the phrases listed above. And today, Rodnovers wish health and prosperity to the family. And all word forms of greeting convey warmth and participation in the fate of another person. I am glad that such a variety of greetings, although partially forgotten, has still survived to this day and has changed little!
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