Slav Race

Slav Race, a main division of the Aryan family, occupying nearly the whole of East and a large part of South-east and Central Europe, with two chief branches, six sub-branches, and several minor groups, as shown in the subjoined table:-

Slavs, 105,500,000
  -Eastern and Southeastern Slavs, 85,000,000
    --Russians, 73,000,000
      ---Great Russians.
      ---Little Russians.
      ---White Russians.
    --Bulgarians, 3,700,000
    --Serbs, 8,500,000
      ---Servians, Bosnians.
      ---Croatians.
      ---Dalmatians.
      ---Montenegrins.
      ---Slovenes.
  -Western Slavs, 20,500,000
    --Chekhs, 7,000.000
      ---Bohemians.
      ---Moravians.
      ---Slovaks.
    --Poles, 13,300,000
    --Wends (Lusatians), 180,000

The Great Russians form the bulk of the population both in European and in Asiatic Russia, to which latter region they have spread in recent times; the Little Russians are confined to South-West Russia (Ukrania) and parts of Austria-Hungary, where they are known as Ruthenians; the White Russians are concentrated chiefly in the western provinces of Russia proper about the frontiers of Poland. The Bulgarians - original1y Ugro-Finns, but assimilated to the Slavs in speech, and partly in type, since the 11th century - occupy the whole of Bulgaria and a large part of Rumelia, and have numerous settlements both in Servia and south-west Russia. The Serbs, with their numerous sub-groups, are the dominant people in all the north-western parts of the Balkan peninsula and conterminous provinces of Austria-Hungary. The Chekh or Czech domain comprises over half of Bohemia, the whole of Moravia, and parts of Hungary, especially in the north-west. Since the dismemberment of Poland the Poles are distributed between Russia (Poland proper), Austria (Galicia). and Prussia (Posen). The Wends or Sorbs are a remnant of the extinct Polabish Slavs of the Elbe basin, still surviving in Saxon and Prussian Lusatia.

Slav, present collective name of the family, is referred either to the word Slava ("glory"), or more probably to Slovo ("word," "speech"), as indicating a people of distinct or intelligible utterance. Later it became a term of contempt (esclave, schiavo, slave) amongst the western peoples, owing to the large number of Slav prisoners enslaved during the long struggle for ascendency between the Slavs and Teutons in Central Europe. The older collective names, Sporr and Antes, both first mentioned by Procopius (6th century), are probably to be identified with the Surpe of Alfred [SERB], and the Eneti, Heneti, Veneti, a Sarmatian people of Cisalpine Gaul, whose name survives in the modern Venetia, Venice. The still earlier relations of the Slavs to the Scythians and Sarmatians of the Greek and Roman writers involve obscure ethnical problems which cannot here be discussed. It is no longer possible to determine the original seat of the Slav people; but, from whatever centre the dispersion took place, it is certain that during their migrations they have become largely intermingled with Finns, Tatars, Teutons, Celts, Thraco-Illyrians, and many other races, so that it is no longer possible to speak of a pure Slav physical type. The primitive stock was probably blonde (blue or grey eye's and light hair), like the Teutonic; but at present the most marked general feature is brachycephaly (round head); showing a profound divergence from the primitive dolichocephaly (long-shaped head) of the Aryan people, and a corresponding approach to the brachycephalic Mongol type. Other distinguishing features everywhere cropping out in the various groups are a somewhat swarthy complexion, short, straight, or slightly concave nose, small deep-set eyes, straight or wavy dark-brown hair, full beard and medium stature, aithough the Bosnian Serbs are amongst the tallest people in Europe. In general, the fair type may be said to prevail amongst the Poles, Wends, Great and White Russians, the brown amongst the Serbs and Little Russians, while the Chekhs present an almost equal mixture of both. In the moral order the Slavs seem to hold a somewhat intermediate position between the Teutonic and Latin peoples: far less phlegmatic than the Germans, while nearly as quick and vivacious as the Italians and French. Hence the remark often made that the Slavs are southerners who have strayed eastwards; hence also perhaps the more than passing sympathy enteitained by the Russians for the French despite wars and political rivalries. Within the several branches the national sentiment is strongly developed, as shown especially by the historic records of the Chekhs, Poles, and Serbs. But the idea of a "Pan-Slav Empire" is visionary because of the deep-rooted religious and political antagonisms, strengthened by linguistic differences, as between Roman Catholic Poles and Chekhs and Orthodox Russians, or between Ruthenian Uniates and Bosnian Mohammedans, all doubtless of Slav speech, but speaking mutually unintelligible dialects of the primitive Slavonic language.