New Russian study sheds light on the early Christian period in Russia

 A new Russian study (->link) sheds light on the genetic heritage of the medieval population of Russia. Unfortunately, Iron Age samples from the second half of the first millennium have not been available due to the cremation burials typical of the period. The situation is the same in this respect as in Finland. Cremation was a common burial method in the first millennium in Finland, with a few exceptions. It would be interesting to compare Iron Age samples from the areas of present-day Russia and Finland. However, the study shows that the current Russian-speaking population was divided into East Slavic and Finno-Ugric populations in the early Christian period. It is clear that in the Iron Age, before the expansion of the East Slavic peoples, a larger part of the population represented Finno-Ugric peoples. This is also reflected in the analyses of the study, where the population classified as East Slavic is placed in the middle ground between other Slavic groups and Finno-Ugric peoples. The study does not provide strong evidence of the Scandinavian heritage cherished by Western historiography in Russia. In addition to the Slavic and Finno-Ugric ancient populations, both of these show a weak Tatar influence compared to the Finns and Balts.