• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
1744392100193.png

Thoughts on this range for the Bjarmians/Toimans/Zavolochye Chud? Basically a unification of the Vaga, Pinega and Toima "pagans" which were converted during the 15th century.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions:
View attachment 1279869
Thoughts on this range for the Bjarmians/Toimans/Zavolochye Chud? Basically a unification of the Vaga, Pinega and Toima "pagans" which were converted during the 15th century.
Extremely hard to say. I had problems searching for data on them in XIII-XIV time period.

Perhaps this book will help you:
К этнической истории Русского Севера (чудь заволочская и славяне).

And a few images:
IMG_4858.jpeg
IMG_4856.jpeg

IMG_4859.jpeg


Also perhaps there is some info in our previous discussion
View attachment 1228714View attachment 1228715
Here is my proposal for the cultures of the East.

Let's start from the top to bottom:

I have put Nenets people at the top because the colonisation of those lands by Russians has not yet started.
Mezen city (not where location Mezen is located) was founded in the XVI century.
Locations Nes, Vizhas and Oma are currently populated by Nenets people. 7a on the map

Sloboda Lampozhnya was founded in 1545 by the Slavic population. However, when it was mentioned by Ivan the Terrible it was addressed to the Samoyedic people (Nenets) who lived near Kanin und Timan tundra

View attachment 1228683View attachment 1228684
The lands there are not highly populated even now, with Mezen the only big urban place

Komi-Zyrian
Pinega
The Pinega settlements were first mentioned in the charter, drawn up in Novgorod in 1137 by order of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. I think it had time to assimilate into the Novgorodian trade. This location should be a part of Novgorod.
However, the lower part of Mezen and near Pinega river were populated by Komi people
View attachment 1228690View attachment 1228691View attachment 1228696
location Koptyuga for example is still populated by Komi people even today

Chakola and Kevrola(Shardonem location, should be renamed!! ) are two cities mentioned in 1137 (from the Russian Wikipedia of those cities)
However, these are the deepest ones. This is why I think Komi people were pushed from Pinega River (as you can see they live near but not directly on)

Toyma was a Novgorodian city

Near modern Kotlas, there was a Finno-Ugric settlement of Pyras(as I understand Pyras location). In the XIX century publicism, it is indicated that Pyras was located at the mouth of the Vychegda at the place of Kotlas. Zyrian settlement Pyras in the mouth of Vychegda existed already in the XIV century.

It was here that St. Stephen of Perm began his preaching among the Komi-Zyrian in 1379.

In the Vychegodsko-Vymsk chronicle, there is the following record:

So it should have Komi culture

then I have assigned cultures based on this
View attachment 1228703
It shows Merya, Mari and Komi people areas. Kokshary are a debatable population this is why I have not relied on that from this map.
Light Green represents assimilated people, Green Merya, pink Mari and Kimo with purple

Here is an article about the population near Unzha

It shows a lot of Mari cities like Shanga, Yakshan, Yur and others
View attachment 1228706

Vetluga - in the 13th century was Mari city named Yur.
River Vetluga was fully controlled by the Mari people. In 1280 Mari kuguz(prince) Bai fortified Yur city. In the 14th century kuguz Osh Pandash won against Galich principality. It was conquered only in 1468 by Galich prince Semyon Romanovich Yaroslavsky. The City of Yur was fully burned and destroyed. And Only later was colonised by Russians.

The main thing to understand is that the Slavic population ran away from the Golden Horde, which is generally North. This is why it is too early for now to assign a lot of lands of Mari and Merya to Muscovite culture.

I would make Vokhma Mari as that area had Mari archaeological sites and the hydronym is Mari.
View attachment 1228758
Zavolochye Chud' are represented as still existing on this map.
 
Last edited:
  • 3Like
Reactions:
Extremely hard to say. I had problems searching for data on them in XIII-XIV time period.

Perhaps this book will help you:
К этнической истории Русского Севера (чудь заволочская и славяне).

And a few images:
View attachment 1279923View attachment 1279930
View attachment 1279932

Also perhaps there is some info in our previous discussion
Varlaam Vazhsky apparently helped convert Chud along the Vaga in his possessions his grandfather had bought from local Chud elders in 1315.
 
  • 2
Reactions:
Varlaam Vazhsky apparently helped convert Chud along the Vaga in his possessions his grandfather had bought from local Chud elders in 1315.
Yea, there is definitely a presence there. Question is how much and percentage.

The book I linked also has other examples if you are interested
IMG_4861.jpeg


But yea, looking more into it, the area you have outlined is more or less aligned with what is said. Maybe even further south to Totma, as there are findings of Chud there. A small minority, perhaps?
IMG_4860.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • 2Like
Reactions:
Hello everyone!

First time posting here, so I hope you’ll bear with me. I wanted to bring up an issue regarding the naming of "Boldyzh" in the game. As someone with ancestry from this region and a keen interest in its history, I can confidently say that the name "Boldyzh" as it currently stands is historically inaccurate.

To clarify: Boldyzh (or Болдыж) refers to a settlement located north of the city of Bryansk itself. With that in mind, there’s no way it could correspond to anything near Lokot, where the game places it. This discrepancy needs addressing—both for accuracy and respect toward historical context.

1746796959205.png


Now, let’s talk about what should replace it. Based on my research and understanding of the region's history, I propose three plausible alternatives:



1) Brasovo

Brasovo is a historically significant settlement mentioned as early as 1496 in the Lithuanian Metrica. Its origins likely date back to the late 13th century, making it one of the oldest settlements in the area. By the time period depicted in the game, Brasovo would have been one of the largest and most prominent locations nearby. It fits well within the geographical scope and timeline of the setting, making it a strong candidate.

1746796992439.png



2) Komarici

“Komarici” which refers to the broader region surrounding the area. The name has etymological roots derived from the Latin word commarca , meaning "borderland." This reflects the area’s historical position as a frontier zone between various powers throughout history. If not Brasovo, then Komarici seems like a logical choice due to its descriptive relevance and cultural significance.

(By the way Im not refering modern town of Komarichi, founded in 20th centuary, its name is based on region)


3) Radogoshch

Radogoshch is a fortress established in the 11th century. While relatively modest in size compared to other settlements, it undoubtedly existed during the relevant era and played a role in local defense and administration.

1746797013838.png



Ultimately, the decision rests with the developers. However, leaving the location "Boldyzh" simply cannot be—it’s geographically misplaced and historically misleading. Whether they choose Brasovo, Komarici, or even Radogoshch, any of these options would greatly improve the accuracy and immersion of the game world.

Thanks for reading!
 
  • 2
Reactions:
I originally posted this in another thread back in November. I was asked to post it in the original Russia map thread for Project Caesar. Soon thereafter this thread came out, which I've missed, so I'm reposting my post from November here now. Looks like the points I made are still valid in light of the changes mentioned in the OP of this new thread.

Repost from https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...6th-of-november.1713610/page-37#post-30002807:

1747043883836.png


The Russians are way too north for 1337. Bar a few monasteries they didn't really settle or assimilate territories north of the Neva and Svir (Syväri) rivers before the 18th century. They never formed a majority on the Karelian Isthmus, save for the city of St. Petersburg itself, until the 19th-20th centuries. The eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus that's Russian in the in-game screenshot was in real-life predominantly Finnish until the 1940s.

This, Eero Kuussaari's vision of the language group situation in 13th-14th centuries[1], is much more historically accurate.

1747043898269.png


Here is also a map from Wikipedia depicting the situation in the 9th century.[2] By 1337 the situation had not yet changed massively. Indeed there are Russian records of Finnic peoples native to the rural regions around Moscow speaking in their own native tongues as late as the 18th or 19th centuries.

1747043911815.png


The Veps are also misplaced. They should dominate the area south of the Svir, and as late as the 20th century they were still positioned more westwards than where they are in-game. Veps-speaking areas c. the early 20th century[3]:

1747043926230.png


Here's also a couple of ethnic (linguistic) maps of Ingria from 1849 and 1933 by Peter von Köppen and Juuso Mustonen respectively, just to show that as late as the 19th and 20th centuries the area was still not predominantly inhabited by Russians, bar St. Petersburg itself, of course. In case the reader is wondering, von Köppen splits the Lutheran Ingrian Finns into the Äyrämöiset (in yellow), Lutheran Karelian Finns largely hailing from the historical Äyräpää County on the western Karelian Isthmus, and into the Savakot (in green), Lutheran Savonian Finns, largely hailing from the historical Province of Savonia.

In 1337 the area between the Neva and roughly the City of Novgorod, in other words roughly the historical definition of Ingria (not the 19th century-20th century one, which is a little different), was inhabited by Karelian Finns and Votes, the former which later in history became known as the Izhorans, when referring specifically to the Orthodox Karelians of Ingria. Though they themselves, if memory serves, continued to regard and call themselves Karelians.

1747043941614.png


1747043974884.png


[1]Eero Kuussaari (1935): Suomen suvun tiet

[2]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Muromian-map.png

[3]I do not recall the exact source for this map, but I've saved it from a site specialising on Finnic groups. Wikipedia has a similar map without the place names here.
 
  • 10
  • 1Like
  • 1Love
Reactions:
  • 3Like
Reactions:
On the naming of Verkhovian/Okan/Ryazanian, couldn't they be called Vyatichi? Of all the ancient East Slavic tribes Vyatichians survived the longest as a distinct group. And there's already Severian right next door.
Theoretically possible, but I like Verkhovian the most, it does not sound archaic, nor anachronistic, the adjective is geographically and historically precise..
In any case it's a pity they did not add another culture to cover the territory of Verkhovian Duchies.

P.S. Severian culture is a bit another thing, Severia had become an established geographical and political term, totally relevant for the game time frame. It was not about the tribe anymore.
 
  • 6Like
  • 1
Reactions: