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{{Short description|Old Slavic term for Finnic peoples}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Chude}}

[[File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png|thumb|[[Kievan Rus]] 1030–1113. The lands of the Chuds are shown in the north.]]
'''Chud''' or '''Chude''' ({{langx|orv|чудь|čudǐ}}, {{langx|fi|tšuudi}}, {{langx|se|čuhti}}) is a term historically applied in the early [[Old Russian chronicles|East Slavic annals]] to several [[Baltic Finnic peoples]] in the area of what is now [[Estonia]], [[Karelia]]<ref name="Lind">{{cite journal|last=Lind |first=John H. |year=2004 |title=The politico-religious landscape of medieval Karelia |journal=[[Fennia (journal)|Fennia]] |location=Helsinki |volume=182 |issue=1 |pages=3–11 |url=http://ojs.tsv.fi/index.php/fennia/article/view/3743}}</ref> and [[Northwest Russia|Northwestern Russia]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ryabinin |first=E. A. |year=1987 |title=The Chud of the Vodskaya Pyatina in the light of new discoveries |journal=Fennoscandia Archeologica |pages=87–104 |url=http://www.sarks.fi/fa/PDF/FA4_87.pdf}}</ref> It has also been used to refer to other [[Finno-Ugric peoples]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jääts |first=Indrek |date=2009 |title=The Komi, Ethnic Stereotypes, and Nationalities Policy in Late Imperial Russia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20620990 |journal=The Russian Review |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=199–220 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9434.2009.00521.x |jstor=20620990 |issn=0036-0341|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Finno-Ugrian |last= Eliot |first= Charles |author-link= Charles Eliot (diplomat) |volume= 10 |pages=388=393 |short=1}}</ref>

==Etymology==
There are a number of hypotheses as to the origin of the term. ''Chud'' could be derived from the Slavic word ''tjudjo'' ('foreign' or 'strange'). Another hypothesis is that the term was derived from a transformation of the Finno-Ugric name for the [[wood grouse]]. Yet another hypothesis contends that it is derived from the [[Sami languages|Sami]] word ''tshudde'' or ''čuđđe'', meaning an enemy or adversary ({{langx|fi|vainolainen}}).<ref name="Drannikova">{{cite journal|last1=Drannikova |first1=Natalia |last2=Larsen |first2=Roald |date=30 September 2008 |title=Representations of the Chuds in Norwegian and Russian Folklore |journal=Acta Borealia |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=58–72 |doi=10.1080/08003830802302893 |s2cid=162346917}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Ancient Karelia |last=Uino |first=Pirjo |publisher=Suomen muinaismuistoyhdistyksen aikakausikirja 104 |year=1997 |location=Helsinki |pages=101}}</ref> This would have required prominent Sami presence in trading centers around [[Lake Ladoga]].<ref name=":0" />

== Attestation in Slavonic sources ==
Arguably, the earliest attested written use of the word "Chuds" to describe Baltic Finnic peoples (presumably early [[Ancient Estonia|Estonians]]) was {{circa}} 1100, in the earliest [[Rus' chronicle]]s in the [[Old East Slavic language]].<ref name="PPFP141">{{cite book |title=The Pre- and Proto-historic Finns |last=Abercromby |first=John |author-link=John Abercromby, 5th Baron Abercromby |year=1898 |publisher=D. Nut |url=https://archive.org/details/preandprotohist02abergoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/preandprotohist02abergoog/page/n71 13]}}</ref> According to the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'', the Chud lived along the "Varangian Sea" ([[Baltic Sea]]), next to the ''Lyakhs'' (Poles) and [[Old Prussians]].<ref>"In the share of Japheth lies Rus', Chud', and all the gentiles: Merya, Muroma, Ves', Mordva, Chud' beyond the portages, Perm', Pechera, Yam', Ugra, Litva, Zimegola, Kors', Let'gola, and Liv'. The Lyakhs, 
the Prussians, and Chud' border on the Varangian Sea." Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor (1953), p. 52.</ref> It goes on to narrate that the Chud were among the founders of the [[Kievan Rus']] state.<ref name="PPFP141"/> along with [[Krivichs]], [[Vepsians|Veps]], [[Ilmen Slavs]] and [[Varangians]].{{cn|date=September 2024}} The invading troops of [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] are said to have defeated "Chuds" in a battle in 1030 and then established the fort of "Yuryev" (in what is now [[Tartu]], [[Estonia]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tvauri |first1=Andres |title=The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia |date=2012 |pages=33, 59, 60 |url=https://www.etis.ee/Portal/Publications/Display/b80b6f11-43ed-4b8c-b616-48ac53b70ec5?language=ENG |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref>

In other Old East Slavic chronicles,{{which?|date=September 2024}} the term "Chuds" refers to several Finnic tribes, early Estonian groups in particular. Kievan rulers then collected tribute from the Chuds of the surrounding ancient Estonian county of [[Ugaunia]],{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}} possibly until 1061, when, according to the chronicles, Yuryev was burned down by an Estonian tribe called ''Sosols'' (probably [[Sakala County|Sackalians]], [[Inhabitants of Saaremaa|Oeselians]] or [[Harjumaa (ancient county)|Harionenses]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mäesalu |first1=Ain |title=Could Kedipiv in East-Slavonic Chronicles be Keava hill fort? |journal=Estonian Journal of Archaeology |date=2012 |volume=1 |issue=16supplser |page=199 |doi=10.3176/arch.2012.supv1.11 |url=http://www.kirj.ee/public/Archaeology/2012/sup_vol_1/arhe-keava-2012-195-200.pdf |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> Most of the raids against Chuds described in medieval East Slavic chronicles occur in present-day Estonia. The border lake between Estonia and the [[Russia|Russian Federation]] is still called ''Chudskoye'' ([[Chud Lake]]) in [[Russian language|modern Russian]]. However, many ancient {{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} references to Chuds talk of peoples very far from Estonia, like ''Zavoloshka Chuds'' between [[Mordovians]] and [[Komis]].{{cn|date=September 2024}}

==Identity==
Chuds have traditionally been believed to belong to the group of Baltic-Finnic peoples, though there have been some debate as to which specific group. After the first encounter with the Chuds, [[Slavs|Slavic people]] tended to call other Finnic-speaking peoples Chuds, and thus became a collective name for the Finno-Ugric neighbours in [[Russians|Russian]] cultural tradition. Many writers contend that the Chuds were [[Vepsians]], Fasmer posits them in [[Karelia]] while Smirnov suggests the [[Setos]] are descendants of the Chuds.<ref name="Drannikova"/> In recent research on [[toponymy]] of the [[Luga River|Luga]] and [[Volkhov River|Volkhov]] river catchment areas Finnish fennougrist Pauli Rahkonen has come to the conclusion, that the language spoken in the area has been Finnic only in the vicinity of the southern coasts of Lake Ladoga and the [[Gulf of Finland]], but more upstream of the two rivers, the language, as based on the evidence of [[hydronyms]] in the area, has represented other [[Finno-Ugric languages]] than Finnic.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rahkonen |first=Pauli |url=http://www.sgr.fi/susa/93/rahkonen.pdf |title=Finno-Ugrian hydronyms of the River Volkhov and Luga catchment areas |pages=205–266 |journal=Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja – Journal de la Société Finno-Ougrienne |volume=93 |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finno-Ugric Society |date=2011}}</ref> However, the ''Zavoloshka Chuds'' in the [[White Sea]] catchment area seem to have spoken Finnic languages based on the evidence of [[substratum (linguistics)|substrate]] toponymy in northern Russia carried out recently by Finnish Finno-Ugrist Janne Saarikivi.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Saarikivi |first=Janne |url=http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/suoma/vk/saarikivi/substrat.pdf |title=Substrata Uralica. Studies on finno-ugrian substrate in northern russian dialects |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830213340/http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/hum/suoma/vk/saarikivi/substrat.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2017 |location=Tartu |publisher=[[Tartu University Press]] |date=2006 |isbn=978-9949-11-474-0 |hdl=10138/19635}} (also {{ISBN|9949-11-474-8}})</ref>

==Chuds in folklore==
{{Main|White-Eyed Chud}}
In [[Folklore of Russia|Russian folk legends]], the Chuds were described as exalted and beautiful. One characteristic of the Chuds was 'white-eyed', which means lightly colored eyes.

Russian [[bylina]]s and [[bylichka]]s describe the disappearance of the Chud when the Slavs came to their territories. When there were very few Chud left, the last of their kind drowned themselves (or buried themselves) to avoid being captured or having contact with aliens.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

In the chronicles which narrate about the founding of Russia, the Chuds are mentioned as one of the founder races, with the Slav and the Varyags (Varangians).{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Folk etymology derives the word from Old East Slavic language (''chuzhoi'', 'foreign'; or ''chudnoi'' 'odd'; or ''chud'' 'weird'), or alternatively from ''chudnyi'', wonderful, miraculous, excellent, attractive.

Chuds or Tchuds are traditional generic villains in some Sami legends,<ref name=“hatt”>{{cite book | url= |title=By the Fire: Sami Folktales and Legends |first1=Emilie Demant |last1=Hatt |first2=Barbara |last2=Sjoholm |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-5179-0458-6}}</ref> as well as in the Sami-language movie ''[[Pathfinder (1987 film)|Pathfinder]]'' from 1987, which is loosely based on such legends.<ref name="hjort">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gm7kCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT501 |title=A Companion to Nordic Cinema |first1=Mette |last1=Hjort |first2=Ursula |last2=Lindqvist |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |date=2016 |isbn=978-1118475287}}</ref>

==Use of term in historical times==
[[File:Finno-ugrian-map-en.svg|thumb|200px|Chuds and other ethnic groups in 9th century Eastern Europe]]
[[File:Facial Chronicle - b.06, p.068 - Execution of vod and chud.jpg|thumb|Execution of [[Vots|Vods]] and Chuds by [[Alexander Nevsky]], 16th-century miniature depicting 13th-century events]]
Later, the word ''Chuds'' was more often used for more eastern Finnic peoples, [[Vepsians|Veps]] and [[Votians|Votes]] in particular, while some derivatives of ''chud'' like ''[[chukhna]]'' or ''[[chukhonets]]'' were applied to more western [[Finns]] and [[Estonians]]. Following the Russian conquests of Finland 1714–1809, and increasing contacts between Finns and [[Saint Petersburg]], Finns perceived the word ''Chud'' to be disparaging and hinting at the [[serfdom]] that the Russians were believed to find fit for the Finns. However, as a [[Offensive terms per nationality#Finns|disparaging word]], it was rather ''chukhna'' that was applied also to Finns and Estonians as late as during the [[Winter War]], 1939–1940, between the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Finland]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

In present-day Russian vernacular, the word ''chukhna'' is often used to denote the Veps. The name Chuds (or Northern Chuds) has been used for Veps people also by some anthropologists.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

In the mytho-poetical tradition of the Komi, the word ''chud'' can also designate Komi heroes and heathens; Old Believers; another people different from the Komi; or robbers—the latter two are the typical legends in [[Sami people|Sámi]] folklore. In fact, the legends about Chuds (Čuđit) cover a large area in northern Europe from Scandinavia to the Urals, bounded by [[Lake Ladoga]] in the south, the northern and eastern districts of the [[Vologda]] province, and passing by the [[Kirov Oblast|Kirov]] region, further into [[Komi-Permyak Okrug]]. It has from this area spread to Trans-Ural region through mediation of migrants from European North.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

''Chud'' has become a swear word in the [[Arkhangelsk]] region. As late as 1920, people of that region used legends of the Chuds to scare small naughty children.<ref name='Drannikova'/>

==See also==
*[[Gauja Estonians]]
*[[Chudovo]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Primary sources ==
* {{Cite book |last1=Izbornyk |date=1908 |title=Лѣтопись По Ипатьевскому Списку |trans-title=The Chronicle according to the Hypatian Codex |series=[[Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles]] (PSRL). Volume 2. 3rd Edition. Col. 15. |url=http://izbornyk.org.ua/ipatlet/ipat01.htm |location=Saint Petersburg |publisher=Typography of Edward Prats |pages= }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Samuel Hazzard |last2=Sherbowitz-Wetzor |first2=Olgerd P. |date=1953 |title=The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text. Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor |url=https://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=The Mediaeval Academy of America |pages=325 |isbn= |access-date=26 January 2023}} (First edition published in 1930. The first 50 pages are a scholarly introduction.)
** {{Cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Samuel Hazzard |last2=Sherbowitz-Wetzor |first2=Olgerd P. |orig-year=1953 |title=SLA 218. Ukrainian Literature and Culture. Excerpts from The Rus' Primary Chronicle (Povest vremennykh let, PVL) |publisher=Electronic Library of Ukrainian Literature, University of Toronto |date=2013 |url=http://sites.utoronto.ca/elul/English/218/PVL-selections.pdf |location=Toronto |pages=16 |access-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530225833/http://www.utoronto.ca/elul/English/218/PVL-selections.pdf |archive-date=30 May 2014}}

==External links==
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chude|volume=6|page=322|short=1}}
*{{cite book |last=Savignac |first=David (trans) |title=The Pskov 3rd Chronicle |url=https://sites.google.com/site/pskovrelease3/ |access-date=2017-04-12 |archive-date=2020-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831061932/https://sites.google.com/site/pskovrelease3/ |url-status=dead }}

{{Ethnic groups of Russia}}
{{Gardariki}}

[[Category:History of ethnic groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Social history of Estonia]]
[[Category:Medieval ethnic groups of Europe]]
[[Category:Finno-Ugric peoples]]
[[Category:Baltic Finns]]
[[Category:Exonyms]]