A "szlávok" refers to the Slavs, a group of ethnolinguistic peoples primarily found in Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and parts of Northern Asia. They speak various Slavic languages, which are part of the larger Indo-European language family. The Slavs are divided into three main branches: West Slavs, East Slavs, and South Slavs, each with distinct cultures and languages. Historically, the Slavs began to emerge as a distinct group around the 6th century AD. They played a significant role in the formation of several states and empires, including the Kievan Rus and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Today, Slavic nations include Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, and Bulgaria, among others.