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The period of ancient Rus' dates back to ancient times, with the appearance of the first Slavic tribes. But the most important event is the calling of Prince Rurik to reign in Novgorod in 862. Rurik came not alone, but with his brothers, Truvor ruled in Izborsk, and Sineus ruled in Beloozero.
In 879, Rurik dies, leaving behind his son Igor, who, due to his age, cannot rule the state. Power passes into the hands of Rurik's comrade Oleg. Oleg united Novgorod and Kyiv in 882, thereby founding Rus'. In 907 and 911, Prince Oleg’s campaigns against Constantinople (the capital of Byzantium) took place. These campaigns were successful and raised the authority of the state.
In 912, power passed to Prince Igor (son of Rurik). Igor's reign symbolizes the successful activities of the state in the international arena. In 944, Igor concluded an agreement with Byzantium. However, success in domestic policy was not achieved. Therefore, Igor was killed by the Drevlyans in 945 after trying to collect tribute again (this version is most popular among modern historians).
The next period in the history of Rus' is the period of the reign of Princess Olga, who wants to take revenge for the murder of her husband. She ruled until approximately 960. In 957 she visited Byzantium, where, according to legend, she converted to Christianity. Then her son Svyatoslav took power. He is famous for his campaigns, which began in 964 and ended in 972. After Svyatoslav, power in Rus' passed into the hands of Vladimir, who ruled from 980 to 1015.
Vladimir's reign is most famous for the fact that it was he who baptized Rus' in 988. Most likely, this is the most significant event of the periods of the ancient Russian state. The establishment of an official religion was necessary to a greater extent to unite Rus' under one faith, strengthening the princely authority and the authority of the state in the international arena.
After Vladimir there was a period of civil strife, in which Yaroslav, who received the nickname Wise, won. He reigned from 1019 to 1054. The period of his reign is characterized by more developed culture, art, architecture and science. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the first set of laws appeared, which was called “Russian Truth”. Thus he founded the legislation of Rus'.
Then the main event in the history of our state was the Lyubech Congress of Russian princes, which took place in 1097. Its goal was to maintain stability, integrity and unity of the state, a joint struggle against enemies and ill-wishers.
In 1113, Vladimir Monomakh came to power. His main work was “Instructions for Children,” where he described how to live. In general, the period of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh marked the end of the period of the Old Russian state and marked the emergence of a period of feudal fragmentation of Rus', which began at the beginning of the 12th century and ended at the end of the 15th century.
The period of the Old Russian state laid the foundation for the entire history of Russia, founded the first centralized state on the territory of the East European Plain. It was during this period that Rus' received a single religion, which is one of the leading religions in our country today. In general, the period, despite its cruelty, brought a lot for the development of further social relations in the state, laid the foundations for the legislation and culture of our state.
But the most important event of the ancient Russian state was the formation of a single princely dynasty, which served and ruled the state for several centuries, thereby power in Rus' became permanent, based on the will of the prince, and then the tsar.
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The uniqueness of the Kamchatka Peninsula is beyond doubt. Located in the northeastern part of Russia, it is a mountain range. Two oceans wash the shores of the peninsula: from the eastern part - the Quiet, from the northern side - the Okhotsk.
I understand that such an article can break the fan, so I will try to avoid sharp corners. I am writing more for my own pleasure, most of the facts will be from the category taught at school, but nevertheless I will gladly accept criticism and corrections, if there are facts. So:
Ancient Rus'.
It is assumed that Rus' appeared as a result of the merger of a number of East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. The first mentions of us are found in the 830s. Firstly, in the area of 813. (very controversial dating) some Rosas successfully raided the city of Amastris (modern Amasra, Turkey) in Byzantine Palphagonia. Secondly, the ambassadors of the “Kagan Rosov” as part of the Byzantine embassy came to the last emperor of the Frankish state, Louis I the Pious (a good question, however, is who they really were). Thirdly, the same Dews ran in 860, already to Constantinople, without much success (there is an assumption that the famous Askold and Dir commanded the parade).
The history of serious Russian statehood begins, according to the most official version, in 862, when a certain Rurik appeared on the scene.
Rurik.
In fact, we have a pretty bad idea of who it was or whether there was one at all. The official version is based on the “Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor, who, in turn, used the sources available to him. There is a theory (quite similar to the truth) that Rurik was known as Rurik of Jutland, from the Skjoldung dynasty (a descendant of Skjold, the king of the Danes, mentioned already in Beowulf). I repeat that the theory is not the only one.
Where did this character come from in Rus' (specifically, in Novgorod), also interest Ask, the closest theory to me personally is that he was originally a hired military administrator, moreover in Ladoga, and brought the idea of hereditary transfer of power with him from Scandinavia, where it was just becoming fashionable. And he came to power entirely by seizing it during a conflict with another similar military leader.
However, in the PVL it is written that the Varangians were nevertheless called upon by three tribes of Slavs, unable to resolve controversial issues themselves. Where did this come from?
Option one- from the source that Nestor read (well, you understand, there would be enough people from among the Rurikovichs who wanted to do exciting editing in their spare time. Princess Olga could also have done this, in the midst of a conflict with the Drevlyans, who for some reason had not yet realized that they would break the prince in half and offer a replacement, as has always been done in such cases in their memory - a bad idea).
Option two- Nestor could have been asked to write this by Vladimir Monomakh, who was actually called by the people of Kiev, and who really did not want to prove with his fingers the legitimacy of his reign to everyone who was older than him in the family. In any case, somewhere from Rurik a reliably known idea of a Slavic state appears. “Somewhere” because the real steps in building such a state were taken not by Rurik, but by his successor, Oleg.
Oleg.
Called "the prophetic", Oleg took the reins of Novgorod Rus in 879. Probably (according to PVL), he was a relative of Rurik (possibly brother-in-law). Some identify Oleg with Odd Orvar (Arrow), the hero of several Scandinavian sagas.
The same PVL claims that Oleg was the guardian of the real heir, Rurik’s son Igor, something like a regent. In general, in an amicable way, power among the Rurikovichs for a very long time was transferred to the “eldest in the family,” so Oleg could be a full-fledged ruler not only in practice, but also formally.
Actually, what Oleg did during his reign - he made Rus'. In 882 he gathered an army and in turn subjugated Smolensk, Lyubech and Kyiv. Based on the history of the capture of Kyiv, we, as a rule, remember Askold and Dir (I won’t say for Dir, but the name “Askold” seems very Scandinavian to me. I won’t lie). PVL believes that they were Varangians, but had no relation to Rurik (I believe, because I heard somewhere that not only did they have - Rurik at one time sent them along the Dnieper with the task “capture everything that is worth little "). The chronicles also describe how Oleg defeated his compatriots - he hid military paraphernalia from the boats, so that they looked like merchant ships, and somehow lured both governors there (according to the official version from the Nikon Chronicle - he let them know that he was there ... but said he was sick, and on the ships he showed them young Igor and killed them. But perhaps they were simply inspecting the incoming merchants, not suspecting that an ambush awaited them on board).
Having seized power in Kyiv, Oleg appreciated the convenience of its location in relation to the eastern and southern (as far as I understand) lands compared to Novgorod and Ladoga, and said that his capital would be here. He spent the next 25 years “swearing in” the surrounding Slavic tribes, winning some of them (the northerners and Radimichi) from the Khazars.
In 907 Oleg undertakes a military campaign against Byzantium. When 200 (according to PVL) boats with 40 soldiers on board each appeared in sight of Constantinople, Emperor Leo IV the Philosopher ordered the city’s harbor to be blocked with tensioned chains - perhaps in the hope that the savages would be satisfied with plundering the suburbs and go home. "Savage" Oleg showed ingenuity and put the ships on wheels. The infantry, under the cover of sailing tanks, caused confusion within the city walls, and Leo IV hastily ransomed. According to the legend, at the same time an attempt was made to slip wine with hemlock to the prince during the negotiations, but Oleg somehow sensed the moment and pretended to be a teetotaler (for which, in fact, he was called “Prophetic” upon his return). The ransom was a lot of money, tribute and an agreement according to which our merchants were exempt from taxes and had the right to live in Constantinople for up to a year at the expense of the crown. In 911, however, the agreement was re-signed without exempting merchants from duties.
Some historians, having not found a description of the campaign in Byzantine sources, consider it a legend, but recognize the existence of the treaty of 911 (perhaps there was a campaign, otherwise why would the Eastern Romans bend so much, but without the episode with the “tanks” and Constantinople).
Oleg left the stage due to his death in 912. Why and where exactly is a very good question, the legend tells about a horse’s skull and a poisonous snake (interestingly, the same thing happened with the legendary Odd Orvar). The circular ladles hissed, foaming, Oleg left, but Rus' remained.
Generally speaking, this article should be brief, so I will try to briefly summarize my thoughts below.
Igor (reigned 912-945). The son of Rurik, took over the rule of Kiev after Oleg (Igor was governor of Kyiv during the war with Byzantium in 907). He conquered the Drevlyans, tried to fight with Byzantium (however, the memory of Oleg was enough, the war did not work out), concluded with her in 943 or 944 an agreement similar to the one that Oleg concluded (but less profitable), and in 945 he unsuccessfully went for the second time take tribute from the same Drevlyans (there is an opinion that Igor perfectly understood how all this could end, but could not cope with his own squad, which at that time was not particularly surprising). Husband of Princess Olga, father of the future Prince Svyatoslav.
Olga (reigned 945-964)- Igor's widow. She burned the Drevlyan Iskorosten, thereby demonstrating the sacralization of the figure of the prince (the Drevlyans offered her to marry their own prince Mal, and 50 years before that it seriously could have worked). She carried out the first positive taxation reform in the history of Rus', establishing specific deadlines for collecting tribute (lessons) and creating fortified courtyards for its reception and housing for collectors (cemeteries). She laid the foundation for stone construction in Rus'.
What’s interesting is that from the point of view of our chronicles, Olga never officially ruled; from the moment of Igor’s death, his son, Svyatoslav, ruled.
The Byzantines were not put off by such subtleties, and in their sources Olga is mentioned as the archontissa (ruler) of Rus'.
Svyatoslav (964 - 972) Igorevich. Generally speaking, 964 is rather the year of the beginning of his independent rule, since formally he was considered the Prince of Kiev from 945. But in practice, until 969, his mother, Princess Olga, ruled for him, until the prince got out of the saddle. From PVL “When Svyatoslav grew up and matured, he began to gather many brave warriors, and he was fast, like a pardus, and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or boilers with him, did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or an animal, or beef, and fried it on coals, and ate it like that; he did not have a tent, but slept, spreading a sweatcloth with a saddle on his head - the same were all the rest of his warriors. And he sent (envoys) to other lands with the words: . .. I’m coming at you!” In fact, he destroyed the Khazar Khaganate (to the joy of Byzantium), imposed tribute on the Vyatichi (to his own joy), conquered the First Bulgarian Kingdom on the Danube, built Pereyaslavets on the Danube (where he wanted to move the capital), frightened the Pechenegs and, on the basis of the Bulgarians, quarreled with Byzantium; the Bulgarians fought against on the side of Rus' - the vicissitudes of wars). In the spring of 970, he put up a free army of 30,000 people from his own, Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians against Byzantium, but lost (possibly) the battle of Arcadiopolis, and, taking a retreat, left the territory of Byzantium. In 971, the Byzantines already laid siege to Dorostol, where Svyatoslav set up his headquarters, and after a three-month siege and another battle, they convinced Svyatoslav to take another compensation and go home. Svyatoslav did not make it home - first being stuck in the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper, and then running into the Pecheneg prince Kurya, in a battle with whom he died. At the end of the day, Byzantium received Bulgaria as a province and minus one dangerous rival, so it seems to me that Kurya was hanging around the doorsteps all winter for a reason. However, there is no evidence of this.
By the way. Svyatoslav was never baptized, despite repeated proposals and the possible breakdown of the engagement with the Byzantine princess - he himself explained this by saying that the squad would not specifically understand such a maneuver, which he could not allow.
The first prince to distribute reigns to more than one son. Perhaps this led to the first strife in Rus', when, after the death of their father, the sons fought for the Kiev throne.
Yaropolk (972-978) and Oleg (prince of the Drevlyans 970-977) Svyatoslavichs- two of the three sons of Svyatoslav. Legitimate sons, unlike Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav and the housekeeper Malusha (however, it is still a good question how such a small thing played a role in Rus' in the mid-10th century. There is also an opinion that Malusha is the daughter of the same Drevlyan prince Mal who executed Igor) .
Yaropolk had diplomatic relations with the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In 977, during a strife, speaking against his brothers, he attacked Oleg’s possessions in the land of the Drevlyans. Oleg died during the retreat (if you believe the chronicle, Yaropolk lamented). In fact, after the death of Oleg and Vladimir’s flight somewhere “overseas”, he became the sole ruler of Rus'. In 980 Vladimir returned with a squad of Varangians, began to take the cities, Yaropolk left Kiev with the better fortified Roden, Vladimir besieged it, famine began in the city and Yaropolk was forced to negotiate. Instead of or in addition to Vladimir, two Varangians appeared on the spot and did their job.
Oleg is the prince of the Drevlyans, the first successor of Mal. Perhaps he accidentally started the strife by killing the son of governor Yaropolk, Sveneld, who was poaching on his land. Version from the chronicle. Personally, it seems to me (along with Wikipedia) that the brothers would have had enough motives even without their father-voivodes burning with a thirst for revenge. Also, perhaps, he laid the foundation for one of the noble families of Maravia - only the Czechs and only the 16th-17th centuries have evidence of this, so whether to believe it or not is up to the conscience of the reader.
Established by the 9th century. The ancient Russian feudal state (also called Kievan Rus by historians) arose as a result of a very long and gradual process of splitting society into antagonistic classes, which took place among the Slavs throughout the 1st millennium AD. Russian feudal historiography of the 16th - 17th centuries. sought to artificially connect the early history of Rus' with the ancient peoples of Eastern Europe known to it - the Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans; The name of Rus' was derived from the Saomat tribe of Roxalans.
In the 18th century Some of the German scientists invited to Russia, who had an arrogant attitude towards everything Russian, created a biased theory about the dependent development of Russian statehood. Relying on an unreliable part of the Russian chronicle, which conveys the legend about the creation of three brothers (Rurik, Sineus and Truvor) as princes by a number of Slavic tribes - Varangians, Normans by origin, these historians began to argue that the Normans (detachments of Scandinavians who robbed in the 9th century on seas and rivers) were the creators of the Russian state. The “Normanists”, who had poorly studied Russian sources, believed that the Slavs in the 9th-10th centuries. were completely wild people who allegedly knew neither agriculture, nor crafts, nor settled settlements, nor military affairs, nor legal norms. They attributed the entire culture of Kievan Rus to the Varangians; the very name of Rus' was associated only with the Varangians.
M.V. Lomonosov vehemently objected to the “Normanists” - Bayer, Miller and Schletser, marking the beginning of a two-century scientific debate on the issue of the emergence of the Russian state. A significant part of the representatives of Russian bourgeois science of the 19th and early 20th centuries. supported the Norman theory, despite the abundance of new data that refuted it. This arose both due to the methodological weakness of bourgeois science, which failed to rise to an understanding of the laws of the historical process, and due to the fact that the chronicle legend about the voluntary calling of princes by the people (created by the chronicler in the 12th century during the period of popular uprisings) continued in the 19th - XX centuries maintain its political significance in explaining the question of the beginning state power. The cosmopolitan tendencies of part of the Russian bourgeoisie also contributed to the predominance in official science Norman theory. However, a number of bourgeois scientists have already criticized the Norman theory, seeing its inconsistency.
Soviet historians, approaching the question of the formation of the ancient Russian state from the position of historical materialism, began studying the entire process of the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the emergence of the feudal state. To do this, it was necessary to significantly expand the chronological framework, look into the depths of Slavic history and attract a number of new sources depicting the history of the economy and social relations many centuries before the formation of the ancient Russian state (excavations of villages, workshops, fortresses, graves). A radical revision of Russian and foreign written sources speaking about Rus' was required.
The work on studying the prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state has not yet been completed, but already an objective analysis of historical data has shown that all the main provisions of the Norman theory are incorrect, since they were generated by an idealistic understanding of history and an uncritical perception of sources (the range of which was artificially limited), as well as the bias of the researchers themselves. Currently, the Norman theory is being propagated by certain foreign historians of capitalist countries.
Russian chroniclers about the beginning of the state
The question of the beginning of the Russian state was of keen interest to Russian chroniclers of the 11th and 12th centuries. The earliest chronicles apparently began their presentation with the reign of Kiy, who was considered the founder of the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv principality. Prince Kiy was compared with other founders of the largest cities - Romulus (founder of Rome), Alexander the Great (founder of Alexandria). The legend about the construction of Kyiv by Kiy and his brothers Shchek and Khoriv apparently arose long before the 11th century, since it was already in the 7th century. turned out to be recorded in the Armenian chronicle. In all likelihood, the time of Kiya is the period of the Slavic campaigns on the Danube and Byzantium, i.e. VI-VII centuries. The author of “The Tale of Bygone Years” - “Where did the Russian land come from (and) who in Kyiv began first as princes...”, written at the beginning of the 12th century. (as historians think, by the Kyiv monk Nestor), reports that Kiy traveled to Constantinople, was an honored guest of the Byzantine emperor, built a city on the Danube, but then returned to Kiev. Further in the “Tale” there is a description of the struggle of the Slavs with the nomadic Avars in the 6th – 7th centuries. Some chroniclers considered the beginning of statehood to be the “calling of the Varangians” in the second half of the 9th century. and to this date they adjusted all the other events of early Russian history known to them (Novgorod Chronicle). These works, the bias of which had been proven long ago, were used by supporters of the Norman theory.
East Slavic tribes and tribal unions on the eve of the formation of a state in Rus'
The state of Rus' was formed from fifteen large regions inhabited by Eastern Slavs, well known to the chronicler. The glades have long lived near Kyiv. The chronicler considered their land to be the core of the ancient Russian state and noted that in his time the glades were called Russia. The neighbors of the glades in the east were the northerners who lived along the Desna, Seim, Sula and Northern Donets rivers, which retained the memory of the northerners in their name. Down the Dnieper, south of the glades, lived the Ulichi, who moved in the middle of the 10th century. in the area between the Dniester and Bug rivers. In the west, the neighbors of the glades were the Drevlyans, who were often at enmity with the Kyiv princes. Even further to the west were the lands of the Volynians, Buzhans and Dulebs. The extreme East Slavic regions were the lands of the Tiverts on the Dniester (ancient Tiras) and on the Danube and the White Croats in Transcarpathia.
To the north of the glades and Drevlyans were the lands of the Dregovichs (on the swampy left bank of the Pripyat), and to the east of them, along the Sozha River, the Radimichi. The Vyatichi lived on the Oka and Moscow Rivers, bordering on the non-Slavic Meryan-Mordovian tribes of the Middle Oka. The chronicler calls the northern regions in contact with the Lithuanian-Latvian and Chud tribes the lands of the Krivichi (the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper and Dvina), Polochans and Slovenes (around Lake Ilmen).
In the historical literature, the conventional term “tribes” (“tribe of the Polyans”, “tribe of the Radimichi”, etc.) was established for these areas, which, however, was not used by the chroniclers. These Slavic regions are so large in size that they can be compared to entire states. A careful study of these regions shows that each of them was an association of several small tribes, the names of which were not preserved in sources on the history of Rus'. Among the Western Slavs, the Russian chronicler mentions in the same way only such large areas as, for example, the land of the Lyutichs, and from other sources it is known that the Lyutichs are not one tribe, but a union of eight tribes. Consequently, the term “tribe,” which speaks of family ties, should be applied to much smaller divisions of the Slavs, which have already disappeared from the memory of the chronicler. The regions of the Eastern Slavs mentioned in the chronicle should be considered not as tribes, but as federations, unions of tribes.
In ancient times, the Eastern Slavs apparently consisted of 100-200 small tribes. The tribe, representing a collection of related clans, occupied an area approximately 40 - 60 km across. Each tribe probably held a council that decided the most important issues of public life; a military leader (prince) was elected; there was a permanent squad of youth and a tribal militia (“regiment”, “thousand”, divided into “hundreds”). Within the tribe there was its own “city”. There a general tribal council gathered, bargaining took place, and a trial took place. There was a sanctuary where representatives of the entire tribe gathered.
These “cities” were not yet real cities, but many of them, which for several centuries were the centers of a tribal district, with the development of feudal relations turned into either feudal castles or cities.
The consequence of major changes in the structure of tribal communities, replaced by neighboring communities, was the process of formation of tribal unions, which proceeded especially intensively from the 5th century. Writer of the 6th century Jordanes says that the general collective name of the populous people of the Wends “now changes depending on the different tribes and localities.” The stronger the process of disintegration of primitive clan isolation, the stronger and more durable the tribal unions became.
The development of peaceful ties between tribes, or military victories of some tribes over others, or, finally, the need to combat a common external danger contributed to the creation of tribal alliances. Among the Eastern Slavs, the formation of the fifteen large tribal unions mentioned above can be attributed to approximately the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e.
Thus, during the VI - IX centuries. prerequisites for feudal relations arose and the process of formation of the ancient Russian feudal state took place.
The natural internal development of Slavic society was complicated by a number of external factors (for example, raids by nomads) and the direct participation of the Slavs in major events in world history. This makes the study of the pre-feudal period in the history of Rus' especially difficult.
Origin of Rus'. Formation of the Old Russian people
Most pre-revolutionary historians connected the questions of the origin of the Russian state with questions of the ethnicity of the “Rus” people. about which the chroniclers speak. Accepting without much criticism the chronicle legend about the calling of the princes, historians sought to determine the origin of the “Rus” to which these overseas princes supposedly belonged. “Normanists” insisted that “Rus” are the Varangians, Normans, i.e. residents of Scandinavia. But the lack of information in Scandinavia about a tribe or locality called “Rus” has long shaken this thesis of the Norman theory. “Anti-Normanist” historians undertook a search for the “Rus” people in all directions from the indigenous Slavic territory.
Lands and states of the Slavs:
Eastern
Western
State borders at the end of the 9th century.
Ancient Rus were sought among the Baltic Slavs, Lithuanians, Khazars, Circassians, Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga region, Sarmatian-Alan tribes, etc. Only a small part of scientists, relying on direct evidence from sources, defended the Slavic origin of Rus'.
Soviet historians, having proven that the chronicle legend about the calling of princes from overseas cannot be considered the beginning of Russian statehood, also found out that the identification of Rus' with the Varangians in the chronicles is erroneous.
Iranian geographer of the mid-9th century. Ibn Khordadbeh points out that “the Russes are a tribe of Slavs.” The Tale of Bygone Years talks about the identity of the Russian language with the Slavic language. The sources also contain more precise instructions that help determine which part of the Eastern Slavs one should look for Rus' among.
Firstly, in the “Tale of Bygone Years” it is said regarding the glades: “even now the calling Rus'.” Consequently, the ancient tribe of Rus was located somewhere in the Middle Dnieper region, near Kyiv, which arose in the land of glades, to which the name of Rus subsequently passed. Secondly, in various Russian chronicles of the time of feudal fragmentation, a double geographical name for the words “Russian land”, “Rus” is noticed. Sometimes they are understood as all East Slavic lands, sometimes the words “Russian land”, “Rus” are used in lands should be considered more ancient and in a very narrow, geographically limited sense, denoting the forest-steppe strip from Kiev and the Ros River to Chernigov, Kursk and Voronezh. This narrow understanding of the Russian land should be considered more ancient and can be traced back to the 6th-7th centuries, when it was within these limits that a homogeneous material culture existed, known from archaeological finds.
By the middle of the 6th century. This is also the first mention of Rus' in written sources. One Syrian author, a successor to Zechariah the Rhetor, mentions the “ros” people, who lived next door to the mythical Amazons (whose location is usually confined to the Don basin).
The territory delineated by chronicles and archaeological data was home to several Slavic tribes that had lived here for a long time. In all probability. The Russian land got its name from one of them, but it is not known for certain where this tribe was located. Judging by the fact that the oldest pronunciation of the word “Rus” sounded slightly different, namely as “Ros” (the people “ros” of the 6th century, “Rus’ letters” of the 9th century, “Pravda Rosskaya” of the 11th century), apparently , the initial location of the Ros tribe should be sought on the Ros River (a tributary of the Dnieper, below Kiev), where, moreover, the richest archaeological materials of the 5th - 7th centuries were discovered, including silver items with princely signs on them.
The further history of Rus' must be considered in connection with the formation of the Old Russian nationality, which eventually embraced all the East Slavic tribes.
The core of the Old Russian nationality is that “Russian land” of the 6th century, which, apparently, included the Slavic tribes of the forest-steppe strip from Kyiv to Voronezh. It included the lands of the glades, northerners, Rus' and, in all likelihood, the streets. These lands formed a union of tribes, which, as one might think, took the name of the most significant tribe at that time, the Rus. The Russian union of tribes, famous far beyond its borders as the land of tall and strong heroes (Zachary the Rhetor), was stable and long-lasting, since a similar culture developed throughout its entire territory and the name of Rus' was firmly and permanently attached to all its parts. The union of the tribes of the Middle Dnieper and Upper Don took shape during the period of the Byzantine campaigns and the struggle of the Slavs with the Avars. The Avars failed in the VI-VII centuries. invade this part of the Slavic lands, although they conquered the Dulebs who lived to the west.
Obviously, the unification of the Dnieper-Don Slavs into a vast union contributed to their successful fight against the nomads.
The formation of the nationality went in parallel with the formation of the state. National events consolidated the ties established between individual parts of the country and contributed to the creation of an ancient Russian nation with a single language (if there were dialects), with its own territory and culture.
By the 9th - 10th centuries. The main ethnic territory of the Old Russian nationality was formed, the Old Russian literary language was formed (based on one of the dialects of the original “Russian Land” of the 6th - 7th centuries). The Old Russian nationality arose, uniting all the East Slavic tribes and becoming the single cradle of three fraternal Slavic peoples of later times - Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.
The Old Russian people, who lived in the territory from Lake Ladoga to the Black Sea and from Transcarpathia to the Middle Volga, were gradually joined in the process of assimilation by small foreign-language tribes that came under the influence of Russian culture: Merya, Ves, Chud, the remnants of the Scythian-Sarmatian population in the south, some Turkic-speaking tribes.
When faced with the Persian languages spoken by the descendants of the Scythian-Sarmatians, with the Finno-Ugric languages of the peoples of the northeast and others, the Old Russian language invariably emerged victorious, enriching itself at the expense of the defeated languages.
Formation of the state of Rus'
The formation of a state is the natural completion of a long process of the formation of feudal relations and antagonistic classes of feudal society. The feudal state apparatus, as an apparatus of violence, adapted for its own purposes the tribal government bodies that preceded it, completely different from it in essence, but similar to it in form and terminology. Such tribal bodies were, for example, “prince”, “voivode”, “druzhina”, etc. KI X -X centuries. the process of gradual maturation of feudal relations in the most developed areas of the Eastern Slavs (in the southern, forest-steppe lands) was clearly defined. Tribal elders and leaders of squads who seized communal land turned into feudal lords, tribal princes became feudal sovereigns, tribal unions grew into feudal states. A hierarchy of landowning nobility was taking shape. collaboration of princes of different ranks. The young emerging class of feudal lords needed to create a strong state apparatus that would help them secure communal peasant lands and enslave the free peasant population, and also provide protection from external invasions.
The chronicler mentions a number of principalities-tribal federations of the pre-feudal period: Polyanskoe, Drevlyanskoe, Dregovichi, Polotsk, Slovenbkoe. Some eastern writers report that the capital of Rus' was Kiev (Cuyaba), and besides it, two more cities became especially famous: Jervab (or Artania) and Selyabe, in which, in all likelihood, you should see Chernigov and Pereyas-lavl - the oldest Russian cities always mentioned in Russian documents near Kiev.
Treaty of Prince Oleg with Byzantium at the beginning of the 10th century. already knows the branched feudal hierarchy: boyars, princes, grand dukes (in Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Lyubech, Rostov, Polotsk) and the supreme overlord of the “Russian Grand Duke”. Eastern sources of the 9th century. They call the head of this hierarchy the title “Khakan-Rus”, equating the Kiev prince with the rulers of strong and powerful powers (Avar Kagan, Khazar Kagan, etc.), who sometimes competed with the Byzantine Empire itself. In 839, this title also appeared in Western sources (Vertinsky annals of the 9th century). All sources unanimously call Kyiv the capital of Rus'.
A fragment of the original chronicle text that survived in the Tale of Bygone Years makes it possible to determine the size of Rus' in the first half of the 9th century. The Old Russian state included the following tribal unions that previously had independent reigns: Polyans, Severyans, Drevlyans, Dregovichs, Polochans, Novgorod Slovenes. In addition, the chronicle lists up to one and a half dozen Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes who paid tribute to Rus'.
Rus' at that time was a vast state that had already united half of the East Slavic tribes and collected tribute from the peoples of the Baltic and Volga regions.
In all likelihood, this state was reigned by the Kiya dynasty, the last representatives of which (judging by some chronicles) were in the middle of the 9th century. Princes Dir and Askold. About Prince Dir, Arab author of the 10th century. Masudi writes: “The first of the Slavic kings is the king of Dir; it has extensive cities and many inhabited countries. Muslim merchants arrive in the capital of his state with all kinds of goods." Later, Novgorod was conquered by the Varangian prince Rurik, and Kyiv was captured by the Varangian prince Oleg.
Other eastern writers of the 9th - early 10th centuries. They report interesting information about agriculture, cattle breeding, beekeeping in Rus', about Russian gunsmiths and carpenters, about Russian merchants who traveled along the “Russian Sea” (Black Sea), and made their way to the East by other routes.
Of particular interest are data on the internal life of the ancient Russian state. Thus, a Central Asian geographer, using sources from the 9th century, reports that “the Rus have a class of knights,” that is, feudal nobility.
Other sources also know the division into noble and poor. According to Ibn-Rust (903), dating back to the 9th century, the king of the Rus (i.e., the Grand Duke of Kiev) judges and sometimes exiles criminals “to the rulers of remote regions.” In Rus' there was a custom of “God’s judgment”, i.e. resolving a controversial case by combat. For particularly serious crimes it was used the death penalty. The Tsar of the Rus traveled around the country annually, collecting tribute from the population.
The Russian tribal union, which turned into a feudal state, subjugated the neighboring Slavic tribes and organized long campaigns across the southern steppes and seas. In the 7th century the sieges of Constantinople by the Rus and the formidable campaigns of the Rus through Khazaria to the Derbent Pass are mentioned. In the 7th - 9th centuries. Russian prince Bravlin fought in the Khazar-Byzantine Crimea, marching from Surozh to Korchev (from Sudak to Kerch). About the Rus of the 9th century. a Central Asian author wrote: “They fight with the surrounding tribes and defeat them.”
Byzantine sources contain information about the Rus who lived on the Black Sea coast, about their campaigns against Constantinople and about the baptism of part of the Rus in the 60s of the 9th century.
The Russian state developed independently of the Varangians, as a result of the natural development of society. At the same time, other Slavic states arose - the Bulgarian Kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire and a number of others.
Since the Normanists greatly exaggerate the impact of the Varangians on Russian statehood, it is necessary to resolve the question: what actually is the role of the Varangians in the history of our Motherland?
In the middle of the 9th century, when Kievan Rus had already formed in the Middle Dnieper region, on the distant northern outskirts of the Slavic world, where the Slavs lived peacefully side by side with the Finnish and Latvian tribes (Chud, Korela, Letgola, etc.), detachments of Varangians began to appear, sailing from across the Baltic Sea. The Slavs even drove away these detachments; we know that the Kyiv princes of that time sent their troops to the north to fight the Varangians. It is possible that it was then that, next to the old tribal centers of Polotsk and Pskov, a new city, Novgorod, grew up in an important strategic place near Lake Ilmen, which was supposed to block the Varangians’ path to the Volga and Dnieper. For nine centuries until the construction of St. Petersburg, Novgorod either defended Rus' from overseas pirates, or was a “window to Europe” for trade in the Northern Russian regions.
In 862 or 874 (the chronology is confusing), the Varangian king Rurik appeared near Novgorod. From this adventurer, who led a small squad, the genealogy of all Russian princes “Rurik” was traced without any particular reason (although Russian historians of the 11th century traced the genealogy of the princes from Igor the Old, without mentioning Rurik).
The alien Varangians did not take possession of Russian cities, but set up their fortified camps next to them. Near Novgorod they lived in the “Rurik settlement”, near Smolensk - in Gnezdovo, near Kiev - in the Ugorsky tract. There could have been merchants here and Varangian warriors hired by the Russians. The important thing is that nowhere were the Varangians masters of Russian cities.
Archaeological data show that the number of Varangian warriors themselves who lived permanently in Rus' was very small.
In 882, one of the Varangian leaders; Oleg made his way from Novgorod to the south, took Lyubech, which served as a kind of northern gate of the Kiev principality, and sailed to Kiev, where by deception and cunning he managed to kill the Kiev prince Askold and seize power. To this day, in Kyiv, on the banks of the Dnieper, a place called “Askold’s grave” has been preserved. It is possible that Prince Askold was the last representative of the ancient Kiya dynasty.
The name of Oleg is associated with several campaigns for tribute to neighboring Slavic tribes and the famous campaign of Russian troops against Constantinople in 911. Apparently Oleg did not feel like a master in Rus'. It is curious that after a successful campaign in Byzantium, he and the Varangians around him ended up not in the capital of Rus', but far in the north, in Ladoga, from where the path to their homeland, Sweden, was close. It also seems strange that Oleg, to whom the creation of the Russian state is completely unreasonably attributed, disappeared from the Russian horizon without a trace, leaving the chroniclers in bewilderment. Novgorodians, geographically close to the Varangian lands, Oleg’s homeland, wrote that, according to one version known to them, after the Greek campaign, Oleg came to Novgorod, and from there to Ladoga, where he died and was buried. According to another version, he sailed overseas “and I pecked (him) in the foot and from that (he) died.” The people of Kiev, repeating the legend about the snake that bit the prince, said that he was allegedly buried in Kyiv on Mount Shchekavitsa (“Snake Mountain”); perhaps the name of the mountain influenced the fact that Shchekavitsa was artificially associated with Oleg.
In the IX - X centuries. The Normans played an important role in the history of many peoples of Europe. They attacked from the sea in large flotillas on the shores of England, France, Italy, and conquered cities and kingdoms. Some scholars believed that Rus' was subjected to the same massive invasion of the Varangians, forgetting that continental Rus' was the complete geographical opposite of the Western maritime states.
The formidable fleet of the Normans could suddenly appear in front of London or Marseilles, but not a single Varangian boat that entered the Neva and sailed upstream of the Neva, Volkhov, Lovat could go unnoticed by the Russian watchmen from Novgorod or Pskov. The portage system, when heavy, deep-drawing sea vessels had to be pulled ashore and rolled along the ground on rollers for dozens of miles, eliminated the element of surprise and robbed the formidable armada of all its fighting qualities. In practice, only as many Varangians could enter Kyiv as the prince of Kievan Rus allowed. It was not for nothing that the only time the Varangians attacked Kyiv, they had to pretend to be merchants.
The reign of the Varangian Oleg in Kyiv is an insignificant and short-lived episode, unnecessarily inflated by some pro-Varangian chroniclers and later Norman historians. The campaign of 911 - the only reliable fact from his reign - became famous thanks to the brilliant literary form in which it was described, but in essence it is only one of many campaigns of Russian squads of the 9th - 10th centuries. to the shores of the Caspian and Black Sea, about which the chronicler is silent. Throughout the 10th century. and the first half of the 11th century. Russian princes often hired troops of Varangians for wars and palace service; they were often entrusted with murders from around the corner: hired Varangians stabbed, for example, Prince Yaropolk in 980, they killed Prince Boris in 1015; Varangians were hired by Yaroslav for the war with his own father.
To streamline the relationship between the mercenary Varangian detachments and the local Novgorod squad, the Truth of Yaroslav was published in Novgorod in 1015, limiting the arbitrariness of violent mercenaries.
The historical role of the Varangians in Rus' was insignificant. Appearing as “finders,” aliens attracted by the splendor of the rich, already far-famous Kievan Rus, they plundered the northern outskirts in separate raids, but were able to get to the heart of Rus' only once.
There is nothing to say about the cultural role of the Varangians. The treaty of 911, concluded on behalf of Oleg and containing about a dozen Scandinavian names of Oleg's boyars, was written not in Swedish, but in Slavic. The Varangians had nothing to do with the creation of the state, the construction of cities, or the laying out of trade routes. They could neither speed up nor significantly delay the historical process in Rus'.
The short period of Oleg’s “reign” - 882 - 912. - left in the people's memory an epic song about the death of Oleg from his own horse (arranged by A.S. Pushkin in his “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”), interesting for its anti-Varangian tendency. The image of a horse in Russian folklore is always very benevolent, and if the owner, the Varangian prince, is predicted to die from his war horse, then he deserves it.
The fight against Varangian elements in the Russian squads continued until 980; there are traces of it both in the chronicle and in the epic epic - the epic about Mikul Selyaninovich, who helped Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich fight the Varangian Sveneld (the black raven Santal).
The historical role of the Varangians is incomparably smaller than the role of the Pechenegs or Polovtsians, who really influenced the development of Rus' for four centuries. Therefore, the life of only one generation of Russian people, who suffered the participation of the Varangians in the administration of Kiev and several other cities, does not seem to be a historically important period.
THE BEGINNING OF Rus'
This book is devoted to the political history of the Old Russian state, and therefore we do not touch on the complex issue of the origin of the Eastern Slavs, we do not present hypotheses about the area of their original habitat - about their “ancestral home”, we do not consider the relationship of the Slavs with their neighbors, in a word, we do not touch upon the prehistory of Rus'. This is a special area of knowledge - the lot of archaeologists, language historians, ethnographers.
Immediately before the emergence of the Old Russian state - in the 9th century - the East European Plain was inhabited primarily by Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes. The lands of the Slavic tribe Polyan were located in the middle reaches of the Dnieper, in the area of modern Kyiv. To the east and northeast of the glades (from modern Novgorod-Seversky to Kursk) lived the northerners, to the west of Kyiv - the Drevlyans, and to the west of them - the Volynians (Dulebs). In the south of modern Belarus lived the Dregovichi, in the area of Polotsk and Smolensk - the Krivichi, between the Dnieper and Sozh - the Radimichi, in the upper reaches of the Oka - the Vyatichi, in the area surrounding Lake Ilmen - the Slovenes. The Finno-Ugric tribes included the Chud, who lived on the territory of modern Estonia and its adjacent areas; to the east, near Lake Bely, lived the whole (the ancestors of the Vepsians), and further, to the southeast, between the Klyazma and the Volga, the Merya, in the lower reaches of the Oka - the Murom, south of it - the Mordovians. The Baltic tribes - the Yatvingians, Livs, Zhmud - inhabited the territory of modern Latvia, Lithuania and the northeastern regions of Belarus. The Black Sea steppes were the place of nomads of the Pechenegs and then the Polovtsians. In the VIII-XI centuries. from the Seversky Donets to the Volga, and in the south all the way to the Caucasus Range, the territory of the powerful Khazar Kaganate stretched.
All this information is contained in the most valuable source on the ancient history of Rus' - “The Tale of Bygone Years”. But it must be taken into account that the “Tale” was created at the beginning of the 12th century, and the chronicle codes preceding it (Nikon’s Code and the Initial Code) were created in the 70s and 90s. XI century Assumptions about more ancient chronicles cannot be reliably substantiated, and we have to assume that the chroniclers of the second half of the 11th-12th centuries. relied largely on oral traditions about events that took place one hundred and fifty to two hundred years before them. That is why in the presentation of the history of the 9th and 10th centuries. much is controversial and legendary, and the exact dates to which certain events are dated, apparently, were put down by the chronicler on the basis of some, perhaps not always accurate, calculations and calculations. The above also applies to the first date mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years - 852.
852 - This year, the chronicler reports, the Russian land began to be “nicknamed”, since it was in this year that the Byzantine Emperor Michael began to reign, and under him “Rus came to Constantinople.” In addition to the factual inaccuracy (Michael III ruled from 842 to 867), there is clearly a trace of some kind of legend in the message: Byzantium could not find out about the existence of Rus' only after the Russian attack on its capital - the empire’s relations with the Eastern Slavs began long before that. Apparently, this campaign is the first event that the chronicler tried to correlate with the Christian chronology; only very unclear reports have been preserved about the earlier contacts of the Rus with Byzantium: at the end of the 8th - first quarter of the 9th century. the Rus attacked Surozh, a Byzantine colony in Crimea; between 825 and 842 the Russian fleet devastated Amastrida, a city in the Byzantine province of Paphlagonia, in the north-west of the Asia Minor peninsula; in 838-839 Russian ambassadors returning from Constantinople found themselves passing through Ingelheim, the residence of Emperor Louis the Pious.
860 - In 860 (and not in 866, as the Tale of Bygone Years claimed) the Russian fleet approached the walls of Constantinople. Late historical tradition names the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir as the leaders of the campaign. Having learned about the attack of Rus', Emperor Michael returned to the capital from a campaign against the Arabs. Up to two hundred Russian rooks approached Constantinople. But the capital was saved. According to one version, the prayers of the Greeks were heard by the Mother of God, revered as the patroness of the city; she sent down a storm that scattered the Russian ships. Some of them were thrown ashore or died, the rest returned home. It was this version that was reflected in the Russian chronicle. But another version is known in Byzantine sources: the Russian fleet left the outskirts of the capital without a fight. It can be assumed that the Byzantines managed to pay off the attackers.
862 - The chronicle claims that this year the tribes that lived in the north of the Russian plain - the Chud, Slovene, Krivichi and all - called from across the sea the Varangians (Swedes) led by Prince Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor, inviting them to reign them. “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it,” those sent to them allegedly told the Varangians. Rurik began to reign in Novgorod, Sineus in Beloozero, Truvor in Izborsk, i.e. in the city centers of the tribes that invited them. In the given legend, much is controversial, much is naive, but it was used by Norman scientists to claim that the Russian state was created by the Varangian aliens. In reality, we could only talk about inviting mercenary squads led by their leaders. The Russian state arose independently as a result of the internal development of the Slavic tribes.
879 - Rurik died, transferring, according to PVL, the reign to his relative - Oleg - due to Igor’s childhood. But this chronicle message is extremely doubtful: having accepted it, it is difficult to explain why Oleg’s “regency” lasted for more than three decades. It is characteristic that in the First Novgorod Chronicle, unlike PVL, Oleg is not a prince at all, but Igor’s governor. Therefore, it is most likely that the direct family ties of Rurik and Igor are a historiographical legend; We are talking about three completely independent princes who succeeded each other at the helm of power.
882 - Oleg moved from Novgorod to the south: he planted his governors in Smolensk and Lyubech (a city on the Dnieper, west of Chernigov), and then approached Kiev, where, according to the chronicle, Askold and Dir reigned. Having hidden the soldiers in boats, Oleg introduced himself as a merchant, and when Askold and Dir came out of the city to him, he ordered them to be killed.
883 - Oleg went to the Drevlyans and forced them to pay tribute to Kyiv.
884 - Oleg imposed tribute on the northerners, and in 886 on the Radimichi.
907 - Oleg went on a campaign against Byzantium with 2000 ships. He approached the walls of Constantinople, received a significant, as the chronicle states, ransom from the Byzantine emperors Leo VI and Alexander and returned to Kyiv.
912 - Oleg concluded an agreement with Byzantium, which stipulated the terms of trade, the status of Russians serving in Byzantium, the ransom of prisoners, etc.
In the same year, Oleg dies. The chronicler offers two versions; according to one, Oleg died from a snake bite and was buried in Kyiv, according to another, a snake stung him when he was about to leave (or go on a hike) “overseas”; He was buried in Ladoga (now Staraya Ladoga). Igor becomes the prince of Kyiv.
915 - For the first time, the Pechenegs, a nomadic people of Turkic origin, appear in the vicinity of Rus'.
941 - Igor's campaign against Byzantium. The Russians managed to devastate Bithynia, Paphlagonia and Nicomedia (Byzantine provinces in the north of the Asia Minor peninsula), but, having suffered defeat in the battle with the Byzantine troops that arrived in time, the Russians plunged into their boats and here at sea suffered great damage from “Greek fire” - flamethrowers, with which Byzantine ships were equipped. Returning to Rus', Igor began to prepare for a new campaign.
944 - Igor’s new campaign against Byzantium. Before reaching Constantinople, Igor received a rich ransom from the Byzantine ambassadors and returned to Kyiv.
945 - The Byzantine emperors-co-rulers Roman, Constantine VII and Stephen sent ambassadors to Igor with a proposal to conclude a peace treaty. Igor sent his ambassadors to Constantinople, the agreement was concluded and sealed with oaths of emperors and Russian princes according to Christian and pagan rites.
In the same year, Igor was killed in the Drevlyansky land. The chronicle says that, having collected tribute from the Drevlyans, Igor sent most of the squad to Kyiv, and he himself decided to “go around again,” “desiring more property.” Hearing about this, the Drevlyans decided: “If a wolf gets into the habit of a sheep flock, then he carries away the entire flock, unless they kill him, so will this one; If we don’t kill him, he will destroy us all.” They attacked Igor and killed him.
Igor's widow Olga brutally avenged her husband's death. According to legend, she ordered the Drevlyan ambassadors who came with an offer to marry their prince to be thrown into a pit and covered alive, other ambassadors were burned in a bathhouse where they were invited to wash, and then, having come with her retinue to the Drevlyan land, Olga ordered the Drevlyan warriors to be killed in time of funeral feast for husband. However, this story has the features of a legend, since it has an analogy in the pagan funeral ritual: they buried in boats, for the dead, according to a pagan rite, they heated a bathhouse, a funeral feast is an indispensable element of the funeral rite.
It was in the “Tale of Bygone Years” that, in contrast to the Primary Chronicle that preceded it, the story of Olga’s fourth revenge was added; she burns the capital of the Drevlyans, Iskorosten. Having collected pigeons and sparrows as tribute, Olga ordered that lit tinder be tied to the birds’ legs and released. The pigeons and sparrows flew to their nests, “and there was not a courtyard where it was not on fire, and it was impossible to extinguish it, for all the courtyards were on fire,” the chronicler claims.
946 - Olga makes a trip to Constantinople, and twice - on September 9 and October 18 - she was received with honor by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.
955 - Olga visits Constantinople for the second time and converts to Christianity. In the chronicle, both trips are merged into one, erroneously dated 957.
964 - Igor's son and successor, Prince Svyatoslav, makes a campaign into the land of the Vyatichi and frees them from tribute to the Khazars. A year later, Svyatoslav again goes against the Vyatichi and forces them to pay tribute to Kyiv.
965 - The chronicle sparingly mentions Svyatoslav’s campaign against the Khazars, his victory over the Khazar ruler-khagan. From other sources it is known that Svyatoslav, having defeated the Volga Bulgarians, went down the Volga to Itil, the capital of the Kaganate, located in the Volga delta. Having taken Itil, Svyatoslav moved to Semender (a city located in the Makhachkala region), passed through Kuban to the coast of the Sea of Azov, from there he ascended the Don to Sarkel on boats, captured this fortress and in its place founded the Belaya Vezha fortress.
968 - At the request of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, supported by a generous payment of gold, Svyatoslav invades Danube Bulgaria and captures the Bulgarian capital Preslav.
Taking advantage of Svyatoslav’s absence, the Pechenegs attack Kyiv, where the elderly Olga and her grandchildren were staying. Only thanks to the ingenuity of governor Pretich, who came to the aid of the people of Kiev along the left bank of the Dnieper and posed as the governor of the advanced regiment of Svyatoslav, it was possible to prevent the capture of Kyiv by the Pechenegs.
969 - Princess Olga dies.
970 - Svyatoslav imprisons his son Yaropolk in Kyiv. He makes another son - Oleg - the Drevlyan prince, the third - Vladimir (Svyatoslav's son from Princess Olga's housekeeper - Malusha) - he sends to reign in Novgorod. The prince is accompanied by Malusha's brother Dobrynya; this historical figure becomes the most famous character in Russian epics. In the same year, Svyatoslav attacked the Byzantine province of Thrace and reached Arcadiopolis.
971 - Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes attacks Svyatoslav, who was in Dorostol (on the Danube). After a three-month siege, the Greeks forced Svyatoslav to fight under the walls of the fortress. According to the chronicle, it was in this battle that Svyatoslav uttered his now catchphrase; “We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie down with bones, for the dead have no shame.” The Greeks barely defeated Svyatoslav and hastened to offer him peace.
972 - Svyatoslav, returning to Rus', was killed by the Pechenegs at the Dnieper rapids. The Pecheneg prince made a cup from his skull.
977 - Yaropolk kills his brother Oleg.
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From the book Complete Course of Russian History: in one book [in modern presentation] author Klyuchevsky Vasily OsipovichThe beginning of Dnieper Rus' Geography of Ancient Rus' Today we draw the border between Europe and Asia along the Ural Mountains. In late antiquity, not the entire European part of Russia was considered Europe. The border between Europe and Asia for any educated Greek passed along Tanais
From the book The Rus' That Was-2. Alternative version of history author Maksimov Albert VasilievichRus' AND THE RUSSIANS WHERE IS THE BEGINNING OF Rus'? Ability to adapt as characteristic Russ... At no stage of historical development do we see the Russ following any general plan or acting according to once and for all established rules. They searched and
From the book Rus': from Slavic settlement to the Muscovite kingdom author Gorsky Anton AnatolievichPart I THE BEGINNING OF Rus' We no longer have children, willy-nilly and against our will; Let us not disgrace the Russian land, but let us lie down as bones, dead, and for there is no shame in the imam. If we run away, shame on the imam. The imam will not run away, but we will stand strong, but I will go before you: if my head falls, then provide for yourself. Speech
From the book Varyago-Russian question in historiography author Sakharov Andrey NikolaevichSakharov A.N. 860: the beginning of Rus'
From the book The Beginning of Russian History. From ancient times to the reign of Oleg author Tsvetkov Sergey EduardovichPART FOUR THE BEGINNING OF Rus'
From the book History of Russia in entertaining stories, parables and anecdotes of the 9th - 19th centuries author author unknown From the book Interrupted History of the Rus [Connecting Divided Eras] author Grot Lidia PavlovnaThe beginning of Rus': we continue to reflect The beginning of Russian history is usually devoted to speculation about the origin of the name Rus. They say, the main thing is to find out what kind of name Rus' is, and then the history of Rus' itself will flow from the name and will be built in orderly rows into chapters and paragraphs. During
From the book Chronology of Russian history. Russia and the world author Anisimov Evgeniy ViktorovichThe beginning of Ancient Rus' 862 Chronicle news about the calling of the Varangians. Arrival of Rurik in Ladoga There is still debate about where and when the ancient Russian state arose. According to legend, in the middle of the 9th century. in the land of the Ilmen Slovenes and Finno-Ugric tribes (Chud, Merya, etc.)
From the book Ancient Rus'. Events and people author Tvorogov Oleg ViktorovichTHE BEGINNING OF Rus' This book is dedicated to the political history of the Old Russian state, and therefore we do not touch on the complex issue of the origin of the Eastern Slavs, we do not present hypotheses about the area of their original habitat - about their “ancestral home”, we do not consider relationships
From the book Treasures of the Saints [Stories of Holiness] author Chernykh Natalia Borisovna From the book History of Orthodoxy author Kukushkin Leonid
