The question of who is the first prince in history Ancient Rus', is still relevant. This is because historians have different attitudes to this topic. Some believe that the answers should be sought in the Tale of Bygone Years, which was written by a famous chronicler. Others say that the information described in this manuscript cannot be considered 100% reliable and needs to be double-checked and research should not be stopped. In this article we will present many various facts and assumptions about this issue.

Background

The first evidence about the country of the Rus appeared in the first third of the 9th century. For example, in the chronicles of 839 one can find information about the ambassadors of the Kagan of the people of Ros, who first arrived in Byzantium, the city of Constantinople, and from there went to the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. It was this year that the ethnonym “Rus” appeared for the first time in historical writings. However, in the Tale of Bygone Years the first campaign of the Russians to the shores of the Bosphorus is dated 866, which, according to some scientists, is an erroneous date.

Civil strife

There is information that already in 862 the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes began to wage internecine wars among themselves. It is written about this in the “Tale”: “Generation after generation rose.” However, none of them could prevail over the others. But ordinary people suffered, innocent women and children died, and, naturally, the question arose of how to stop this senseless war. And it was then that the Slovenes, or Slavs, thought that only a foreign ruler could resolve this issue. They gathered an embassy and sent it to the Varangians, who lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea, which in those days was called the Varangian Sea. They came to these lands and addressed the local princes with the following speech: “Our land is huge and abundant, but there is no order in it. We ask you to come to our land, establish order and rule over us.” Three of the Varangians - the brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor, who were called Russians, or Ros - took advantage of the invitation of the Slavic delegates and went to their land. Among them was the future first prince of Rus'. For about two years, the brothers tried to adapt to new conditions; they either had to fight, or be punished for disobedience, or sit at a friendly table and share bread. Rurik reigned in Novgorod, Sineus ruled Beloozero, and Truvor ruled in Izborsk. Some of the locals were happy about their arrival, while others were against it. Two years later, two of the brothers - Truvor and Sineus - died. Thus, the first Varangian prince in Rus' was Rurik. He began to reign alone over the entire vast land inhabited by Slavic tribes. And since he and his brothers were called Rus, the land soon began to be called Rus.

Khazars and Varangians - enemies and rescuers

According to another version, the call of the Varangians to the land of the Eastern Slavs was not due to civil strife, but to the onslaught of the Khazars. Their raids became unbearable for the local residents, and they decided to find their salvation among the Varangians. Rurik, the first prince in Rus', arrived with his brothers, beat the Khazars, and began to reign. The capital of the newly formed state was the city of Novgorod. There is also a version that these three brothers - younger sons noble family. According to European custom, only the eldest brother received the inheritance, and the rest were left with nothing. That is why Rurik and his brothers decided to take advantage of the invitation of the Slavs.

March on Constantinople

In the same year 862, the Varangians who came with their brothers were eager to move to Mediterranean Sea, they were joined by the warriors of Rurik, who is the first Varangian prince in Rus'. Among them were Dir, as well as his friend and comrade Askold. They decided to head to Constantinople and establish a trade route from the “Varangians to the Greeks.” For this, the prince subjugated Kyiv. This is what it says in the Tale. But according to the Nikon and Novgorod Chronicles, Askold and Dir had nothing to do with Rurik. There is even a version that these two warriors are descendants of Kiy, the legendary prince Dnieper glades. He is also the founder of Kyiv.

Igor and Oleg

In Novgorod, Prince Rurik had a son, Igor. When he passed away in 879, his boy was still just a child, and therefore the reign was transferred to Oleg, who also became Igor’s regent. Some historians believe that this issue was not so simple, and power in Novgorod was usurped by Oleg. Even when Igor grew up, he did not want to hand over the reins of power to him. In a word, when the first prince in Rus' Rurik died, Oleg took his place.

Pseudo-roots of Rurik

Some scientists believe that the Varangians are German, Danish, Swedish, Finnish or even Norwegian tribes. And the author of “The Tale of Bygone Years” meant that Rurik and his people lived on lands located in the south of the Varangian, that is, the Baltic Sea, in an area that is located closer to Angeln and Holstein. On modern map these lands are located in the northern part of Germany. Is it possible to conclude from this that the first prince in Rus', Rurik, is of German origin? We think not, and the peoples who lived here are much closer to the Russians than to the Germans. By the way, among them there are such names as Russes, or Varins, etc. Some European researchers believe that Rurik may have Swedish roots. However, Russian scientists see a political meaning behind this version and completely deny it. During the Livonian War between Sweden and Russia, Ivan the Terrible suggested that there was no blue blood flowing in the veins of the Swedish king Johan the Third, and he reminded the Russian Tsar that Rurik, the first Grand Duke of Rus', was a Varangian and had Swedish roots. But in the 1st half of the 18th century, St. Petersburg academicians with German roots spoke out for the version German origin Rurik and his brothers. This theory began to be called Norman, but Lomonosov, having studied this question, came to the conclusion that it does not correspond to the truth and has no historical realities. And according to the “Tale” it is clearly visible that the Varangians and the Swedes, the Varangians and the Normans are different tribes.

Oleg - the first Russian prince in Rus'

In 882, well known to us from the poem Prophetic Oleg- the regent of Prince Igor, the son of Rurik, gathered a squad and headed from Novgorod to the south. Along the way, he captured Lyubech and Smolensk and established his power in these cities. Oleg's squad consisted of Varangians and the Chud, Meri, Slovenian and Krivichi tribes. They headed towards Kyiv and captured it, killing Rurik's former warriors - Askold and Dir, who ruled this city. After this, Kyiv was declared the capital of Olegov’s state, and the subjects Novgorod land the tribes had to pay him tribute. Oleg began building fortresses around his capital. There is evidence of a chronicler about this event, according to which Oleg is the first prince Kievan Rus- through force and weapons, he extended his power to the lands of the northerners and Drevlyans, and the Radimichi tribe accepted his conditions without a fight, preferring to pay tribute to Oleg rather than to the Khazars. And they, in turn, began an economic blockade against them, blocking the path of Russian merchants through their lands.

March on Byzantium

At the beginning of the 10th century, Russian squads led by Prince Oleg made a victorious campaign against Byzantium. As a result of this, written agreements were concluded on preferential terms of trade for merchants from Kievan Rus. Historians believe that the success of Oleg’s army can be explained by the fact that he managed to rally the forces of all the tribes inhabiting the young Old Russian state, thereby strengthening its statehood. Oleg, who had the title of Grand Duke, ruled Russia for more than 30 years. After him, Rurik’s son, Prince Igor, ascended the throne. This happened in 912 (the year of Oleg's death). Historians argue which of them - Oleg or Igor - was the first Grand Duke of All Rus'. The first can be called such by merit, and the second by origin, since he is the son of the founder of the Russian state.

Prince Igor

Rurik's son, after heading the state, made 2 military campaigns against Byzantium. Initially, he launched a military campaign against Khazaria, where Byzantium involved him. However, he was defeated there, after which Igor’s army turned its arms against Byzantium. However, the Bulgarians managed to warn their Greek allies that the ten thousandth army of Prince Igor was approaching Constantinople. Nevertheless, the Russian fleet managed to plunder Bithynia, Heraclea, Paphlagonia, Nicomedia and Pontus, but was defeated. After that Grand Duke, abandoning those who survived in Thrace, he and his entourage fled to his capital on several boats. Later, news reached him that the soldiers he had left in Thrace were taken to Constantinople and executed. From Kyiv, he sent an invitation to his allies, the Varangians, to join him and make a new campaign against Byzantium, which he carried out in 944. Igor’s army included the Polyans, Krivichi, Slovenes, Tivertsy, Varangians and Pechenegs. They reached the Danube, and from here Igor sent envoys to Constantinople, who managed to conclude a treaty on duty-free trade. Rus' pledged to defend Byzantium's possessions in Crimea. In 943-944. The army of the Grand Duke made a campaign against Berdaa, and a year later Igor was killed by the Drevlyans, although there is a version that he was killed by his own governor Sveneld due to disagreements in the division of tribute.

Olga

The widow of Igor and the mother of the future Grand Duke Svyatoslav took the reins of government into her own hands after the death of her husband, and then the prince of the Drevlians Mal sent matchmakers to her. Olga considered this an insult and ordered the ambassadors to be executed. However, this did not seem enough to her, and she, having gathered an army, in 946 besieged the Drevlyan fortress Iskorosten, which was eventually burned, and the Drevlyans were conquered by the Kyivians. Olga imposed a terrible tribute on them. This was her revenge. She did not forgive them for the fact that her husband, the first Prince of All Rus', died at their hands. In 947, Olga went to Novgorod, where she introduced a system of tributes and quitrents, according to which local residents they themselves had to take them and give them to the tiuns (tax inspectors). It was thanks to her that from then on the policy of the first princes of Rus' was peaceful towards Byzantium. Olga was the first of the rulers of the Old Russian state to officially accept Christianity of the Byzantine rite in 957. He went to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus called Olga the Archon of Rus'. The purpose of her trip was to achieve the baptism and recognition of Rus' by Byzantium as an equal Christian Empire. After baptism she was given the Christian name Elena. Nevertheless, historians claim that she then failed to agree on an alliance, and then she sent ambassadors to Emperor Otto I in Germany with a request to establish a church in Rus'. After this, Constantinople made concessions, and the German embassy had to return. After that Russian army, sent by Olga-Elena, supported the Greeks in the war with the Arabs in Crete. Olga died in 969.

Princes of all Rus'

This was the name of the Russian rulers who had a claim to supreme power over all Russian lands, and the Kyiv princes were called by this title. However, at some period of time Kyiv was in decline, and then Vladimir became the main political and church center of Rus'. After this, the princes of Vladimir were called the princes of “all Rus'”. In the Moscow period, this title did not imply power over everyone former lands The Old Russian state, but only an elevation above other princes.

First Moscow Prince of All Rus'

Daniil Alexandrovich is the ancestor of the Moscow princes belonging to the Rurik dynasty. He is the son of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. Daniil Alexandrovich inherited princely title from his father back in the very early childhood. He ruled Muscovite Russia from 1263 to 1303. However, while he was too young to rule the state, his uncle Yaroslav Yaroslavovich did it for him. He also raised little Danila after the death of his heroic father. From the age of 15 he began to actively act within his principality. He was called a builder, and the fortifications he built greatly helped in the defense of Moscow.

Victory over the Golden Horde

Having matured a little, he began to pursue his own policy, the main focus of which was to expand the possessions of the principality. He actively took part in princely feuds, with his brothers Andrei and Dmitry for reigning over the Great Vladimir, and for Novgorod. In 1285, he, united with his uncle, defeated the Horde army, and this battle went down in history as the first victory of the Russian army over the Golden Horde. After 15 years, he managed to unite Kolomna, Lopasnya and other lands along the Moscow River to the Moscow principality, and when confronted with the Ryazan prince Konstantin Romanovich, he took him prisoner. But Pereslavl-Zalessky was bequeathed to him by the prince of those lands. The first prince of all Rus', Danila, son, died legendary Alexander Nevsky, in 1303.

Princes Rurikovich ( short biographies) Tvorogov Oleg Viktorovich

RUSSIAN PRINCES IX-XI centuries.

RUSSIAN PRINCES IX-XI centuries.

The 9th and 10th centuries are the most difficult period to study in the history of Ancient Rus'. Chroniclers who worked 100-150 years after the events they described relied mainly on oral traditions and legends; the annual grid, which distinguishes the Russian chronicle from the Byzantine chronicles and gives it its name (chronicle - a description of events by year, “year”), as established by researchers, was “superimposed” on the narration of the most ancient events of the 10th-11th centuries. only when created at the beginning of the 12th century. chronicle code, called “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Therefore, the dating of many ancient events, as well as the calculation of the years of life and reign of the first Rurikovichs, can be accepted with a certain degree of convention.

Rurik(d. 879). According to the chronicle legend, Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor were called to Rus' by representatives of the tribes: the Novgorod Slavs, the Polotsk Krivichs, the Vepsians and the Chuds (the ancestors of the Estonians) and began to reign in Novgorod or Ladoga. The question of who Rurik and his fellow tribesmen were, where they came from to Rus', whether Rurik was called to reign or invited as the leader of a military squad remains controversial to this day.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Lovmyansky X. Rus' and the Normans. Translation from Polish. M., 1985; Avdusin D. A. Modern anti-Normanism // VI. 1988. No. 7. pp. 23-34.

Oleg(d. 912). According to PVL, after Rurik’s death, Rurik’s relative, Oleg, became regent for the young Igor. However, in another chronicle (Initial Code) Oleg is referred to only as the governor of Rurik. Considering that at the beginning of his independent reign, Igor was at least 33 years old, Oleg’s regency seems to be an absolute historical myth: both Oleg and the actual founder of the Rurik dynasty, Igor, were probably independent princes.

In 882, Oleg and his retinue went south along the waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” He captured Smolensk, and then Kiev, killing the local princes Askold and Dir. They were apparently Varangians; as the chronicle reports, having received permission from Rurik to go to Constantinople, Askold and Dir remained to reign in Kyiv. But there is indirect evidence against the fact that Askold and Dir were co-rulers. After Oleg reigned in Kyiv, which he declared “matter as a Russian city,” the entire territory of Rus', stretched out in a relatively narrow strip along the river routes leading from Ladoga to the Black Sea, came under his rule. Oleg expanded his possessions to the east, subjugating the northerners and Radimichi - tribes that lived in the Desna and Sozh basin. Oleg made two successful campaigns against the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople (in 907 and 911). According to the legend reflected in the PVL, he died from a snake bite and was buried in Kyiv.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Sakharov. We are from the Russian family*. pp. 84-159.

Igor(d. 945). As stated above, it is unlikely that Igor was the son of Rurik. It is characteristic that the chronicler knows nothing about the details of Igor’s reign for a quarter of a century, mentioning only his campaigns against Constantinople in 941 and 944. The second campaign led to the conclusion of an agreement with Byzantium that was beneficial for Rus'. In 945, Igor was killed by the Drevlyans (a tribe living in the Pripyat basin) when he tried to collect tribute from them a second time.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Sakharov. We are from the Russian family. pp. 179-225.

Olga(d. 969). Igor's wife. According to some legends, she is the daughter of a boatman from Pskov. It is difficult to separate reality from poetic fiction in PVL’s story about how Olga took revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of her husband. Twice (in 946 and 955) Olga visited Constantinople, where she was received with honor by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. During the second trip, Olga was baptized and received the Christian name Elena.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Litavrin G. G. On the question of the circumstances, place and time of the baptism of Princess Olga // The most ancient states on the territory of the USSR. 1985. M., 1986. S. 49-57; Sakharov. We are from the Russian family. pp. 226-250.

Svyatoslav Igorevich(d. 972). A brave warrior, according to the chronicler, who openly challenged his enemies: “I’m coming to you!”, Svyatoslav made a number of successful campaigns. He freed the Vyatichi tribe, who lived in the Oka basin, from paying tribute to the Khazars, defeated the Volga Bulgarians and the powerful Khazar Khaganate, having made a victorious campaign in 965 on the Lower Volga, the Northern Caucasus and the Azov region.

IN recent years reign, Svyatoslav actively intervened in the war of Byzantium with the Danube Bulgarians who rebelled against its rule and won a victory over them. The Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes, alarmed that Svyatoslav was seeking to gain a foothold in the Danube cities, attacked the Russian squads, besieged them in Dorostol and forced them to accept the battle. The Greeks were defeated, and Svyatoslav moved towards Constantinople. The emperor had to pay off with generous gifts. Having made peace, the prince decided to return to Kyiv for new soldiers. But at the Dnieper rapids Svyatoslav was waylaid and killed by the Pechenegs. The Pecheneg prince ordered a cup to be made from his skull.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Gadlo A.V. Eastern campaign of Svyatoslav (On the question of the beginning of the Tmutarakan principality) // Problems of the history of feudal Russia. L., 1971. S. 59-67; Sakharov A. N. Balkan campaigns of Svyatoslav and the diplomacy of Ancient Rus' // VI. 1982. No. 2. P. 81-107; Sakharov. We are from the Russian family. pp. 261-340.

Vladimir Svyatoslavich(d. 1015). The son of Svyatoslav from the housekeeper Olga - Malusha. As a youth, Vladimir was sent to reign in Novgorod, accompanied by his uncle, the governor of Dobrynya. In 976 (date tentative) Vladimir wooed the daughter of the Polotsk prince Rogneda. But she refuses him, derogatingly speaking about the prince as a “robichich” (i.e., the son of a slave). Vladimir kills Rogneda's father and makes her his concubine. In 980, having cunningly dealt with his brother Yaropolk (who had previously killed Svyatoslav’s third son, Oleg), Vladimir became the sole ruler of Rus'. He made several successful campaigns against the Poles, the Vyatichi and Radimichi, the Volga Bulgarians, expanded the borders of Rus' in the southwest, built a number of fortified cities around Kyiv and on the borders with the hostile Pecheneg steppe. Having provided military assistance to the Byzantine Emperor Vasily II, Vladimir received his sister Anna as his wife. In 988, Vladimir was baptized, and then (in 988 or 990) proclaimed Christianity state religion Rus'. The process of complete Christianization of the country lasted almost two centuries, but the new faith quickly strengthened in largest cities. For the functioning of the church, liturgical books and competent clergy were required. Therefore, the adoption of Christianity contributed to the emergence and intensive development of literature (writing was known earlier). Stone architecture is becoming widespread. The international authority of Rus' has increased immeasurably. Vladimir becomes one of the most popular figures in Russian history. Many legends are associated with his name (some of them were reflected in PVL), he becomes a permanent character in epics. The church canonized Vladimir as a saint.

Source: PVL.

Lit.: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 32-35; Rybakov. World of history. pp. 131-147.

Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise(c. 978-1054). Son of Vladimir from Rogneda. After the death of Vladimir, power in Kyiv was seized by Yaropolk's son, Svyatopolk. He killed his half-brothers - Boris, Gleb and Svyatoslav, seeking autocratic rule. Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod, opposed Svyatopolk and expelled him from Kyiv. But Svyatopolk, relying on the support of his father-in-law, the Polish king Boleslav the Brave, inflicted defeat on Yaroslav in 1018 in the battle on the banks of the Bug. Yaroslav, having gathered a new squad, defeated Svyatopolk in a bloody battle on Alta in 1019. He fled and, according to legend, died somewhere in unknown places between the Czech Republic and Poland. Yaroslav became prince of Kyiv and remained on the Kiev table until the end of his life. After the death of his brother Mstislav (in 1036), Yaroslav became the sole ruler in Rus', only his brother Izyaslav ruled in Polotsk. The time of Yaroslav is a time of internal stabilization, which contributed to the growth of the international authority of Rus', as evidenced by the fact that Yaroslav’s daughters became queens: Anna - French, Elizabeth - Norwegian, and then Danish, Anastasia - Hungarian. The chronicle states that it was during the reign of Yaroslav that translation and book-writing activities began to develop intensively. The first Russian monasteries appeared, including the famous Kiev-Pechersk, which played a large role in the development of Russian books and chronicles. In 1054, Yaroslav installed the first Russian metropolitan, Hilarion (before that, the metropolitans were Greeks), who created the church-political treatise “The Sermon on Law and Grace.”

Before his death, Yaroslav divided his state between his sons, thereby laying the foundation feudal fragmentation. Yaroslav was married to Ingigerda, daughter of the Swedish king Olaf.

Source: PVL; The Legend of Boris and Gleb // PLDR: XI- beginning of XII V. pp. 278-303.

Lit.: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 36-37.