The Beginning of Russia's Tale of Bygone Years. The beginning of Russia according to The Tale of Bygone Years

30.10.2019

Almost from the very beginning of writing in Russia, chronicles appeared, that is, historical codes, chronicles. In the monasteries, the monks kept Easter, tables on which they calculated what date Easter would be, all the holidays and fasts that moved along with the Easter day. In the free cells of these tables, or in the wide margins, the monks often wrote down some brief historical information that marked this year - or a note about the weather of this year, or some unusual phenomenon. For example: “Prince Vasily of Kostroma died”, or “melt winter”, “dead (rainy) summer”; sometimes, if nothing special happened that year, it was written: “there was silence,” that is, there was no war, no fire, or other disasters, or: “nothing happened.”

Tale of Bygone Years

Sometimes, instead of such brief notes, whole stories were inserted, especially interesting because they were written by contemporaries or even eyewitnesses of the event. So, little by little, historical chronicles were compiled - chronicles - first in the form of notes on Easter tables, later - in the form of independent chronicles.

At the beginning of the 12th century, a remarkable historical and literary work called "The Tale of Bygone Years". Here is its full title: "This is the story of temporary (past) years, where did the Russian land come from, who in Kiev began first to reign, and where did the Russian land come from."

Who wrote The Tale of Bygone Years is not exactly known. At first they thought that its author was the same Rev. Nestor who wrote the life of the Rev. Feodosia. Rev. Nestor undoubtedly kept a chronicle - in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery there are the relics of two Nestors: the "chronicler" and another, Nestor "non-bookish", named so in contrast to the first. Undoubtedly, some of the works of Rev. Nestor became part of the Tale, so, for example, his entire life of St. Theodosius. But at the end of the Tale there is a postscript: “Hegumen Sylvester of St. Michael (of a monastery near Kiev) wrote books and a chronicler.”

Some scholars suggest that hegumen Sylvester was only a copyist of the Tale, and not the author, perhaps he supplemented it. In those days, scribes often put their name at the end of the manuscript they copied.

So, the name of the author is not exactly established. In any case, he was a spiritual man, deeply religious and very well-read and educated. It can be seen that in compiling the Tale, he used many chronicles (Novgorod and the initial Kiev ones), lives, legends, teachings and Greek chronicles, from where, for example, trade agreements between our first princes and Byzantium were taken.

The story of the Tale begins with the Flood. It is about the Babylonian pandemonium, about the division of languages. One of these "languages", from the "Afetov tribe", was the "Slovenian language", that is, the Slavic people.

The author then tells about the settlement of the Slavs on the Danube, about their resettlement from there in different directions. The Slavs who went up the Dnieper and to the north were our ancestors. Everything that we know about the ancient Slavic tribes, about Drevlyans, clearings, northerners, - about their customs, mores, about the beginning of the Russian state and about our first princes - we know all this from the Tale of Bygone Years and should be especially grateful to its author, who laid the foundation for Russian history.

The composition of the Tale includes many ancient tales, traditions and legends. For example, a legend is told about the preaching of the Apostle Andrew on the shores of the Black Sea (which the author calls the "Russian" sea), that the Apostle Andrew went up the Dnieper to the place where Kiev was later founded, hoisted a cross on the mountains of Kiev and predicted that in this place "the grace of God will shine." The story about the founding of Kiev speaks of the legendary princes Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Lybid, but the author does not pass off their existence as historical fact but tells it like a legend.

A fateful event for Russia, the development of its culture and literacy was the creation of the Slavic alphabet by Cyril and Methodius in 863. The chronicle tells about it this way: the Russian princes turned to the Byzantine tsar Michael with a request to send them teachers who "could tell about book words and their meaning." The tsar sent them "skillful philosophers" Cyril (Konstantin) and Methodius. “When these brothers came, they began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel. And the Slavs were glad that they heard about the greatness of God in their own language.

Further events are transmitted with greater certainty. Bright, colorful characteristics of the ancient princes are given: for example, Prince Oleg. It tells about his campaign against Constantinople with episodes of a folklore character (Oleg approaches the walls of the city in boats moving under sail on land, hangs his shield over the gates of Constantinople).

Prince Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople. Engraving by F. Bruni, 1839

Here is the legend about the death of Oleg. The sorcerer (pagan priest) predicted the prince's death from his beloved horse. Oleg doubted this prophecy, wished to see the bones of the deceased horse, but a snake crawling out of the skull stung him. This chronicle episode formed the basis of the ballad A. S. Pushkin « Song about the prophetic Oleg».

The story goes on about Princess Olga, who was "the wisest of all people", about her son, Prince Svyatoslav. Despite the fact that he was a pagan and did not want to adopt Christianity, following the example of his mother, the author speaks rather sympathetically about his directness, well-known nobility, famous words - “I’m coming at you”, with which he warned his enemies about the attack.

But the main major event Russian life, the author considers the baptism of Russia and dwells on it in particular detail. Talking about the holy prince Vladimir, he speaks of the enormous change that took place in his character with the adoption of Christianity.

The Tale also includes the life of St. princes Boris and Gleb, written by Jacob Mnich (ch. 10th). The author speaks with great sympathy and respect about Prince Yaroslav the Wise. The story "The Tale" was brought to the year 1110.

There are continuations of this annalistic code, which were kept in different monasteries and therefore bore the names of different cities: Kiev, Volyn, Suzdal chronicles. One of the Novgorod chronicles, Joakimov's, which has not come down to us, is considered even older than the Tale of Bygone Years.

But in the Tale there is one quality that belongs only to her: it was written before the division of Russia into destinies, the author looks at the Slavs as one whole people, does not give any local imprint to her story. That is why The Tale of Bygone Years can rightly be called an all-Russian, all-Russian chronicle.

The Tale of Bygone Years is an ancient Russian chronicle created at the beginning of the 12th century. The story is an essay that tells about the events that took place and are taking place in Russia at that time.

The Tale of Bygone Years was compiled in Kiev, later rewritten several times, but was not greatly changed. The chronicle covers the period from biblical times up to 1137, dated articles begin from 852.

All dated articles are compositions beginning with the words “In the summer such and such ...”, which means that entries were added to the annals every year and told about the events that took place. One article per year. This distinguishes the Tale of Bygone Years from all the chronicles that were written before. The text of the chronicle also contains legends, folklore stories, copies of documents (for example, teachings of Vladimir Monomakh) and extracts from other chronicles.

The story got its name thanks to its first phrase, which opens the narrative - "The Tale of Bygone Years ..."

The history of the creation of the Tale of Bygone Years

The author of the idea of the Tale of Bygone Years is the monk Nestor, who lived and worked at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries in the Kiev Caves Monastery. Despite the fact that the author's name appears only in later copies of the chronicle, it is the monk Nestor who is considered the first chronicler in Russia, and The Tale of Bygone Years is considered the first Russian chronicle.

The oldest version of the annalistic code, which has come down to the present, is dated to the 14th century and is a copy made by the monk Lavrenty (Laurentian Chronicle). The original edition of the creator of the Tale of Bygone Years, Nestor, has been lost, today there are only revised versions from various scribes and later compilers.

Today, there are several theories regarding the history of the creation of The Tale of Bygone Years. According to one of them, the chronicle was written by Nestor in Kiev in 1037. It was based on ancient legends, folk songs, documents, oral stories and documents preserved in monasteries. After writing, this first edition was rewritten and revised several times by various monks, including Nestor himself, who added elements of Christian ideology to it. According to other sources, the chronicle was written much later, in 1110.

Genre and features of the Tale of Bygone Years

The genre of the Tale of Bygone Years is defined by experts as historical, but scientists argue that the chronicle is not artwork nor historical in the full sense of the word.

A distinctive feature of the chronicle is that it does not interpret events, but only tells about them. The attitude of the author or scribe to everything that is told in the annals was determined only by the presence of God's Will, which determines everything. Causal relationships and interpretation from the point of view of other positions was uninteresting and was not included in the annals.

The Tale of Bygone Years had an open genre, that is, it could consist of completely different parts - from folk tales to notes about the weather.

The chronicle in ancient times also had a legal significance, as a set of documents and laws.

The original purpose of writing the Tale of Bygone Years is to study and explain the origin of the Russian people, the origin of princely power and a description of the spread of Christianity in Russia.

The beginning of the Tale of Bygone Years is a story about the appearance of the Slavs. The Russians are presented by the chronicler as the descendants of Japheth, one of the sons of Noah. At the very beginning of the narrative, stories are given that tell about the life of the East Slavic tribes: about the princes, about the calling of Rurik, Truvor and Sineus to reign, and about the formation of the Rurik dynasty in Russia.

The main part of the content of the chronicle is made up of descriptions of wars, legends about the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, the exploits of Nikita Kozhemyaka and other heroes.

The final part consists of descriptions of battles and princely obituaries.

Thus, the basis of the Tale of Bygone Years is:

Traditions about the resettlement of the Slavs, the calling of the Varangians and the formation of Russia;
Description of the baptism of Russia;
Description of the life of the Grand Dukes: Oleg, Vladimir, Olga and others;
Lives of the Saints;
Description of wars and military campaigns.

The value of the Tale of Bygone Years is difficult to overestimate - it was she who became the first document in which history was recorded Kievan Rus from its very inception. The chronicle later served as the main source of knowledge for subsequent historical descriptions and research. In addition, due to the open genre, the Tale of Bygone Years has a high value as a cultural and literary monument.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is an ancient Russian chronicle created by the monk Nestor at the beginning of the 12th century.

The story is a large work that describes the events taking place in Russia from the arrival of the first Slavs and ending with the 12th century. The chronicle itself is not an integral narrative, it includes:

historical notes;
annual articles (starting from 852); one article tells about the events that took place in one year;
historical documents;
teachings of princes;
the lives of the saints;
folk tales.

The history of the creation of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

Before the appearance of The Tale of Bygone Years, there were other collections of essays and historical notes in Russia, which were mainly written by monks. However, all these records were of a local nature and could not represent the full history of the life of Russia. The idea of creating a unified chronicle belongs to the monk Nestor, who lived and worked in the Kiev Caves Monastery at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries.

There are some disagreements among scholars about the history of writing the story. According to the generally accepted theory, the chronicle was written by Nestor in Kiev. The original edition was based on early historical records, legends, folklore stories, teachings and records of monks. After writing, Nestor and other monks revised the chronicle several times, and later the author himself added Christian ideology to it, and this edition was already considered final. As for the date of creation of the chronicle, scientists name two dates - 1037 and 1110.

The chronicle compiled by Nestor is considered the first Russian chronicle, and its author is considered the first chronicler. Unfortunately, ancient editions have not survived to this day, the earliest version that exists today dates back to the 14th century.

Genre and idea of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

The main goal and idea of creating the story was the desire to consistently present the entire history of Russia from biblical times, and then gradually supplement the chronicle, painstakingly describing all the events that took place.

As for the genre, modern scholars believe that the chronicle cannot be called a purely historical or purely artistic genre, since it contains elements of both. Since The Tale of Bygone Years was rewritten and supplemented several times, its genre is open, as evidenced by parts that sometimes do not agree with each other in style.

The Tale of Bygone Years was different in that the events told in it were not interpreted, but simply retold as dispassionately as possible. The task of the chronicler is to convey everything that happened, but not to draw conclusions. However, it should be understood that the chronicle was created from the point of view of Christian ideology, and therefore is of an appropriate nature.

Apart from historical significance, the chronicle was also a legal document, as it contained some codes of laws and instructions from the great princes (for example, "The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh").

The story can be roughly divided into three parts:

at the very beginning it tells about biblical times (the Russians were considered descendants of Japheth), about the origin of the Slavs, about for reigning, about becoming, about the Baptism of Russia and the formation of the state;
the main part is made up of descriptions of the life of princes (, Princess Olga, Yaroslav the Wise, etc.), descriptions of the life of saints, as well as stories about conquests and great Russian heroes (Nikita Kozhemyaka, etc.);
the final part is devoted to the description of numerous wars and battles. In addition, it contains princely obituaries.

The meaning of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

The Tale of Bygone Years was the first written document that systematically outlined the history of Russia, its formation as a state. It was this chronicle that later formed the basis of all historical documents and legends, it is from it that modern historians have drawn and draw their knowledge. In addition, the chronicle has become a literary and cultural monument of Russian writing.

The Tale of Bygone Years, the text of which is taken from the Laurentian Chronicle, is the most important written source on the history of Ancient Russia

These are the Tales of bygone years, where the Russian land came from, who first began to reign in Kiev, and since when the Russian land has been known.

So, let's start this story. After the flood, the three sons of Noah divided the earth, Shem, Ham, Japheth. And Shem got the East: Persia, Bactria, up to India in longitude, and in width to Rinokorur, that is, from the East to the South, and Syria, and Media to the Euphrates River, Babylon, Korduna, Assyrians, Mesopotamia, Arabia the Oldest, Elmais , India, Arabia Strong, Kilisyria, Comagina, all Phoenicia.

Ham got the South: Egypt, Ethiopia, neighboring India, and another Ethiopia, from which flows the Ethiopian Red River, flowing to the east, Thebais, Libya, neighboring Kyrenia, Mar-Maria, Sirsis, another Libya, Numidia, Masouria, Mauritania , lying opposite Ghadir. In the east, there are: Cilicia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Mysia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Kavalia, Lycia, Karia, Didia, another Misia, Troad, Bolida, Bithynia, Old Phrygia and some islands: Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus and the Geo River ~ on, otherwise called the Nile.

Japheth got it northern countries and western: Media, Albania, Armenia Lesser and Greater, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Galatia, Colchis, Bosphorus, Meotia, Village, Sarmatia, Tavria, Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dalmatia, Malosia, Thessaly, Locris, Pelenia, also called the Peloponnese, Arcadia, Ipirotia, Illyria, Slovenia, Lichnitia, Adriacia, Adriatic Sea. The islands also got: Britain, Sicily, Euboea, Rhodes, Chios, Lesbos, Cythera, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Corsica, a part of Asia called Ionia, and the Tigris River, flowing between Media and Babylon; to the Pontic Sea to the north: the Danube, the Dniester, the Caucasus Mountains, that is, the Hungarian ones, and from there to the Dnieper and other rivers: the Desna, Pripyat, Dvina, Volkhov, Volga, which flows east to the lot of Sim. In the lot of Japhet are Russia, Chud and all (Chud) tribes: Merya, Muroma, All, Mordovians, Zavolochskaya Chud, Perm, Pechera, Em, Ugra, Lithuania, Zimigola, Kors, Letgola, Lib (Livs). Poles and Prussians, Chud live by the Varangian Sea. The Varangians settle along this sea: from here to the east - to the limit of Simov, and along the same sea to the west - to the land of England and Voloshskaya. The offspring of Japheth also: Varangians, Swedes, Normans (Norwegians), Goths, Russia, Angles, Galicians, Volokhi, Romans, Germans, Korlyazi, Venetians, Genoese, and others - they adjoin the southern countries in the west and neighbor with the Khamov tribe.

Shem, Ham and Japheth divided the land by casting lots, and decided not to enter into the share of a brother to anyone, and each lived in his own part. There was one people. And when people multiplied on earth, they planned to build a pillar to heaven, it was in the days of Nectan and Peleg. And they gathered in the place of the field of Shinar to build a pillar to the sky and a city around it, Babylon; and they built that pillar for 40 years, and it was not finished. And the Lord God came down to look at the city and the pillar, and the Lord said: “Behold, there is one generation and one language.” And God confused the languages, and divided them into 70 and 2 languages, and scattered them over all the earth. After the confusion of languages, God destroyed the pillar with a strong wind. And its remnants are found between Assyria and Babylon, and are 5433 cubits high and wide, and these remnants have been preserved for many years. After the destruction of the pillar and the separation of the tongues, the sons of Shem received Eastern countries, and the sons of Ham the southern countries, the Japheths - received the west and the northern countries. From the same 70 and 2 languages, the Slavic people also originated, from the tribe of Japheth, Noriki - these are the Slavs.

Much later, the Slavs settled along the Danube, where now the land is Hungarian and Bulgarian. And from these Slavs, the Slavs dispersed throughout the earth and were called by their names, where someone settled in what place. So, some, having arrived, settled along the river by the name of Morava and were called Moravians, while others were called Czechs. And also the same Slavs: white Croats, and Serbs, and Horutans. When the Volokhi attacked the Danubian Slavs and settled among them, oppressing them, these Slavs crossed over and settled on the Vistula. And they were called Poles, and from those Poles came the Poles, other Poles - Lyutichs, others - Mazowshan, others - Pomeranians. In the same way, these Slavs came and settled along the Dnieper and were called glades, and others - Drevlyans, because they settled in the forests, and still others settled between Pripyat and Dvina and were called Dregovichi, others settled along the Dvina and were called Polochans along the river that flows into the Dvina and is called Polota. The same Slavs who settled near Lake Ilmen were called by their own name - Slovenes (Slavs), and built a city and called it Novgorod. And others settled along the Desna, and along the Seim, and along the Sula and called themselves northerners. And so the Slavic people dispersed, and their letter was called "Slavic."

The meadows lived apart in these mountains. There was a path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it dragged to Lovot, and along Lovot you will enter Ilmen, the great lake; Volkhov flows out of the same lake and flows into the Great Lake Nevo, and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea. And along that sea you can go to Rome, and from Rome you can go along the same sea to Constantinople, and from Constantinople you can go to the Pont-more (Black Sea), into which the Dnieper River flows. The Dnieper flows out of the Okovsky forest and flows south, and the Dvina flows from the same forest, but goes north and flows into the Varangian Sea (Baltic Sea). From the same forest, the Volga flows to the East and flows into the Khvalis Sea (Caspian Sea) with seventy branches. So from Russia you can go along the Volga to the Bolgars and Khvalisy, and go further east to the lot of Sim, and along the Dvina - to the land of the Varangians, from the Varangians to Rome, from Rome to the Ham tribe. And the Dnieper flows at its mouth into the Pontic Sea; this sea is reputed to be Russian; as it is said, the Apostle Andrew, brother of Peter, taught from it.

When Andrei taught in Sinop and arrived in Korsun, he learned that the mouth of the Dnieper was not far from Korsun, and he wanted to go to Rome, and headed for the mouth of the Dnieper and from there went up the Dnieper. And it so happened that he came and stopped under the mountains on the shore. And in the morning he got up and said to the disciples who were with him: “Do you see these mountains? On these mountains the grace of God will shine, there will be a great city and God will erect many churches. And he climbed these mountains, blessed them and put up a cross, and prayed

God, and descended from this mountain, where Kiev later arose, and went up the Dnieper. And he came to the Slovenes, where Novgorod now stands, and saw the people living there - what is their custom and how they wash and whip, and was surprised at them. And he went to the country of the Varangians, and came to Rome, and reported on how he taught and what he saw, and said: “I saw amazing things in the Slovenian land on my way. I saw wooden bathhouses, and they set them on fire strongly, and stripped naked, and doused themselves with leather kvass, and took young twigs, and beat themselves, and beat themselves to such an extent that they crawled out barely alive, and splashed themselves with icy water, and so they came to life. And they do it constantly, not tormented by anyone, they torment themselves, thus performing ablution for themselves, and not torment. Those who heard this were surprised. Andrew, having been in Rome, came to Sinop.

The meadows lived separately and owned their own clans, for even before that brethren there were already meadows and they lived in clans in their places, each owning his own clan. And there were three brothers: one named Kyi, the other - Shchek and the third Khoriv, and their sister was Lybid. Kiy sat on the mountain where the Borichev rise is now, and Shchek sat on the mountain, which is now called Shchekovitsei, and Khoriv on the third mountain, nicknamed Horivitsa after him. And they built a town in the name of their elder brother, and called it Kiev. There was a forest around the city and a large forest, and they caught animals there. And those men were wise and sensible, and they were called glades, from them a clearing to this day in Kiev.

Others, not knowing, say that Kiy was a carrier. There was then a transfer from Kiev from the other side of the Dnieper, which is why they said: “To transfer to Kiev.” However, if Kiy was a carrier, he would not go to Constantinople. And this Kiy reigned in his generation, and he went to the king, as they say; great honors were given to him by the king under whom he came. When he returned, he came to the Danube and took a fancy to the place, cut down a small city and wanted to settle in it with his family, but those living nearby did not give him. This is how the inhabitants of the Danube still call the settlement that - Kievets. Kiy, returning to his city of Kiev, died here; and his brothers Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Lybid died immediately.

And after the death of these brothers, their offspring began to reign among the glades, and the Drevlyans had their own reign, and the Dregovichi had their own, and the Slavs had their own in Novgorod, and the other on the Polota River, where the Polochans. From them came the Krivichi, who settled in the upper reaches of the Volga, and in the upper reaches of the Dvina, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, their own city is Smolensk. The Krivichi settled there. From them come the northerners. And the whole lives on Beloozero, and on the Rostov Lake it is measuring, and on the Kleshchina Lake it is also measuring. And along the Oka River, at the confluence of the Volga, there are Muroma with their own language, and Cheremis with their own language, and Mordovians with their own language. That's just who the Slavs in Russia are: the glade, the Drevlyans, the Novgorodians, the Polochans, the Dregovichi, the northerners, the Buzhans, so called because they sat along the Bug, and then called the Volhynians. But other tribes that pay tribute to Russia: Chud, Merya, All, Muroma, Cheremis, Mordovians, Perm, Pechera, Em, Lithuania, Zimigola, Kors, Narova, Lib - these have their own languages. They are the tribe of Japheth, living in the northern countries.

When the Slavs, as we have already said, lived on the Danube, they came from the Scythians, that is, from the Khazars, the so-called Bulgarians settled along the Danube after the Slavs. Then the White Ugrians came and took possession of the Slavic land, driving out the Volohs, who had seized the Slavic land even earlier. These Ugrians appeared under King Heraclius (the Byzantine emperor), who went on a campaign against the Persian king Khozdroy. At the same time, there were obras who went to King Heraclius and almost captured him. These obry fought against the Slavs and conquered the dulebs - also Slavs, and committed violence to the wives of the duleb: if the obryn went where, he did not allow a horse or ox to be harnessed, but commanded to harness three, four or five wives in a cart and take him - obrin. And so they tortured the dulebs. The obry were great in body, but proud in mind, and God destroyed them, and they all died out, and not a single obry remained. And there is a saying in Russia to this day: “They died like obry,” - they have neither a tribe nor offspring. Following the Obrams, the Pechenegs came, and then the Black Ugrians went past Kiev, after that - under Oleg.

The glades, who lived especially, as we have already said, were of the Slavic kind and were nicknamed glades, and the Drevlyans descended from the same Slavs and were nicknamed Drevlyans. Radimichi and Vyatichi are from the Pole family. The Poles had two brothers - Radim and another - Vyatko; and they came and settled: Radim on the Sozh, and from him they called the Radimichi, and Vyatko settled with his family on the Oka, from him they called the Vyatichi. And the meadows, Drevlyans, northerners, Radimichi, Vyatichi and Croats lived peacefully. Dulebs lived along the Bug, where the Volynians are now, and catch and

Tivertsy settled along the Dniester, adjoining the Danube. There were many of them: they used to settle along the Dniester to the sea, and their cities have survived to this day, and the Greeks called them “Great Scythia”.

All of them had the customs and laws of their fathers and traditions, and each had his own temper. Glades, according to the custom of their fathers, are meek and quiet, bashful in front of their daughters-in-law and sisters, mothers and parents; deeply bashful also in front of mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law. They have a marriage custom: the son-in-law does not go for the bride, but they bring her in the evening, and in the morning they bring for her - what they give. And the Drevlyans lived in a bestial way, lived like cattle, killed each other, ate everything unclean, and they did not have marriage, but they kidnapped the girls by the water. And Radimichi, and Vyatichi, and the northerners had the same custom: they lived in the forest, like animals, ate everything unclean and shamed their fathers and daughters-in-law. And they did not have marriages, but there were games between villages. And they converged on these games, on dances and on all sorts of demonic songs, and here they kidnapped their wives by agreement with them. They had two and three wives. And when someone died, they arranged a feast on him, and then laid out a large fire, laid the deceased on him and burned him, after which, having collected the bones, they put them in a small vessel and placed them on poles along the roads, as the Vyatichi still do now. . The same custom was followed by the Krivichi, and other pagans, who did not know the law of God, but established the law for themselves ...

After those years, after the death of these brothers, the Drevlyans and other roundabout offended the glades. And the Khazars attacked them, who lived on these mountains, in the forests, and said: "Pay tribute to us." They thought the glade and gave each a sword from the smoke. And the Khazars brought them to their prince and elders, and said to them: “Here we have obtained a new tribute.” They also asked them: “From where?” They said: "In the forest on the mountains above the Dnieper River." Again they asked: “What did they give you?” They showed the sword. And the Khazar elders said: “This tribute is not good, prince: we got it with sabers - a weapon sharp only on one side, their own weapon - a sword - double-edged; they will collect tribute from us and from other lands. And all this came true. They spoke not of their own free will, but of God's command. As with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. When they brought Moses to Pharaoh, the elders of Pharaoh said: "Here is the one who wants to pacify Egypt." And so it happened: the Egyptians died from Moses, and before that the Jews worked for them. These are the same: at first they ruled, and after that they themselves rule: as it happened, the Russian princes rule over the Khazars to this day.

In the summer of 6360 (852), indiction 15, the day when Michael began to reign, the Russian land began to be called ...

In the summer of 6367. The Varangians from overseas levied tribute from the Chud and the Slavs, and from the Mary, and from all the Krivichi, and the Khazars took from the meadows and from the northerners, and from the Vyatichi for ermine and squirrel from smoke.

In the summer of 6370. They expelled the Varangians across the sea and did not give them tribute, and began to rule themselves. And there was no truth among them, and generation upon generation stood up, and there were strife among them, and they began to fight with themselves. And they said to themselves: "Let's look for a prince who would govern us and judge by law." And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia, for that was the name of those Varangians - Rus, as others are called Swedes, others are Normans, Angles, other Goths, these are the same. They said Chud Rus, Slovene, Krivichi all; “Our land is great and plentiful, but there is no dress in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers were elected with their clans, and they took all of Russia with them, and they came first to the Slovenes, and cut down the city of Ladoga, and the oldest Rurik sat in Ladoga, and the other - Sineus - on Beloozero, and the third - Truvor - in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. The Novgorodians, the people of Novgorod, are from the Varangian family, before they were Slovenes. Two years later, Sineus and his brother Truvor died. And only Rurik took all power, and came to Ilmen, and cut down the town over the Volkhov, and called it Novgorod, and sat down to reign here, distributing volosts and cities, cutting down Polotsk, another Rostov, this Beloozero. And in those cities, the Varangians are aliens, and the original population in Novgorod is Slovene, in Polotsk - Krivichi, in Rostov - Merya, in Belo-Ozero - all, in Murom - Murom, and Rurik possessed all of them. And he had two husbands, not of his tribe, but boyars, and they asked for leave to Tsargrad with their kind. And they set off along the Dnieper, and, passing by, they saw a town on the mountain. And they asked: "Whose town is this?" And they said to them: “There were three brothers: Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv, who built this town and died, and we, their descendants, are sitting here and paying tribute to the Khazars.” Askold and Dir remained in this city, gathered around them many Varangians and began to manage the land of the meadows. Rurik at that time reigned in Novgorod ...

In the summer of 6374. Askold and Dir went to the Greeks and came there in the 14th year of the reign of Michael. The tsar was at that time on a campaign against the Agarians and had already reached the Black River, when the eparch sent word that Russia was going on a campaign against Constantinople. And the king returned. And they went inside the Court (they called the Golden Horn in Constantinople. - L.K.), killed many Christians and laid siege to Constantinople with two hundred ships. The king entered the city with difficulty and prayed all night with Patriarch Photius in the church of the Holy Mother of God in Blachernae. And they carried out with songs the divine robe of the Holy Mother of God, and dipped her floor in the sea. There was silence at that time, and the sea was calm, but suddenly a storm arose with the wind, and the huge waves that rose again swept away the ships of the godless Rus, threw them to the coast, and beat them, so that few of them escaped such a disaster and returned home.

In the summer of 6387. Rurik died, having transferred his reign to Oleg, his relative, to whom he gave his son Igor, for he was still very small.

In the summer of 6390. Oleg went on a campaign, having gathered with him many warriors: Varangians, Chuds, Slovenians, I measure, all, Krivichi, and came to Smolensk with Krivichi, and took the city, and planted his husband in it. From there he went down, and took Lyubech, and seated his husband. And they came to the mountains of Kiev, and Oleg found out that Askold and Dir reigned here. And he hid some of the warriors in the boats, and left the others behind, and he himself approached the mountains, carrying the young Igor. And he swam under Ugorskoye, hiding his soldiers, and sent to Askold and Dir, saying to them: “I am a guest, and we are going to the Greeks from Oleg and Prince Igor. Come to us, your relatives." When Askold and Dir arrived, the soldiers jumped out of the boats, and Oleg Askold and Dir said: “You are not princes and not a princely family, but I am a princely family.” And Igor was carried out: "And this is the son of Ruriks." And they killed Askold and Dir, and carried him to the mountain, and buried him (Askold) on the mountain, which is now called Ugorskaya, where Olmin's court is now; Olma built the church of St. Nicholas on that grave. And Dir's grave is behind the church of St. Irina. And Oleg sat down to reign in Kiev, and Oleg said: "This will be the mother of Russian cities." And he had Varangians and Slovenes, and others - nicknamed Rus. It was Oleg who began to set up cities and established tributes to the Slovenes and Krivichi, and Mary, and ordered to pay tribute to the Varangians from Novgorod at 300 hryvnias for the summer in order to preserve peace, which was given to the Varangians until the death of Yaroslav.

In the summer of 6391, Oleg began to fight against the Drevlyans and, having subdued them, laid tribute on them for the black marten.

In the summer of 6392, Oleg went to the northerners, and defeated them, and laid a light tribute on them, and freed them from tribute to the Khazars, saying: "I am their opponent, but you have no need."

In the summer of 6393. He sent to the Radimichi, asking: “To whom do you give tribute?” They answered: "Khazars." And Oleg told them: "Don't give it to the Khazars, but give it to me." And they gave Oleg a crack, as they used to give the Khazars. And Oleg owned glades, and Drevlyans, and northerners, and Radimichi, and fought with streets and Tivertsy.