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 happened and are happening in Rus' during that period.

The Tale of Bygone Years was compiled in Kyiv, later rewritten several times, but was not greatly changed. The chronicle covers the period from biblical times until 1137, with dated entries beginning in 852.

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

The story got its name thanks to its first phrase that opens the story - “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 considered to be the monk Nestor, who lived and worked at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. Despite the fact that the author's name appears only in later copies of the chronicle, it was the monk Nestor who is considered the first chronicler in Rus', and The Tale of Bygone Years is considered the first Russian chronicle.

The oldest version of the chronicle that has reached the present day dates back to the 14th century and is a copy made by the monk Laurentius (Laurentian Chronicle). The original edition of the creator of the Tale of Bygone Years, Nestor, has been lost; today only modified versions exist 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 Kyiv in 1037. The basis for it was 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 neither a work of art nor historical in the full sense of the word.

A distinctive feature of the chronicle is that it does not interpret events, but only talks about them. The attitude of the author or scribe to everything described in the chronicle 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 were uninteresting and were not included in the chronicle.

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.

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

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

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 descendants of Japheth, one of the sons of Noah. At the very beginning of the story there are stories telling about the life of the East Slavic tribes: about the princes, about the calling of Rurik, Truvor and Sineus to reign as princes and about the formation of the Rurik dynasty in Rus'.

The main part of the content of the chronicle consists 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:

• Legends about the settlement of the Slavs, the calling of the Varangians and the formation of Rus';
• Description of the baptism of Rus';
• Description of the life of the great princes: Oleg, Vladimir, Olga and others;
• Lives of Saints;
• Description of wars and military campaigns.

The significance of the Tale of Bygone Years can hardly be overestimated - it was it that became the first document in which the history of Kievan Rus was recorded from its very inception. The chronicle later served as the main source of knowledge for subsequent historical descriptions and research. In addition, thanks to its open genre, The Tale of Bygone Years is of high importance as a cultural and literary monument.

Tale of Bygone Years Chronicle- An ancient Russian chronicle created in the 1110s. Chronicles are historical works in which events are presented according to the so-called yearly principle, combined into annual, or “yearly” articles (they are also called weather records). “Yearly articles,” which combined information about events that occurred during one year, begin with the words “In the summer of such and such...” (“summer” in Old Russian means “year”). In this regard, the chronicles, including The Tale of Bygone Years, are fundamentally different from the Byzantine chronicles known in Ancient Rus', from which Russian compilers borrowed numerous information from world history. In the translated Byzantine chronicles, events were distributed not by years, but by the reigns of the emperors.

The earliest list extant Tales of Bygone Years dates back to the 14th century. It got the name Laurentian Chronicle named after the scribe, monk Lawrence, and was compiled in 1377. Another ancient list Tales of Bygone Years preserved as part of the so-called Ipatiev Chronicle(mid 15th century).

The Tale of Bygone Years- the first chronicle, the text of which has reached us almost in its original form. Thanks to careful textual analysis Tales of Bygone Years researchers have discovered traces of earlier works included in it. Probably the oldest chronicles were created in the 11th century. The hypothesis of A.A. Shakhmatov (1864–1920), which explains the emergence and describes the history of Russian chronicles of the 11th–early 12th centuries, received the greatest recognition. He resorted to the comparative method, comparing the surviving chronicles and finding out their relationships. According to A.A. Shakhmatov, approx. 1037, but no later than 1044, was compiled The most ancient Kyiv chronicle code, which told about the beginning of history and the baptism of Rus'. Around 1073, in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, probably the monk Nikon completed the first Kiev-Pechersk Chronicle Code. In it, new news and legends were combined with the text The most ancient arch and with borrowings from Novgorod Chronicle mid 11th century In 1093–1095, it was here, based on the Nikon code, that the second Kiev-Pechersk vault; it is also commonly called Beginners. (The name is explained by the fact that A.A. Shakhmatov initially considered this particular chronicle to be the earliest.) It condemned the foolishness and weakness of the current princes, who were contrasted with the former wise and powerful rulers of Rus'.

The first edition (version) was completed in 1110–1113 Tales of Bygone Years- a lengthy chronicle collection that has absorbed numerous information on the history of Rus': about the Russian wars with the Byzantine Empire, about the calling of the Scandinavians Rurik, Truvor and Sineus to reign in Rus', about the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, about princely crimes. The probable author of this chronicle is the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. This edition has not been preserved in its original form.

First edition Tales of Bygone Years the political interests of the then Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich were reflected. In 1113 Svyatopolk died, and Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh ascended the Kiev throne. In 1116 by the monk Sylvester (in the Promonomakhian spirit) and in 1117–1118 by an unknown scribe from the entourage of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich (son of Vladimir Monomakh) text Tales of Bygone Years has been redesigned. This is how the second and third editions arose Tales of Bygone Years; the oldest list of the second edition has reached us as part of Lavrentievskaya, and the earliest list of the third is in the composition Ipatiev Chronicle.

Almost all Russian chronicles are vaults - a combination of several texts or news from other sources of an earlier time. Old Russian chronicles of the 14th–16th centuries. open with text Tales of Bygone Years.

Name The Tale of Bygone Years(more precisely, Tales of Bygone Years– in the Old Russian text the word “story” is used in the plural) is usually translated as The Tale of Past Years, but there are other interpretations: A story in which the narrative is distributed by year or Narration in a time frame, A Narrative of the End Times- telling about the events on the eve of the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

Narration in Tales of Bygone Years begins with a story about the settlement of the sons of Noah on earth - Shem, Ham and Japheth - along with their families (in the Byzantine chronicles the starting point was the creation of the world). This story is taken from the Bible. The Russians considered themselves descendants of Japheth. Thus, Russian history was included in world history. Goals Tales of Bygone Years there was an explanation of the origin of the Russians (Eastern Slavs), the origin of princely power (which for the chronicler is identical to the origin of the princely dynasty) and a description of baptism and the spread of Christianity in Rus'. Narration of Russian events in Tales of Bygone Years opens with a description of the life of East Slavic (Old Russian) tribes and two legends. This is a story about the reign in Kyiv of Prince Kiy, his brothers Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid; about the calling of the three Scandinavians (Varangians) Rurik, Truvor and Sineus by the warring northern Russian tribes, so that they would become princes and establish order in the Russian land. The story about the Varangian brothers has an exact date - 862. Thus, in the historiosophical concept Tales of Bygone Years two sources of power are established in Rus' - local (Kiy and his brothers) and foreign (Varangians). The elevation of ruling dynasties to foreign families is traditional for medieval historical consciousness; Similar stories are found in Western European chronicles. Thus, the ruling dynasty was given greater nobility and dignity.

Main events in Tales of Bygone Years- wars (external and internecine), the founding of churches and monasteries, the death of princes and metropolitans - the heads of the Russian Church.

Chronicles, including Tale... are not works of art in the strict sense of the word and not the work of a historian. Part Tales of Bygone Years included agreements between the Russian princes Oleg the Prophet, Igor Rurikovich and Svyatoslav Igorevich with Byzantium. The chronicles themselves apparently had the meaning of a legal document. Some scientists (for example, I.N. Danilevsky) believe that the chronicles and, in particular, The Tale of Bygone Years, were compiled not for people, but for the Last Judgment, at which God will decide the fate of people at the end of the world: therefore, the chronicles listed the sins and merits of the rulers and people.

The chronicler usually does not interpret events, does not look for their remote causes, but simply describes them. In relation to the explanation of what is happening, the chroniclers are guided by providentialism - everything that happens is explained by the will of God and is viewed in the light of the coming end of the world and the Last Judgment. Attention to the cause-and-effect relationships of events and their pragmatic rather than providential interpretation is insignificant.

For chroniclers, the principle of analogy, the overlap between events of the past and present, is important: the present is thought of as an “echo” of events and deeds of the past, especially the deeds and deeds described in the Bible. The chronicler presents the murder of Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk as a repetition and renewal of the first murder committed by Cain (legend Tales of Bygone Years under 1015). Vladimir Svyatoslavich - the baptizer of Rus' - is compared with Saint Constantine the Great, who made Christianity the official religion in the Roman Empire (the legend of the baptism of Rus' in 988).

Tales of Bygone Years unity of style is alien, it is an “open” genre. The simplest element in a chronicle text is a brief weather record that only reports an event, but does not describe it.

Part Tales of Bygone Years traditions are also included. For example, a story about the origin of the name of the city of Kyiv on behalf of Prince Kiy; tales of the Prophetic Oleg, who defeated the Greeks and died from the bite of a snake hidden in the skull of a deceased princely horse; about Princess Olga, cunningly and cruelly taking revenge on the Drevlyan tribe for the murder of her husband. The chronicler is invariably interested in news about the past of the Russian land, about the founding of cities, hills, rivers and the reasons why they received these names. Legends also report this. IN Tales of Bygone Years the share of legends is very large, since the initial events of ancient Russian history described in it are separated from the time of work of the first chroniclers by many decades and even centuries. In later chronicles telling about modern events, the number of legends is small, and they are also usually found in the part of the chronicle dedicated to the distant past.

Part Tales of Bygone Years stories about saints written in a special hagiographic style are also included. This is the story about the brother-princes Boris and Gleb under 1015, who, imitating the humility and non-resistance of Christ, meekly accepted death at the hands of their half-brother Svyatopolk, and the story about the holy Pechersk monks under 1074.

A significant part of the text in Tales of Bygone Years occupied by narratives of battles, written in the so-called military style, and princely obituaries.

Editions: Monuments of literature of Ancient Rus'. XI – first half of the XII century. M., 1978; The Tale of Bygone Years. 2nd ed., add. and corr. St. Petersburg, 1996, series “Literary monuments”; Library of Literature of Ancient Rus', vol. 1. XI – beginning of the XII century. St. Petersburg, 1997.

Andrey Ranchin

Literature:

Sukhomlinov M.I. About the ancient Russian chronicle as a literary monument. St. Petersburg, 1856
Istrin V.M. Notes on the beginning of Russian chronicles. – News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences, vol. 26, 1921; v. 27, 1922
Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. M. – L., 1947
Rybakov B.A. Ancient Rus': legends, epics, chronicles. M. – L., 1963
Eremin I.P. “The Tale of Bygone Years”: Problems of its historical and literary study(1947 ). – In the book: Eremin I.P. Literature of Ancient Rus': (Sketches and Characteristics). M. – L., 1966
Nasonov A.N. History of Russian chronicles of the 11th – early 18th centuries. M., 1969
Tvorogov O.V. Plot narration in chronicles of the 11th–13th centuries.. – In the book: Origins of Russian fiction . L., 1970
Aleshkovsky M.Kh. The Tale of Bygone Years: The Fate of a Literary Work in Ancient Rus'. M., 1971
Kuzmin A.G. The initial stages of ancient Russian chronicles. M., 1977
Likhachev D.S. Great legacy. "The Tale of Bygone Years"(1975). – Likhachev D.S. Selected works: In 3 vols., vol. 2. L., 1987
Shaikin A.A. “Behold the Tale of Bygone Years”: From Kiya to Monomakh. M., 1989
Danilevsky I.N. Biblicalisms "The Tale of Bygone Years". - In the book: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature. M., 1993. Issue. 3.
Danilevsky I.N. The Bible and the Tale of Bygone Years(On the problem of interpreting chronicle texts). – Domestic History, 1993, No. 1
Trubetskoy N.S. Lectures on Old Russian literature (translated from German by M.A. Zhurinskaya). – In the book: Trubetskoy N.S. Story. Culture. Language. M., 1995
Priselkov M.D. History of Russian chronicles of the 11th–15th centuries. (1940). 2nd ed. M., 1996
Ranchin A. M. Articles about Old Russian literature. M., 1999
Gippius A.A. “The Tale of Bygone Years”: about the possible origin and meaning of the name. - In the book: From the history of Russian culture, vol. 1 (Ancient Rus'). M., 2000
Shakhmatov A.A. 1) Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles(1908). – In the book: Shakhmatov A.A. Research about Russian chronicles. M. – Zhukovsky, 2001
Zhivov V.M. On the ethnic and religious consciousness of Nestor the Chronicler(1998). – In the book: Zhivov V.M. Research in the field of history and prehistory of Russian culture. M., 2002
Shakhmatov A.A. History of Russian chronicles, vol. 1. St. Petersburg, 2002
Shakhmatov A.A. . Book 1 2) The Tale of Bygone Years (1916). – In the book: Shakhmatov A.A. History of Russian chronicles. T. 1. The Tale of Bygone Years and the most ancient Russian chronicles. Book 2. Early Russian chronicles of the 11th–12th centuries. St. Petersburg, 2003



Here is evidence from past years about when the name “Russian Land” was first mentioned and where the name “Russian Land” comes from and who first began to reign in Kyiv - we will tell a story about this.

About the Slavs

After the flood and death of Noah, his three sons divide the Earth among themselves and agree not to trespass into each other's possessions. They cast lots. Japheth gets the northern and western countries. But humanity on Earth is still united and in a field near Babylon for more than 40 years it has been building a pillar to heaven. However, God is dissatisfied; he destroys the unfinished pillar with a strong wind and scatters people across the Earth, dividing them into 72 nations. From one of them come the Slavs, who live in the domains of the descendants of Japheth. Then the Slavs come to the Danube, and from there they disperse throughout the lands. The Slavs settle peacefully along the Dnieper and receive names: some are Polyans because they live in the fields, others are Derevlyans because they sit in the forests. Compared to other tribes, the Polyans are meek and quiet, they are bashful in front of their daughters-in-law, sisters, mothers and mothers-in-law, and, for example, the Derevlyans live bestially: they kill each other, eat all kinds of uncleanness, do not know marriage, but, pouncing, kidnap the girls.

About the journey of the Apostle Andrew

The Holy Apostle Andrew, teaching the Christian faith to the peoples along the Black Sea coast, comes to Crimea and learns about the Dnieper, that its mouth is not far, and sails up the Dnieper. He stops for the night under deserted hills on the shore, and in the morning he looks at them and turns to the disciples around him: “Do you see these hills?” And he prophesies: “The grace of God will shine on these hills - a great city will arise and many churches will be erected.” And the apostle, arranging a whole ceremony, ascends the hills, blesses them, puts up a cross and prays to God. Kyiv will indeed appear in this place later.

The Apostle Andrew returns to Rome and tells the Romans that in the land of the Slovenes, where Novgorod will later be built, something strange happens every day: the buildings are made of wood, not stone, but the Slovenes heat them with fire, without fear of fire, take off their clothes and appear completely naked , not caring about decency, they douse themselves with kvass, moreover, henbane kvass (intoxicating), begin to slash themselves with flexible branches and finish themselves off so much that they crawl out barely alive, and in addition they douse themselves with ice water - and suddenly come to life. Hearing this, the Romans are amazed why the Slovenians are torturing themselves. And Andrei, who knows that this is how the Slovenians “worry,” explains the riddle to the slow-witted Romans: “This is ablution, not torment.”

About Kie

Three brothers live in the land of glades, each with his family sits on his own Dnieper hill. The first brother's name is Kiy, the second is Shchek, the third is Khoriv. The brothers create a city, call it Kyiv after their older brother and live in it. And near the city there is a forest in which clearings catch animals. Kiy travels to Constantinople, where the Byzantine king shows him great honor. From Constantinople, Kiy comes to the Danube, he likes one place, where he builds a small town nicknamed Kievets. But local residents do not allow him to settle there. Kiy returns to his lawful Kyiv, where he ends his life with dignity. Shchek and Khoreb also die here.

About the Khazars

After the death of the brothers, a Khazar detachment stumbles into the clearing and demands: “Pay us tribute.” The glades consult and give a sword from each hut. The Khazar warriors bring this to their prince and elders and boast: “Behold, they have collected some new tribute.” The elders ask: “Where from?” The warriors, obviously not knowing the name of the tribe that gave them tribute, only answer: “Collected in the forest, on the hills, above the Dnieper River.” The elders ask: “What did they give you?” The warriors, not knowing the names of the things they brought, silently show their swords. But the experienced elders, having guessed the meaning of the mysterious tribute, predict to the prince: “An ominous tribute, oh prince. We got it with sabers, a weapon sharp on one side, but these tributaries have swords, a double-edged weapon. They will begin to take tribute from us.” This prediction will come true, the Russian princes will take possession of the Khazars.

About the name “Russian Land”. 852−862

This is where the name “Russian Land” first begins to be used: the Byzantine chronicle of that time mentions the campaign of a certain Rus' against Constantinople. But the land is still divided: the Varangians take tribute from the northern tribes, including the Novgorod Slovenes, and the Khazars take tribute from the southern tribes, including the Polyans.

The northern tribes expel the Varangians beyond the Baltic Sea, stop giving them tribute and try to govern themselves, but do not have a common set of laws and therefore are drawn into civil strife, waging a war of self-destruction. Finally, they agree among themselves: “Let’s look for a single prince, but outside of us, so that he will rule us and judge based on the law.” The Estonian Chud, the Novgorod Slovenes, the Krivichi Slavs and the Finno-Ugric all send their representatives overseas to other Varangians, whose tribe is called “Rus”. This is the same common name as the names of other nationalities - “Swedes”, “Normans”, “English”. And the four tribes listed above offer the following to Rus': “Our land is large in space and rich in grain, but there is no state structure in it. Come to us to reign and rule." Three brothers with their families get down to business, take all of Rus' with them and arrive (to a new place): the eldest of the brothers - Rurik - sits down to reign in Novgorod (among the Slovenes), the second brother - Sineus - in Belozersk (among the Ves), and the third brother - Truvor - is in Izborsk (among the Krivichi). Two years later, Sineus and Truvor die, all power is concentrated by Rurik, who distributes the cities to the control of his Varangian Rus. From all those Varangians-Russ the name (of the new state) arises - “Russian Land”.

About the fate of Askold and Dir. 862−882

Rurik has two boyars in his employ - Askold and Dir. They are not relatives of Rurik at all, so they ask him for leave (for service) in Constantinople along with their families. They sail along the Dnieper and see a town on a hill: “Whose town is this?” The residents answer them: “There lived three brothers - Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv - who built this town, but died. And we sit here without a ruler, paying tribute to our brothers’ relatives - the Khazars.” Here Askold and Dir decide to stay in Kyiv, recruit many Varangians and begin to rule the land of the glades. And Rurik reigns in Novgorod.

Askold and Dir go to war against Byzantium, two hundred of their ships besiege Constantinople. The weather is calm and the sea is calm. The Byzantine king and the patriarch pray for deliverance from godless Rus' and, singing, dip the robe of the Holy Mother of God into the sea. And suddenly a storm, wind, and huge waves arise. Russian ships are swept away, brought to the shore and broken. Few people from Rus' manage to escape and return home.

Meanwhile, Rurik dies. Rurik has a son, Igor, but he is still very young. Therefore, before his death, Rurik transfers the reign to his relative Oleg. Oleg with a large army, which includes the Varangians, Chud, Slovenes, the whole, Krivichi, captures the southern cities one after another. He approaches Kyiv and learns that Askold and Dir are illegally reigning. And he hides his warriors in the boats, swims up to the pier with Igor in his arms and sends an invitation to Askold and Dir: “I am a merchant. We sail to Byzantium, and submit to Oleg and Prince Igor. Come to us, your relatives." (Askold and Dir are obliged to visit the arriving Igor, because by law they continue to obey Rurik and, therefore, his son Igor; and Oleg seduces them, calling them his younger relatives; in addition, it is interesting to see what goods the merchant is carrying.) Askold and Dir come to the boat. Then hidden warriors jump out of the boat. They carry Igor out. The trial begins. Oleg exposes Askold and Dir: “You are not princes, not even from a princely family, And I am from a princely family. But here is Rurik’s son.” Both Askold and Dir are killed (as impostors).

About Oleg's activities. 882−912

Oleg remains to reign in Kyiv and proclaims: “Kyiv will be the mother of Russian cities.” Oleg is indeed building new cities. In addition, he conquers many tribes, including the Derevlians, and takes tribute from them.

With an unprecedentedly large army - two thousand ships alone - Oleg goes to Byzantium and comes to Constantinople. The Greeks are closing the entrance to the bay near which Constantinople is located with chains. But the cunning Oleg orders his warriors to make wheels and put ships on them. A fair wind is blowing towards Constantinople. The warriors raise the sails in the field and rush towards the city. The Greeks see and are afraid, and ask Oleg: “Don’t destroy the city, we’ll give whatever tribute you want.” And as a sign of submission, the Greeks bring him treats - food and wine. However, Oleg does not accept the treat: it turns out that poison was mixed into it. The Greeks are completely frightened: “This is not Oleg, but an invulnerable saint, God himself sent him to us.” And the Greeks beg Oleg to make peace: “We’ll give you everything you want.” Oleg sets the Greeks to give tribute to all the soldiers on his two thousand ships - twelve hryvnia per person, and forty soldiers per ship - and another tribute for the large cities of Rus'. To commemorate the victory, Oleg hangs his shield on the gates of Constantinople and returns to Kyiv, bringing gold, silks, fruits, wines and all kinds of decorations.

People call Oleg “the prophetic”. But then an ominous sign appears in the sky - a star in the form of a spear. Oleg, now living in peace with all countries, remembers his favorite war horse. He hasn’t mounted this horse for a long time. Five years before the campaign against Constantinople, Oleg asked the wise men and wizards: “What am I going to die from?” And one of the magicians said to him: “You will die from the horse that you love and ride on” (that is, from any such horse, moreover, not only living, but also dead, and not only the whole, but also part of it). Oleg only understood with his mind, and not with his heart, what was said: “I will never mount my horse again and I will not even see him,” - he ordered the horse to be fed, but not to be led to him. And now Oleg calls the oldest of the grooms and asks: “Where is my horse, which I sent to feed and guard?” The groom replies: “He’s dead.” Oleg begins to mock and insult the magicians: “But the wise men predict incorrectly, they are all lies - the horse is dead, but I am alive.” And he arrives at the place where the bones and empty skull of his beloved horse lie, dismounts and mockingly says: “And from this skull I was threatened with death?” And he tramples the skull with his foot. And suddenly a snake pokes out of his skull and stings him in the leg. Because of this, Oleg falls ill and dies. The magic comes true.

About the death of Igor. 913−945

After Oleg's death, the unlucky Igor finally begins to reign, who, although he had already become an adult, was subordinate to Oleg.

As soon as Oleg dies, the Derevlyans close themselves off from Igor. Igor goes against the Derevlyans and imposes a tribute on them greater than Oleg’s.

Then Igor goes on a march to Constantinople, having ten thousand ships. However, the Greeks, from their boats through special pipes, begin to throw the burning composition at the Russian boats. Russians jump into the sea from the flames of the fires, trying to swim away. The survivors return home and tell of a terrible miracle: “The Greeks have something like lightning from heaven, they send it and burn us.”

Igor takes a long time to gather a new army, not disdaining even the Pechenegs, and again goes to Byzantium, wanting to take revenge for his shame. His ships literally cover the sea. The Byzantine king sends his noblest boyars to Igor: “Do not go, but take the tribute that Oleg took. I’ll also add to that tribute.” Igor, having only reached the Danube, convenes a squad and begins to consult. The fearful squad declares: “What do we need more - we won’t fight, but we’ll get gold, silver and silks. Who knows, who will defeat him - whether we or they. What, someone will come to an agreement with the sea? After all, we are not passing on land, but over the depths of the sea - common death for all.” Igor follows the lead of the squad, takes gold and silk from the Greeks for all the soldiers, turns back and returns to Kyiv.

But Igor’s greedy squad annoys the prince: “Even your governor’s servants are dressed up, but we, the prince’s squad, are naked. Come, prince, with us for tribute. And you will get it, and so will we.” And again Igor follows the lead of the squad, goes to collect tribute from the Derevlyans, and arbitrarily increases the tribute, and the squad also inflicts other violence on the Derevlyans. With the collected tribute, Igor was about to head to Kyiv, but after some reflection, wanting more than he managed to collect for himself, he turns to the squad: “You and your tribute return home, and I will return to the Derevlyans and collect more for myself.” And with a small remnant of the squad he turns back. The Derevlyans find out about this and confer with Mal, their prince: “Once a wolf gets into the habit of the sheep, he will slaughter the entire herd if he is not killed. So is this one: if we don’t kill him, he will destroy us all.” And they send to Igor: “Why are you going again? After all, he took all the tribute.” But Igor just doesn’t listen to them. Then, having gathered, the Derevlyans leave the city of Iskorosten and easily kill Igor and his squad - the people of Mal are dealing with a small number of people. And Igor is buried somewhere under Iskorosten.

About Olga's revenge. 945−946

While Oleg was still alive, Igor was given a wife from Pskov, named Olga. After the murder of Igor, Olga is left alone in Kyiv with her baby Svyatoslav. The Derevlyans are making plans: “Since they killed the Russian prince, we will marry his wife Olga to our prince Mal, and we will do with Svyatoslav as we want.” And the villagers send a boat with twenty of their noble people to Olga, and they sail to Kyiv. Olga is informed that the Derevlyans have unexpectedly arrived. Clever Olga receives the Derevlyans in a stone tower: “Welcome, guests.” The Derevlyans answer impolitely: “Yes, you’re welcome, princess.” Olga continues the ceremony of receiving the ambassadors: “Tell me, why did you come here?” The Derevlyans rudely lay out: “The independent Derevlyan land sent us, decreeing the following. We killed your darkness because your husband, like a hungry wolf, grabbed and robbed everything. Our princes are rich, they made the Derevlyansky land prosperous. So you should go for our prince Mal.” Olga replies: “I really like the way you speak. My husband cannot be resurrected. Therefore, I will pay special honors to you in the morning in the presence of my people. Now go and lie down in your boat for the greatness to come. In the morning I will send people for you, and you say: “We will not ride on horses, we will not ride in carts, we will not go on foot, but carry us in a boat.” And Olga lets the Derevlyans lie down in the boat (thus becoming a funeral boat for them), and orders them to dig a huge and vertical grave hole in the courtyard in front of the tower. In the morning, Olga, sitting in the mansion, sends for these guests. The people of Kiev come to the villagers: “Olga is calling you to show you the greatest honor.” The Derevlyans say: “We won’t ride on horses, we won’t ride on carts, we won’t go on foot, but carry us in a boat.” And the people of Kiev carry them in a boat, the villagers sit proudly, arms akimbo and smartly dressed. They bring them to Olga’s yard and, together with the boat, throw them into the pit. Olga leans close to the pit and inquires: “Have you been given a worthy honor?” The Derevlyans are only now realizing: “Our death is more shameful than Igor’s death.” And Olga orders them to be buried alive. And they fall asleep.

Now Olga sends a demand to the Derevlyans: “If you ask me in accordance with the marriage rules, then send the most noble people so that I can marry your prince with great honor. Otherwise, the people of Kiev won’t let me in.” The Derevlyans elect the most noble people who rule the Derevlyan land, and send for Olga. The matchmakers arrive, and Olga, according to guest custom, first sends them to the bathhouse (again with vindictive ambiguity), inviting them: “Wash yourself and appear before me.” They heat up the bathhouse, the villagers climb into it, and as soon as they begin to wash themselves (like the dead), the bathhouse is locked. Olga orders it to be set on fire, first of all from the doors, and the villagers are all burned (after all, according to custom, the dead were burned).

Olga informs the Derevlyans: “I’m already heading to you. Prepare a lot of intoxicating mead in the city where you killed my husband (Olga does not want to pronounce the name of the city she hates). I must cry over his grave and mourn my husband.” The villagers bring a lot of honey and boil it. Olga with a small retinue, as befits a bride, lightly, comes to the grave, mourns her husband, orders her people to pour a high grave mound and, exactly following the customs, only after they finish pouring, orders a funeral feast. The villagers sit down to drink. Olga orders her servants to look after the Derevlyans. The villagers ask: “Where is our squad that was sent for you?” Olga answers ambiguously: “They are coming behind me with my husband’s squad” (the second meaning: “They are following without me with my husband’s squad,” that is, both of them are killed). When the Derevlyans get drunk, Olga tells her servants to drink for the Derevlyans (to remember them as if they were dead and thereby complete the funeral feast). Olga leaves, ordering her squad to flog the Derevlyans (the game that ends the funeral feast). Five thousand Derevlyans were cut off.

Olga returns to Kyiv, gathers many soldiers, goes to the Derevlyanskaya land and defeats the Derevlyans who opposed her. The remaining villagers shut themselves up in Iskorosten, and Olga cannot take the city for the whole summer. Then she begins to persuade the city’s defenders: “How long will you wait? All your cities have surrendered to me, they give tribute, they cultivate their lands and fields. And you will die of hunger without giving tribute.” The Derevlyans admit: “We would be glad to give only tribute, but you will still avenge your husband.” Olga insidiously assures: “I have already avenged my husband’s shame and will no longer take revenge. I will take tribute from you little by little (I will take tribute from Prince Mal, that is, I will deprive you of your independence). Now you have neither honey nor fur, that’s why I ask little of you (I won’t let you leave the city for honey and furs, but I ask Prince Mal from you). Give me three pigeons and three sparrows from each courtyard; I will not impose a heavy tribute on you, like my husband, therefore I ask little of you (Prince Mal). You are exhausted in the siege, which is why I ask little of you (Prince Mal). I’ll make peace with you and go” (either back to Kyiv, or again to the Derevlyans). The villagers rejoice, collect three doves and three sparrows from the courtyard and send them to Olga. Olga reassures the Derevlyans who came to her with a gift: “Now you have already submitted to me. Let's go into town. In the morning I will retreat from the city (Iskorosten) and go to the city (either to Kyiv, or to Iskorosten).” The villagers joyfully return to the city, tell the people Olga’s words as they understood them, and they rejoice. Olga gives each of the warriors a dove or a sparrow, orders them to tie tinder to each dove or sparrow, wrap it in a small scarf and wrap it with thread. When it begins to get dark, the prudent Olga orders the soldiers to release pigeons and sparrows with their tinder on fire. Pigeons and sparrows fly to their city nests, pigeons to dovecotes, sparrows to the eaves. This is why dovecotes, cages, sheds, and haylofts catch fire. There is no yard where it is not on fire. But it is impossible to extinguish the fire, since all the wooden yards are burning at once. The Derevlyans run out of the city, and Olga orders her soldiers to grab them. He takes the city and completely burns it, captures the elders, kills some of the other people, gives some into slavery to his soldiers, imposes a heavy tribute on the remaining Derevlyans and goes throughout the entire Derevlyan land, establishing duties and taxes.

About Olga's baptism. 955−969

Olga arrives in Constantinople. Comes to the Byzantine king. The king talks with her, is surprised at her intelligence and hints: “It is fitting for you to reign in Constantinople with us.” She immediately takes the hint and says: “I am a pagan. If you intend to baptize me, then baptize me yourself. If not, then I will not be baptized.” And the Tsar and the Patriarch baptize her. The Patriarch teaches her about faith, and Olga, bowing her head, stands listening to the teaching, like a sea sponge fed with water. She is given the name Elena in baptism, the patriarch blesses her and releases her. After baptism, the king calls her and directly announces: “I take you as my wife.” Olga objects: “How can you take me as your wife, since you yourself baptized me and named me your spiritual daughter? This is illegal among Christians, and you know it yourself.” The self-confident king is annoyed: “You switched me, Olga!” He gives her many gifts and sends her home. As soon as Olga returns to Kyiv, the Tsar sends envoys to her: “I gave you a lot of things. You promised, upon returning to Rus', to send me many gifts.” Olga replies sharply: “Wait for my appointment as long as I waited for you, then I’ll give it to you.” And with these words he wraps up the ambassadors.

Olga loves her son Svyatoslav, prays for him and for people all nights and days, feeds her son until he grows up and matures, then sits with her grandchildren in Kyiv. Then she becomes ill and dies three days later, having bequeathed not to perform funeral feasts for her. She has a priest who buries her.

About Svyatoslav's wars. 964−972

The matured Svyatoslav gathers many brave warriors and, wandering swiftly, like a cheetah, wages many wars. On a campaign, he does not carry a cart with him, he does not have a boiler, he does not cook meat, but he will thinly cut horse meat, or animal, or beef, bake it on coals and eat it; and does not have a tent, but he lays down felt, and the saddle is in his head. And his warriors are the same steppe dwellers. He sends threats to countries: “I will attack you.”

Svyatoslav goes to the Danube, to the Bulgarians, defeats the Bulgarians, takes eighty cities along the Danube and sits down to reign here in Pereyaslavets. For the first time, the Pechenegs attacked the Russian land and besieged Kyiv. The people of Kiev send to Svyatoslav: “You, prince, are looking for and defending someone else’s land, but abandoned your own, and we were almost captured by the Pechenegs. If you don’t come back and defend us, if you don’t feel sorry for your fatherland, then the Pechenegs will capture us.” Svyatoslav and his squad quickly mount their horses, ride to Kyiv, gather soldiers and drive the Pechenegs into the field. But Svyatoslav declares: “I don’t want to stay in Kyiv, I will live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, for this is the center of my land, for all the goods are brought here: from Byzantium - gold, silks, wines, various fruits: from the Czech Republic - silver; from Hungary - horses; from Rus' - furs, wax, honey and slaves."

Svyatoslav leaves for Pereyaslavets, but the Bulgarians close themselves in the city from Svyatoslav, then go out to battle with him, a big battle begins, and the Bulgarians almost overcome, but by the evening Svyatoslav still wins and breaks into the city. Immediately Svyatoslav rudely threatens the Greeks: “I will go against you and conquer your Constantinople, like this Pereyaslavets.” The Greeks slyly suggest: “Since we are not able to resist you, then take tribute from us, but just tell us how many troops you have, so that we, based on the total number, can give for each warrior.” Svyatoslav names the number: “We are twenty thousand” - and adds ten thousand, because Rus' has only ten thousand. The Greeks put up one hundred thousand against Svyatoslav, but do not give tribute. A huge number of Greeks see Rus' and are afraid. But Svyatoslav makes a courageous speech: “We have nowhere to go. We must resist the enemy both willingly and unwillingly. We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie here with our bones, for we will not disgrace ourselves by being dead, and if we run, we will be disgraced. We will not run away, but we will stand strong. I will go ahead of you." A great battle takes place, and Svyatoslav wins, and the Greeks flee, and Svyatoslav approaches Constantinople, fighting and destroying cities.

The Byzantine king calls his boyars to the palace: “What to do?” The boyars advise: “Send gifts to him, let’s find out whether he is greedy for gold or silk.” The Tsar sends gold and silks to Svyatoslav with a certain wise courtier: “Watch how he looks, what is the expression of his face and the course of his thoughts.” They report to Svyatoslav that the Greeks have arrived with gifts. He orders: “Enter.” The Greeks put gold and silks in front of him. Svyatoslav looks to the side and says to his servants: “Take it away.” The Greeks return to the Tsar and the boyars and tell about Svyatoslav: “They gave him gifts, but he didn’t even look at them and ordered them to be taken away.” Then one of the messengers suggests to the king: “Check him again - send him a weapon.” And they bring Svyatoslav a sword and other weapons. Svyatoslav receives him and praises the king, conveying his love and kisses to him. The Greeks return to the king again and tell everything. And the boyars convince the tsar: “How fierce is this warrior, since he neglects values ​​and values ​​weapons. Give him tribute." And they give Svyatoslav tribute and many gifts.

With great glory, Svyatoslav comes to Pereyaslavets, but sees how little squad he has left, since many died in battle, and decides: “I’ll go to Rus', I’ll bring more troops. The Tsar will find out that we are few in number and will besiege us in Pereyaslavets. But the Russian land is far away. And the Pechenegs are fighting with us. Who will help us? Svyatoslav sets off in boats to the Dnieper rapids. And the Bulgarians from Pereyaslavets send a message to the Pechenegs: “Svyatoslav will sail past you. Goes to Rus'. He has a lot of wealth taken from the Greeks, and countless prisoners, but not enough troops.” The Pechenegs are entering the rapids. Svyatoslav stops for the winter at the rapids. He runs out of food, and such severe hunger begins in the camp that further on a horse’s head costs half a hryvnia. In the spring, Svyatoslav nevertheless sails through the rapids, but the Pecheneg prince Kurya attacks him. They kill Svyatoslav, take his head, scrape out a cup in his skull, bind the outside of the skull and drink from it.

About the baptism of Rus'. 980−988

Vladimir was the son of Svyatoslav and only Olga’s housekeeper. However, after the death of his more noble brothers, Vladimir begins to reign alone in Kyiv. On a hill near the princely palace he places pagan idols: wooden Perun with a silver head and golden mustache, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargla and Mokosh. They make sacrifices by bringing their sons and daughters. Vladimir himself is seized by lust: in addition to four wives, he has three hundred concubines in Vyshgorod, three hundred in Belgorod, two hundred in the village of Berestovo. He is insatiable in fornication: he brings married women to himself, and corrupts girls.

The Volga Bulgar-Mohammedans come to Vladimir and offer: “You, O prince, are wise and reasonable, but you do not know the whole doctrine. Accept our faith and honor Mohammed." Vladimir asks: “What are the customs of your faith?” The Mohammedans answer: “We believe in one God. Mohammed teaches us to circumcise our secret members, not to eat pork, and not to drink wine. Fornication can be done in any way. After death, Mohammed will give each Mohammedan seventy beauties, the most beautiful of them will add the beauty of the rest - this is how everyone will have a wife. And whoever is wretched in this world is also so there.” It is sweet for Vladimir to listen to the Mohammedans, because he himself loves women and many fornications. But what he doesn’t like is circumcision of members and not eating pork. And regarding the ban on drinking wine, Vladimir says this: “The joy of Rus' is drinking, we can’t live without it.” Then the envoys of the Pope come from Rome: “We worship one God, who created the heavens, the earth, the stars, the month and all living things, and your gods are just pieces of wood.” Vladimir asks: “What are your prohibitions?” They answer: “Whoever eats or drinks anything, everything is for the glory of God.” But Vladimir refuses: “Get out, because our fathers did not recognize this.” The Khazars of the Jewish faith come: “We believe in the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Vladimir asks: “Where is your main land?” They answer: “In Jerusalem.” Vladimir sarcastically asks: “Is it there?” The Jews justify themselves: “God was angry with our fathers and scattered us across different countries.” Vladimir is indignant: “Why do you teach others, but you yourself are rejected by God and scattered? Maybe you’re offering us a similar fate?”

After this, the Greeks send a certain philosopher who retells the Old and New Testaments to Vladimir for a long time, shows Vladimir the curtain on which the Last Judgment is depicted, on the right the righteous joyfully ascend to heaven, on the left sinners wander to hellish torment. The cheerful Vladimir sighs: “It’s good for those on the right; bitter for those on the left.” The philosopher calls: “Then be baptized.” However, Vladimir puts it off: “I’ll wait a little longer.” He sends the philosopher off with honor and convenes his boyars: “What smart things can you say?” The boyars advise: “Send ambassadors to find out who outwardly serves their god.” Vladimir sends ten worthy and intelligent: “Go first to the Volga Bulgarians, then look at the Germans, and from there go to the Greeks.” After the journey, the messengers return, and Vladimir convenes the boyars again: “Let’s listen to what they have to say.” The messengers report: “We saw that the Bulgarians were standing in the mosque without a belt; bow and sit down; they look here and there like mad; there is no joy in their service, only sadness and a strong stench; so their faith is not good. Then they saw the Germans performing many services in churches, but they did not see any beauty in these services. But when the Greeks brought us to where they serve their God, we were confused whether we were in heaven or on earth, for nowhere on earth is there a sight of such beauty that we cannot even describe. The Greek service is the best of all.” The boyars add: “If the Greek faith had been bad, your grandmother Olga would not have accepted it, and she was wiser than all our people.” Vladimir hesitantly asks: “Where will we receive baptism?” The boyars answer: “Yes, wherever you want.”

And a year passes, but Vladimir still does not get baptized, but unexpectedly goes to the Greek city of Korsun (in Crimea), besieges it and, looking up to heaven, promises: “If I take it, then I will be baptized.” Vladimir takes the city, but again does not get baptized, but in search of further benefits, he demands from the Byzantine kings-co-rulers: “Your glorious Korsun took. I heard that you have a girl sister. If you don’t give her in marriage to me, then I will do to Constantinople the same thing as to Korsun.” The kings answer: “It is not right for Christian women to marry pagans. Be baptized, then we’ll send your sister.” Vladimir insists: “First send your sister, and those who came with her will baptize me.” The kings send their sister, dignitaries and priests to Korsun. The Korsunians meet the Greek queen and escort her to the chamber. At this time, Vladimir’s eyes hurt, he cannot see anything, he is very worried, but does not know what to do. Then the queen forces Vladimir: “If you want to get rid of this disease, then immediately be baptized. If not, you will not get rid of the disease.” Vladimir exclaims: “Well, if this is true, then the Christian God will truly be the greatest.” And he orders himself to be baptized. The Korsun bishop and the Tsarina's priests baptize him in the church, which stands in the middle of Korsun, where the market is. As soon as the bishop lays his hand on Vladimir, he immediately receives his sight and leads the queen to the marriage. Many of Vladimir’s squad are also baptized.

Vladimir, with the queen and the Korsun priests, enters Kyiv, immediately orders to overthrow the idols, chop some up, burn others, Perun orders the horse to be tied to the tail and dragged to the river, and makes twelve men beat him with sticks. They throw Perun into the Dnieper, and Vladimir orders the specially assigned people: “If he gets stuck somewhere, push him away with sticks until he carries him through the rapids.” And they carry out the orders. And the pagans mourn Perun.

Then Vladimir sends out announcements throughout Kyiv on his behalf: “Rich or poor, even a beggar or a slave, whoever is not on the river in the morning, I will consider my enemy.” People go and reason: “If this were not for the good, then the prince and the boyars would not have been baptized.” In the morning, Vladimir with the Tsaritsyns and Korsun priests goes out to the Dnieper. Countless people gather. Some enter the water and stand: some up to their necks, others up to their chests, children close to the shore, babies held in their arms. Those who do not fit in are wandering around waiting (or: the baptized are standing at the ford). The priests are doing prayers on the shore. After baptism, people go to their homes.

Vladimir orders the cities to build churches in the places where idols used to stand, and to bring people to baptism in all cities and villages, begins to collect children from his nobility and send them to study in books. The mothers of such children cry for them as if they were dead.

About the fight against the Pechenegs. 992−997

The Pechenegs arrive, and Vladimir goes against them. On both sides of the Trubezh River, at the ford, troops stop, but each army does not dare to cross to the opposite side. Then the Pechenezh prince drives up to the river, calls Vladimir and suggests: “Let’s put up your fighter, and I’ll put up mine. If your fighter strikes mine on the ground, then we will not fight for three years; If my fighter hits you, then we will fight for three years.” And they leave. Vladimir sends heralds around his camp: “Is there anyone who could fight the Pechenegs?” And there is no one who wants it anywhere. And in the morning the Pechenegs come and bring their wrestler, but ours don’t have one. And Vladimir begins to grieve, still continuing to appeal to all his soldiers. Finally, one old warrior comes to the prince: “I went to war with four sons, and the youngest son remained at home. Since childhood, there has been no one who could overcome it. Once I grumbled at him when he wrinkled the leather, and he got angry at me and, out of frustration, tore the rawhide sole with his hands.” This son is brought to the delighted prince, and the prince explains everything to him. But he is not sure: “I don’t know if I can fight the Pechenegs. Let them test me. Is there a big and strong bull? They find a big and strong bull. This younger son orders the bull to be enraged. They apply a hot iron to the bull and let it go. When a bull rushes past this son, he grabs the bull by the side with his hand and tears off the skin and meat, as much as he can grab with his hand. Vladimir allows: “You can fight the Pechenegs.” And at night he orders the soldiers to get ready to immediately rush at the Pechenegs after the fight. In the morning the Pechenegs come and call: “What, there’s still no fighter? And ours is ready.” Both Pecheneg troops converge and release their fighter. He is huge and scary. A wrestler from Vladimir Pecheneg comes out and sees him and laughs, because he looks ordinary. They mark the area between both troops and let the fighters in. They begin to fight, grab each other tightly, but ours strangles the Pecheneg with his hands to death and throws him to the ground. Our people let out a cry, and the Pechenegs flee. The Russians chase them, flog them and drive them away. Vladimir rejoices, builds a city at that ford and names it Pereyaslavts, because our young man seized the glory from the Pecheneg hero. Vladimir makes both this young man and his father great people, and he himself returns to Kyiv with victory and great glory.

Three years later, the Pechenegs come near Kyiv, Vladimir with a small squad goes against them, but cannot withstand the fight, runs, hides under a bridge and barely escapes from the enemies. Salvation occurs on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and then Vladimir promises to build a church in the name of the Holy Transfiguration. Having gotten rid of the Pechenegs, Vladimir builds a church and organizes a grand celebration near Kiev: he orders three hundred cauldrons of honey to be boiled; convenes his boyars, as well as mayors and elders from all cities and many more people; distributes three hundred hryvnia to the poor. After celebrating eight days, Vladimir returns to Kyiv and again organizes a big celebration, convening countless people. And he does this every year. Allows every beggar and wretched to come to the prince's court and receive everything they need: drink, food, and money from the treasury. He also orders the carts to be prepared; load them with bread, meat, fish, various fruits, barrels of honey, barrels of kvass; drive around Kyiv and call out: “Where are the sick and infirm, who cannot walk and get to the princely court?” He orders them to distribute everything they need.

And there is a constant war with the Pechenegs. They come and besiege Belgorod for a long time. Vladimir cannot send help because he has no soldiers, and there are a huge number of Pechenegs. There is severe famine in the city. The townspeople decide at the meeting: “After all, we will die of hunger. It’s better to surrender to the Pechenegs - they will kill someone, and leave someone to live.” One older man, who was not present at the veche, asks: “Why was the veche meeting?” He is informed that the people will surrender to the Pechenegs in the morning. Then the old man asks the city elders: “Listen to me, don’t give up for three more days, but do what I tell you.” They promise. The old man says: “Scrape at least a handful of oats, or wheat, or bran.” They find it. The old man tells the women to make a chatterbox on which to cook jelly, then he orders them to dig a well, insert a vat into it, and fill the vat with the chatterbox. Then the old man orders to dig a second well and insert a vat there too. And he sends them out to look for honey. They find a basket of honey that was hidden in the prince's cellar. The old man orders to prepare a honey decoction and fill the vat in the second well with it. In the morning he orders to send for the Pechenegs. The sent townspeople come to the Pechenegs: “Take hostages from us, and you - about ten people - enter our city and see what is happening there.” The Pechenegs triumph, thinking that the townspeople will surrender, take hostages from them, and themselves send their noble people to the city. And the townspeople, taught by the smart old man, tell them: “Why are you ruining yourself? Can you stand us? Stand still for at least ten years - what can you do for us? Our food comes from the ground. If you don’t believe me, then see with your own eyes.” The townspeople lead the Pechenegs to the first well, scoop up the mash with a bucket, pour it into pots and cook jelly. After that, taking the jelly, they approach the second well with the Pechenegs, scoop up the honey broth, add it to the jelly and begin to eat - themselves first (not poison!), followed by the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs are surprised: “Our princes will not believe this unless they try it themselves.” The townspeople fill them with a whole pot of jelly and honey infusion from the wells. Some of the Pechenegs with the pot return to their princes: they, having cooked, eat and also marvel; then they exchange hostages, lift the siege of the city and go home.

About reprisals against the Magi. 1071

A sorcerer comes to Kyiv and in front of the people predicts that in four years the Dnieper will flow back and the countries will change places: the Greek land will take the place of the Russian land, and the Russian land will take the place of the Greek, and other lands will change places. The ignorant believe the sorcerer, but real Christians mock him: “The demon amuses itself with you to your destruction.” This is what happens to him: he goes missing overnight.

But two wise men appear in the Rostov region during a bad harvest and announce: “We know who is hiding the bread.” And walking along the Volga, no matter which volost they come to, they immediately accuse noble women, supposedly she is hiding bread, that one is hiding honey, that one is hiding fish, and that one is hiding furs. Hungry people bring their sisters, mothers and wives to the wise men, and the wise men bring a woman’s shoulder They seem to cut through and (supposedly from the inside) take out either bread or fish. The Magi kill many women and take their property for themselves.

These magicians come to Beloozero, and with them there are already three hundred people. At this time, Jan Vyshatich, the governor of the Kyiv prince, collects tribute from the Belozersk residents. Yan finds out that these Magi are just the stinkers of the Kyiv prince, and sends an order to the people accompanying the Magi: “Give them over to me.” But people don't listen to him. Then Jan himself comes to them with twelve warriors. The people, standing near the forest, are ready to attack Ian, who approaches them only with a hatchet in his hand. Three people from those people come forward, approach Ian and intimidate him: “If you are going to death, don’t go.” Ian orders them killed and approaches the others. They rush at Jan, the leading one misses with an ax, and Jan, intercepting him, hits him with the back of the same ax and orders the warriors to chop down the others. People run away into the forest, killing Yanov's priest in the process. Yan enters Belozersk and threatens the residents: “If you don’t grab the Magi, I won’t leave you for a year.” The Belozersk people go, capture the Magi and bring them to Yan.

Jan interrogates the Magi: “Why did you kill so many people?” The Magi answer: “Those are hiding the bread. When we destroy such people, there will be a harvest. If you wish, we will take grain, or fish, or something else out of a person right in front of you.” Ian denounces: “This is a complete deception. God created man from the earth, man is riddled with bones and blood veins, there is nothing else in him.” The Magi object: “It is we who know how man was created.” Ian says: “So what do you think?” The Magi rant: “God washed himself in the bathhouse, sweated, dried himself with a rag and threw it from heaven to earth. Satan argued with God over who should create a man from a Rag. And the devil created man, and God put his soul into him. That’s why when a person dies, the body goes to the ground, and the soul goes to God.” Jan exclaims: “What god do you believe in?” The Magi call it: “Into the Antichrist.” Ian asks: “Where is he?” The Magi answer: “He sits in the abyss.” Jan pronounces his verdict: “What kind of god is this, since he sits in the abyss? This is a demon, a former angel, cast out of heaven for his arrogance and waiting in the abyss for God to come down from heaven and imprison him in chains along with the servants who believe in this Antichrist. And you, too, will have to accept torment from me here, and after death there.” The Magi boast: “The gods inform us that you cannot do anything to us, for we must answer only to the prince himself.” Jan says: “The gods are lying to you.” And he orders them to be beaten, to tear out their beards with tongs, to insert a gag into their mouths, to tie them to the sides of the boat and to send this boat in front of him along the river. After some time, Jan asks the Magi:

“What do the gods say to you now?” The Magi answer: “The gods tell us that we will not live from you.” Ian confirms: “This is what they tell you correctly.” But the magicians promise Yan: “If you let us go, then much good will come to you. And if you destroy us, you will receive a lot of grief and evil.” Jan rejects: “If I let you go, then God will bring me harm. And if I destroy you, then I will have a reward.” And he turns to the local guides: “Which of you had relatives killed by these wise men? And those around them admit - one: “I have a mother,” another: “Sister,” a third: “Children.” Yang calls: “Avenge your own.” The victims grab the Magi, kill them and hang them on an oak tree. The next night the bear climbs the oak tree, gnaws them and eats them. This is how the Magi died - they foresaw for others, but did not foresee their own death.

Another sorcerer begins to excite people already in Novgorod, he seduces almost the entire city, acts like some kind of god, claiming that he foresees everything, and blasphemes the Christian faith. He promises: “I will cross the Volkhov River, as if on dry land, in front of everyone.” Everyone believes him, unrest begins in the city, they want to kill the bishop. The bishop puts on his robe, takes the cross, goes out and says: “Whoever believes the sorcerer, let him follow him. Whoever believes (in God), let him follow the cross.” People are divided in two: the Novgorod prince and his squad gather with the bishop, and the rest of the people go to the sorcerer. Clashes occur between them. The prince hides the ax under his cloak and comes to the sorcerer: “Do you know what will happen in the morning and until the evening?” The Magus boasts: “I will see through everything.” The prince asks: “Do you know what will happen now?” The sorcerer puts on airs: “I will perform great miracles.” The prince grabs an ax, cuts the sorcerer, and he falls dead. And people disperse.

About the blinding of the Terebovl prince Vasilko Rostislavich. 1097

The following princes gather in the city of Lyubech for a council to maintain peace among themselves: the grandchildren of Yaroslav the Wise from his various sons Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, Vladimir Vsevolodovich (Monomakh), Davyd Igorevich, Davyd Svyatoslavich, Oleg Svyatoslavich and the great-grandson of Yaroslav, the son of Rostislav Vladimirovich Vasilko Rostislavich. The princes persuade each other: “Why are we destroying the Russian land by quarreling among ourselves? But the Polovtsians strive to divide our land and rejoice when there are wars between us. From now on, we will unite unanimously and preserve the Russian land. Let everyone own only his own fatherland.” And on that they kiss the cross: “From now on, if any of us goes against anyone, then we will all be against him, and the honorable cross, and the entire Russian land.” And after kissing, they go their separate ways.

Svyatopolk and Davyd Igorevich return to Kyiv. Someone is setting Davyd up: “Vladimir conspired with Vasilko against Svyatopolk and you.” Davyd believes the false words and tells Svyatopolk against Vasilko: “He conspired with Vladimir and is making an attempt on me and you. Take care of your head." Svyatopolk believes in David in confusion. Davyd suggests: “If we don’t capture Vasilko, then there will be no princedom either for you in Kyiv, or for me in Vladimir-Volynsky.” And Svyatopolk listens to him. But Vasilko and Vladimir know nothing about this.

Vasilko comes to worship at the Vydubitsky Monastery near Kiev. Svyatopolk sends to him: “Wait until my name day” (in four days). Vasilko refuses: “I can’t wait, as if there were no war at home (in Terebovlya, west of Kyiv”). Davyd says to Svyatopolk: “You see, he does not consider you, even when he is in your homeland. And when he goes into his possessions, you will see for yourself how your cities are occupied, and you will remember my warning. Call him now, grab him and give him to me.” Svyatopolk sends to Vasilko: “Since you won’t wait for my name day, then come right now - we’ll sit together with Davyd.”

Vasilko goes to Svyatopolk, on the way he is met by a warrior and dissuaded: “Don’t go, prince, they’ll grab you.” But Vasilko doesn’t believe it: “How will they catch me? They just kissed the cross.” And he arrives with a small retinue to the prince’s court. Meets him

Svyatopolk, they enter the hut, Davyd also comes, but sits like a mute. Svyatopolk invites: “Let’s have breakfast.” Vasilko agrees. Svyatopolk says: “You sit here, and I’ll go and give orders.” And it comes out. Vasilko tries to talk with David, but he does not talk or listen out of horror and deceit. After sitting for a while, Davyd gets up: “I’ll go get Svyatopolk, and you sit.” And it comes out. As soon as Davyd comes out, Vasilko is locked up, then they put him in double shackles and put him on guard for the night.

The next day, Davyd invites Svyatopolk to blind Vasilko: “If you don’t do this and let him go, then neither you nor I will reign.” That same night, Vasilka is transported in chains on a cart to a town ten miles from Kyiv and taken to some hut. Vasilko sits in it and sees that the shepherd Svyatopolk is sharpening a knife, and guesses that they are going to blind him. Then the grooms sent by Svyatopolk and David come in, spread out the carpet and try to throw Vasilko onto it, who is struggling desperately. But others also pounce, knock Vasilko down, tie him up, grab a board from the stove, put it on his chest and sit at both ends of the board, but they still can’t hold it. Then two more are added, remove the second board from the stove and crush Vasilko so fiercely that his chest cracks. Holding a knife, the shepherd dog approaches Vasilko Svyatopolkov and wants to stab him in the eye, but misses and cuts his face, but again plunges the knife into the eye and cuts out the apple of the eye (rainbow with a pupil), then the second apple. Vasilko lies as if dead. And, like a dead man, they take him with the carpet, put him on a cart and take him to Vladimir-Volynsky.

On the way, we stop for lunch at the market in Zvizhden (a town west of Kiev). They pull off Vasilko’s bloody shirt and give it to the priest to wash. She, having washed it, puts it on it and begins to mourn Vasilko as if he were dead. Vasilko, waking up, hears crying and asks: “Where am I?” They answer him: “In Zvizhden.” He asks for water and, after drinking, comes to his senses, feels his shirt and says: “Why did they take it off me? May I accept death in this bloody shirt and stand before God.”

Then Vasilko is hastily brought along the frozen road to Vladimir-Volynsky, and Davyd Igorevich is with him, as if with some kind of catch. Vladimir Vsevolodovich in Pereyaslavets learns that Vasilko has been captured and blinded, and is horrified: “Such evil has never happened in the Russian land, neither under our grandfathers, nor under our fathers.” And he immediately sends to Davyd Svyatoslavich and Oleg Svyatoslavich: “Let’s get together and correct this evil that has been created in the Russian land, moreover, between us, brothers. After all, now brother will begin to stab brother, and the Russian land will perish - our enemies, the Polovtsians, will take it.” They gather and send to Svyatopolk: “Why did you blind your brother?” Svyatopolk justifies himself: “It was not I who blinded him, but Davyd Igorevich.” But the princes object to Svyatopolk: “Vasilko was not captured and blinded in David’s city (Vladimir-Volynsky), but in your city (Kyiv) he was captured and blinded. But since Davyd Igorevich did this, grab him or drive him away.” Svyatopolk agrees, the princes kiss the cross in front of each other and make peace. Then the princes expel Davyd Igorevich from Vladimir-Volynsky, give him Dorogobuzh (between Vladimir and Kiev), where he dies, and Vasilko reigns again in Terebovlya.

About the victory over the Polovtsians. 1103

Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and Vladimir Vsevolodovich (Monomakh) with their squads are conferring in a single tent about a campaign against the Polovtsians. Svyatopolk’s squad makes an excuse: “It’s spring now - we’ll damage the arable land, we’ll ruin the smerds.” Vladimir shames them: “You feel sorry for the horse, but don’t you feel sorry for the stinker himself? After all, the smerd will begin to plow, but a Polovtsian will come, kill the smerd with an arrow, take his horse, go to his village and seize his wife, children and all his property.” Svyatopolk says: “I’m already ready.” They send to other princes: “Let’s go against the Polovtsians - either live or die.” The assembled troops reach the Dnieper rapids and from the island of Khortitsa they gallop across the field for four days.

Having learned that Rus' is coming, countless numbers of Polovtsians gather for advice. Prince Urusoba suggests: “Let’s ask for peace.” But the young people say to Urusoba: “If you are afraid of Rus', then we are not afraid. Let's defeat them." And the Polovtsian regiments, like an immense coniferous thicket, are advancing on Rus', and Rus' opposes them. Here, from the sight of the Russian warriors, great horror, fear and trembling attacks the Polovtsians, they seem to be in a drowsiness, and their horses are sluggish. Ours, on horseback and on foot, are vigorously advancing on the Polovtsians. The Polovtsians flee, and the Russians flog them. In the battle, twenty Polovtsian princes are killed, including Urusoba, and Beldyuz is taken prisoner.

The Russian princes who defeated the Polovtsians are sitting, they bring Beldyuz, and he offers gold, and silver, and horses, and cattle for himself. But Vladimir says to Beldyuz: “How many times have you sworn (not to fight) and still attacked Russian land. Why didn’t you punish your sons and your family not to break the oath and you shed Christian blood? Now let your blood be on your head.” And he orders Beldyuz to be killed, who is cut into pieces. The princes take cattle, sheep, horses, camels, yurts with property and slaves and return to Rus' with a huge number of captives, with glory and a great victory.

Retold by A. S. Demin.

Scientists called " The Tale of Bygone Years “the initial, initial, part of our oldest chronicle, which sets out the fundamental data on our history. In the original it is called, of course, differently, which is quite accessible to everyone. Let's think about what the expression “temporary years” could mean? Are there other years that are not temporary? Space? Light ones? If not, if a thousand or a little less years ago there were no light years, spatial ones, then why did the chronicler define the years as belonging to time, if it simply did not happen otherwise? The expression, as we see, is completely meaningless: the definition of the word summer in translation is not required, it does not add anything to the meaning. But at first, ignorant, glance, it seems that the true title of the chronicle, “the tale of temporary years,” cannot be translated differently.

In the comments to the only existing translation, its author D.S. Likhachev writes that the word “temporary” means “past.” Why on earth does the word time mean past? This is an ignorant fabrication. Time is a theoretical, scientific quantity, the area of ​​definition of physical processes (movement), and a year is a unit of measurement of time. Conventionally, from the point of view of reality, formally, years are mapped onto the events they define, i.e. action is a function of time, action is determined by time. Thus, years can be mapped onto events - so to speak, temporary, which is the word we see in the original: “temporary”. Between the letters N in the word “temporary” there is a dull vowel sound b, which, when the emphasis was transferred to it, became clearer to full, i.e. This word would have passed into modern language in the form of tenses. The difference between the words temporary and temporary is the same as between the adjective crow and the participle blued. The first simply means a property, and the second - the result of the action, bluing. Therefore, the combination of “time years” also contains the result of the action. Since now the participle of the temporary is not used, another word should be used in translation, equal in meaning, for example, News of the Converted Years, i.e. mapped to events. Note that in the original the word “story” is in the plural, i.e. news, news. With the transition to the singular number, it would be necessary to emphasize in the translation the function, the circulation of years, which, in fact, constitutes the essence of the records by year - the Tale of the conversion of years.

Unfortunately, with the text of “The Tale of Bygone Years” the situation is exactly the same as with the title. Astonishing as it may seem, our ancient history is largely the ignorant invention of a few people...

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the fundamental work of our history. It sets out two mutually exclusive theories of the origin of the Russian people, Slavic and Varangian, - not the Norman one, which relies only on ignorant speculation and the inability to draw a conclusion, but the Varangian one. The Slavic and Norman theories are frankly far-fetched and contradictory - internally illogical and contradictory to foreign historical sources. Moreover, they cannot exist without each other. These are two ignorant views of the same object - the population of Ukraine. Actually, the chronicle contains only the Varangian and Slavic theories, and the Norman theory was invented due to the ignorant identification of the Varangians and Germans in the chronicles. The essence of these theories will be revealed below.

Why is a new translation of The Tale of Bygone Years needed?

With translations by D.S. Likhachev, and we don’t have others, the same interesting story happened as with the wife of Julius Caesar, who turned out to be above the greasy suspicions of the mob. Even a first-year student is able to motivatedly define Likhachev’s translations from Old Russian as ignorant, but in the “literature” no one talks about this - this must not be accepted, since for some reason Likhachev is considered a great scientist, unattainable in his greatness... In a word , Caesar’s wife immediately comes to mind, whom it is absolutely impossible to criticize - unless, of course, you want to become like the greasy mob.

Likhachev knew nothing at all from the grammar of the Old Russian language, not even cases, as will be seen below; He did not even know the grammar of the modern language firmly. For example, in the translation of “The Tale of Bygone Years” there are very childish spelling errors - “Zavolochskaya miracle” and “senseful”. Is it necessary to explain that in modern language the correct words would be Zavolotskaya and smart? But this savagery was published in a Soviet publication, which had to be prepared very carefully, with the participation of opponents, an editor, a proofreader... Do the aforementioned childhood mistakes mean that there was no preparation?

Yes, some words from the original are used here, but overall this meaningless collection of words in no way reflects the essence of the above sentence.

To translate the above sentence and understand it, you need to understand four simple things, it couldn’t be simpler:

1. “Yako” can mean both in the sense of when and even if.
2. “Yako” formally introduces a definition, since in the text it comes with the participle – “as having.”
3. In the sentence “as if I create with words” there is an obvious error, since the infinitive cannot be the main predicate, i.e. It would be correct to say “I want to create” (I will create), and not “exactly.”
4. The definition in the Old Russian language was often separated from the defined member by other members: “Glory to bringing Boris Vyacheslavlich to court, and to the canina the green papoleum, for the offense to Olgov, the brave and young Prince,” The Lay of Igor’s Campaign, i.e. “I’m in vain” can refer to the word “such.”

From here we get a literal translation of the above sentence, just verbatim:

If such a thing became magic, always seeing, like the prophetic Apollonius, who had frantic philosophical wisdom within himself, then he should have said: “I will do with a word what you want,” and not carry out his commands with an accomplishment.

If here, in a literal translation, something is not clear, then complaints should be directed either to the author of this thought, or to your ignorance of the harmful sorcery and the fight against it, right?

Compare the given literal translation with Likhachev’s translation: do they have much in common? Can Likhachev's text be called a translation if it has no relation to the original? For mercy, this is not even a retelling, but pure fiction. Alas, this is not the only case. This is not the exception, but the rule. Likhachev did not translate the text, but only expressed his opinion about what could be written here, and the opinion was deeply ignorant, not based on available grammatical facts and conclusions. Yes, but our history and science are based on this ignorant translation...

If you want to argue that historians should have read the original themselves, then just remember that you also read the above sentence yourself. And what? Was there much use? This is how historians read. The difficulties, we repeat, are objective.

In “The Tale of Bygone Years” many little details of the ancient Russian language were embodied, which, in terms of its syntax, has absolutely nothing to do with modern Russian. The syntax of the ancient language is very similar to modern English, it just comes to literal coincidences, for example, in the negation “no one can solve”, in the predicate “by learning”, corresponding to the modern English past continuous, and in independent participial phrases corresponding to the so-called. absolute participial phrase of modern English grammar. Imagine a person who began to translate a modern English text, believing that it was simply written in “English letters” and sometimes unfamiliar words came across... This is Likhachev with his translations.

Without even the most superficial understanding of the syntax of language, the connection and essence of the members of a sentence, Likhachev and his subordinates translated ancient Russian texts into modern language, and they were the only ones doing this. Even if we leave aside the ethics of such behavior of a narrow group of Soviet scientists, who dominated all translations and even philological works on ancient Russian literature (without Likhachev’s review, not a single book could be published), it should be noted that their activities, which brought them income and honor, was useless and meaningless for science and for society - monkey work. Yes, there are places in ancient Russian texts that even a completely ignorant person who knows nothing of grammar could translate correctly, for example, “and speech Oleg,” but in order to establish these places, you need to open the original text... In other words, every translation of Likhachev and his subordinates must be checked with the original. Sometimes, however, there is no need to open the original: even without it it is clear that the translation contains complete nonsense, complete nonsense (more examples below).

Translation contribution to science by academician D.S. Likhachev corresponds to the contribution of the notorious academician T.D. Lysenko - with the only difference that our science has long overcome Lysenko’s activity, but Likhachev’s translation activity has not yet. His translation activities fall under the definition of pseudoscience - inventions of one’s imagination, passed off as scientific solutions.

Norman theory in The Tale of Bygone Years

Many believe that the so-called. the Norman theory, the theory of building a huge and, most importantly, cultural ancient Russian state by wild Germans who had no culture at all, is already reflected in The Tale of Bygone Years, but this is only a consequence of an ignorant perception of the text, in particular in Likhachev’s translation, which, of course, is not a translation, but an ignorant fabrication:

Even without referring to the original, it is very clear where the complete nonsense is going on, in two places:

1. “Those Varangians were called Rus, just as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, so are these.”
2. “And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. The Novgorodians are people from the Varangian family, but before that they were Slovenians.”

What does the sentence “The Varangians were called Rus, as others are called Swedes” mean? Did the author think about what he was writing? Here an essentially schizophrenic picture arises, a break in the mental image, two simultaneous meanings that exclude each other: from the text it is clear that, on the one hand, the Varangians are a people who have this name, they even remember the “Varangian clan” (people), but on the other hand, the Varangians are a community of Germanic peoples mentioned in the text (the same story, by the way, with the chronicle Slavs). Moreover, this is completely obvious: if the chronicler in the first case, speaking about the expulsion of the Varangians, understood by them the community of Germanic peoples, as just below, then why on earth did he call them Russians? The name of the community of Germanic peoples as Varangians was completely clear to the chronicler, as can be seen from the text, but he did not consider them Russians:

And when I went across the sea to the Varangians to Rus', I feared the name of the Varangians was Rus', as behold, the friends are called theirs, the friends are the Urmans, the Anglyans, the friends of the Gate, Tako and Si.

It is very clear from the original that the conjunction “sitse bo” - since (sitse means so, and the second member is formal, as, for example, in the almost modern conjunction once that - if) was omitted from the translation. The chronicler tried to explain that in this case the Russian word coincides with the German one, like “swie” - retinues, “urmane” - boletus mushrooms (to the word urman, forest), “anglyane” - inoglyady, “gate” - ready-made. This, of course, is not the most beautiful historical theory, but the idea is still clearly expressed:

And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to the Russians, since those Varangians were called Russian, just as other Varangians are called retinues, others Urmans, foreigners, others ready-made.

From here, even without translation, a reasonable person, or more precisely, a person in his right mind, would conclude that the Varangian-Russians cannot be Swedes, nor Normans, nor English, nor Goths, since all these peoples are mentioned in one sentence, i.e. .e. they were different peoples in the eyes of the chronicler. Well, is it possible, based on this text, to deduce the Norman theory as the creation of the Russian state by the Swedes? It is quite obvious that in this case we are faced with both an anachronism in the word Varangians and its ancient meaning. An anachronism in relation to the time described is, of course, the explanations of the chronicler, who calls the community of Germanic peoples Varangians. The history of this word is extremely simple, and it’s simply a shame not to understand it. This word was borrowed from us by the Byzantine Greeks in the distortion Βάραγγοι (varangi, double gamma is read as in the word angel, ἄγγελος) and transferred to the Germanic mercenaries who came to serve Byzantium. From the Greeks, the new meaning ricocheted back and spread among us to the Germans in general... There is no doubt that the person who wrote the above passage knew not only the word Βάραγγοι, but also its new Russian meaning, a generalization, since he called the Germans in general Varangians.

This is the so-called Russian truth, law, and we are talking about some kind of military, since the company is mentioned - an oath with weapons. You can’t define them more precisely.

Neither Likhachev nor anyone else paid attention to this simplest logical contradiction only for the reason that he did not understand the text given. Yes, the words are all familiar, but the meaning escapes due to a misunderstanding of the syntax, in particular, the conjunction “sitse bo”. In the comments, Likhachev complained that the Normanists sought to find support for themselves in these words, but how could they not strive, God forbid, if it is clearly written in Likhachev’s translation that “the Novgorodians are of the Varangian family”? Think about what nonsense: “The Novgorodians are people from the Varangian family, but before they were Slovenians.” How did the Novgorodians change their nationality? Didn't this seem at least a little strange to the author of the translation? No, in his opinion, the Novgorodians formed the social support of the “Varangian clan” - “belonging to the organization of the clan”, and the Normanists were to blame...

To translate this sentence, you need to know what the second nominative case and the conjunction “ti” are. By the way, the double nominative is used in modern language, for example, he was a good person, which in form, in terms of syntactic connections, is completely equal to the sentence “The Russian land was nicknamed Novugorodtsy.” The difference between modern and ancient usage is that now the object in the first and second nominatives must be the same, and this is determined by meaning. Everything is very simple, much simpler than “belonging to an organization of the Varangian family”:

And if from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed Novgorodians, then people became Novgorodians from the Varangian family, and before there were Slavs.

In the sublime Hellenic language this is called irony - pretense, mockery of opinion in bringing it to the point of absurdity. The chronicler continues his brief comments in the same spirit, firmly believing that the Russians have no relation to the Germans. From here, by the way, we learn about the Novgorod origin of the ethnonym Russian, which, alas, is unknown to “modern science” due to the lack of translation of the chronicle.

“Modern science” has concluded that in our chronicle a “legend about the Varangian origin” of the Russians was created, but above we examined this legend in full and found that it was invented by our ignorant translators like Likhachev - if, of course, we understand the Varangians as Germans, as is usually the case understand. The strange thing is that the Varangian, but not the Germanic origin of the Russians is mentioned elsewhere in The Tale of Bygone Years, at the very beginning, in the description of the origin of peoples, where the Russians are mentioned twice:

There is no difference in spelling in the original. Wild from a modern point of view, the word “sit” should be understood in the sense of an ass, sedentary. Alas, Likhachev’s “translation” consisted of a thoughtless rewriting of an ancient text, the grammatically difficult passages of which were presented on the basis of groundless inventions. Pay attention to the ignorant spelling “Zavolochskaya Chud”. That's right, we repeat, it will be Zavolotskaya, from word to word. In the chronicle, Ch is stated correctly (volok - to drag), but now this is not the twelfth century, the rules are different.

In the comments, Likhachev wrote: “Rus - A.A. Shakhmatov and some other researchers believe that Rus' was added to the list of peoples by a later chronicler - the one who created the legend about the Varangian origin of Rus'.” Let us assume that the chronicler created a legend and in its text put forward sincere objections against it, which we discussed above, but could he insert into the chronicle contradictory to his opinion about the Slavic origin of the Russians, reflected in the above passage? This couldn't happen.

It is quite obvious that a certain ancient chronicler believed that there were two peoples with the name Russians, which is reflected in the above passage. Some of his Russians were among the Germanic-Roman peoples of Europe, and these were by no means the Swedes and Normans, mentioned nearby, and not even the Varangians, also mentioned in the list, but other Russians were in the Russian north, where ethnic Russians should be. Of course, there must have been some kind of connection between these two Russians, but, alas, there is nothing about it in the chronicle...

“Lovot” is actually Lovat, a trifle, and other mistakes are not particularly important.

If this had been read by a person with independent thinking, not our historian, bewildered by all sorts of theories, sometimes crazy ones like the Norman one, he would never have guessed that “the path from the Varangians to the Greeks” is the path from the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Black Sea and Byzantium. Where in the above text is the route from the Scandinavian Peninsula described? Even Likhachev wrote “there was a path from the Varangians to the Greeks” (of course, it needs to be capitalized, this is true), and then the path to the north along the Dnieper is described - the path to the north from the Greeks. In other words, “here” (there is no such word in the original) is within the Black Sea, from certain mountains on the Black Sea to certain Greeks on the same sea (they also lived in Crimea), and “from there” to the Dnieper and beyond . The passage describes a journey around Europe, from the Black Sea north along the Dnieper and back to the Black Sea along the ocean, which in the chronicler’s imagination merges with the “Varangian Sea.” The meaning of this description is not clear, but the Scandinavian Germans certainly have nothing to do with it. The Baltic Sea is called here the Varangian Sea in the above-mentioned later sense of the word Varangians - the German Sea, i.e. in relation to our prehistoric times, which the above passage describes, this is an anachronism. Nevertheless, many historians believe that since it is written “the path from the Varangians to the Greeks,” then it is certainly from the Germans to the Greeks, and therefore you can not pay attention to the other text... No, you couldn’t come up with a greater absurdity on purpose.

When considering the ancient Varangians, one should, of course, abstract from the ignorant identification of them with one or another Germanic people: there are no logical grounds for such an identification. There is no reason to doubt the existence of the Varangians, since in the same chronicle they are mentioned as a real people

Luda is not a cloak, but by the way, tin, i.e. chain mail, tinned, probably from rust. Accordingly, it is not difficult to understand the surprise of contemporaries who remembered Yakun: a blind man does not need chain mail, and chain mail does not need gold embroidery...

Here we already see a lie: nowhere, not in a single list of the Laurentian Chronicle and the Ipatiev Chronicle, is there a distorted word “slep” given by Likhachev - everywhere there is “slep”, even in the indicated edition it is noted in different readings: “In Laurel. and other blind lists,” Decree. cit., p. 137, i.e. The obvious misunderstanding is not calling Yakun blind, but the “conjecture” of modern science, which for no reason identified Yakun and Hakon. This is generally an excellent historical method: reality should not be deduced from the ancient text, but, on the contrary, the ancient text should be read on the basis of its own baseless fictions about the past. As for Eymund's saga, it is complete nonsense, such stupid and wild inventions that it is simply inconvenient to refer to them. In addition, in the text of Eymund’s saga available to us, no Hakon is mentioned (there, probably, “conjecture” is also done for correct “reading” - a scientific technique).

It can also be added that in the Ipatiev Chronicle the name Yakun is read as Akun. This is probably a coarsened Turkic combination Ak-kyun, White Sun (this soft Yu was persistently coarsened in our country: kuna, marten). Perhaps the Germanic name Hakon comes from here, from this combination, but Hakon and Akun are, of course, different persons. There is no reason to identify them - especially with reference to artistic nonsense, Eymund's saga. Such a reference is the same as a scientific reference to a feature film about American Indians (yes, it was also filmed on some basis of reality - just like Eymund’s saga was written).

There is no doubt that Akun, mentioned in the above passage, belonged to the very Varangians of the beginning of our chronicle - a people who had no ethnic relation to the Germans. They can be identified with the Avars, images of our chronicle, see Art. “Ancient Rus' and the Slavs,” especially since the names Avars and Varangians sound like they have the same root, Var. In other words, the Varangian theory of our chronicle has the right to exist - unlike the Norman and Slavic ones, which do not withstand even the most superficial criticism.

Slavic theory in The Tale of Bygone Years

Everyone has probably heard about the numerous Slavic tribes that have long lived in Eastern Europe, occupying vast territories, but almost no one knows that the source of his beliefs is just a few lines of the “Tale of Bygone Years”, and very, very dubious, outright false . Yes, of course, there are Christian medieval historical sources in which certain Slavs are mentioned, but they do not contain statements about the Slavic language, related to Russian, and about the belonging of this language, related to Russian, to many peoples, supposedly also related, coming from a single root. Moreover, for example, from Byzantine sources it is not difficult to conclude that the Slavs commemorated there in vain spoke a Germanic root language, see Art. "Ancient Rus' and the Slavs." Moreover, there is no independent evidence about the existence of the Slavic language and even the great teachers of the Slavic people, Cyril and Methodius, who allegedly gave the Slavs writing. All initial data is limited to our sources, contradictory statements in them, although it seems that the Byzantines could have known about the great and even saints of their compatriots Cyril and Methodius... No, they did not.

Cyril may have existed, it’s just that his name was not preserved in history, see the last part of the article about Rus' and the Slavs “Mother of Russian Cities”, and Methodius was frankly fictitious: there was such a Latin bishop, mentioned by Cosma of Prague in the “Czech Chronicle”, to which the liars equated the Byzantine Methodius. This lie is as stupid as it is blatant, but it has been successful for more than a century.

There is absolutely no logical reason to believe the chronicler's absurd statements that Russians and Slavs are one and the same. This statement, of course, contradicts other historical sources, in particular Muslim ones, but our “modern science” does not take this into account...

The Slavs in The Tale of Bygone Years appear in the same contradiction as the Varangians in the passage discussed above. On the one hand, the chronicler calls many peoples Slavs, and on the other hand, this many peoples had an ancestor named Slavs, a certain people who spoke an equal language to Russian. According to the authors of The Tale of Bygone Years, these people lived either in the Roman province of Noricum, which was in the upper bend of the Danube, where Munich is now, or in Illyria, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, opposite Italy.

It is impossible, of course, to believe in the described settlement of a people called Slavs in vast spaces measured by thousands of kilometers, from the upper reaches of the Danube to the Dnieper and from the Black Sea to the White, simply because this would require millions of people speaking, we emphasize, the same language . For the Slavic language to prevail over such vast territories, they had to be numerically and, most importantly, culturally superior to the local population, but the latter contradicts historical sources. Muslims, for example, describe the Danube Slavs as the most primitive social organization - with a tax in kind, food and clothing, see Art. about Rus' and the Slavs, but at the same time the Russians note foreign trade all the way to China. This gap is so monstrous, an abyss, that only a madman is capable of talking about the origin of Russians from the Slavs, from dugouts with subsistence farming. And is it really possible that the migration of such huge masses of people, even in modern times, went unnoticed by all European historians, primarily Byzantine ones? Was it really possible that such a large number of cultured people managed to hide from the eye of Byzantine and other historians? This can't be true.

An excellent example for comparison and understanding before our eyes is Rus'. Is it possible, even in delirium, to imagine that the Byzantine Greeks knew nothing about Rus'? No, this is completely unthinkable. Yes, but why then did they know nothing about the gigantic expansion of the Slavic empire, which included Rus' territorially? Well, on what other grounds, for what reasons, could a great people settle over vast territories or even spread their language there?

One can believe in the gradual and natural settlement of the Slavs down the Danube and in the departure of future Poles from the lower reaches of the Danube to the Vistula from oppression, but not in further massive resettlement to the expanses from the Black Sea to the White Sea. This is simply absurd, and there is not even a hint of confirmation of this information in European historical sources. Even in our sources on such a great occasion there are only a few general phrases.

The author of “The Tale of Bygone Years” very persistently connects together the settlement of the Slavic people and the spread of the Slavic language, however, for a person even superficially familiar with world history, there is no connection here: this is an extremely primitive view of history and, most importantly, invalid, not finding a factual confirmation. For example, do you think the Kazakhs and Turks come from a single people? No, of course, because they even have different races, but they speak languages ​​of Turkic root, i.e. the spread of language in this case has nothing to do with the settlement of people and biological inheritance. Of course, language is spread by people, or rather by cultural empires, but such spread does not go unnoticed. For example, the same Turkic language was brought from the Far East to Europe by the Huns, and this is very well known, although the Huns did not have their own history or written sources left. Yes, but why then is nothing known about the Slavs?

Of course, there were objections to the Slavic theory in ancient times. In particular, as can be concluded from the Tale of Bygone Years, there were people who questioned the Kiev origin of the Russians and defended, of course, the Novgorod origin. Since the apologists of the Slavs could not respond to criticism, ridicule was used. Here is a very entertaining parable, the mockery of the “Church Slavs” at their opponents, dedicated to the dispute about the place of origin of the Russians

Notice how much poison and impudence there is in the key idea of ​​the story: Kyiv had only just been predicted by the apostle, and the Novgorodians were already steaming with might and main in their baths, to the wonder of the same apostle. This anecdote is a clear mockery of those people who claimed that Novgorod is older than Kyiv and that Russians come from Novgorod.

Think about the monstrous, simply fantastic impudence: our “Church Slavs” even dragged a disciple of Christ into their nonsense, and without the slightest twinge of conscience.

It is worth noting that this anecdote is based on the above-mentioned story about a hypothetical route around Europe, from which an ignorant person who did not know the size of Europe and the Varangian Sea could conclude that the route used in ancient times to Rome from the Black Sea could pass around Europe - through the Dnieper , the Baltic Sea and the ocean into the Mediterranean Sea, on the shores of which Rome is located. In other words, the anecdote about the Novgorodians who surprised the apostle is by no means folk wisdom, not folklore, but an essay based on facts from historical literature, i.e. scientific.

The anecdote about the Novgorodians testifies that the Slavic historical theory in Rus' had opponents, and the “Church Slavs” could not object to them, which is why they turned to ridicule... Yes, but how much is the ancient historical theory worth, which some of its contemporaries confidently rejected? Was it possible to unconditionally believe in these nonsense?

Varangian theory in The Tale of Bygone Years

Languages ​​spread and are spreading through empires, cultural empires, through a built social structure that covered areas with a significant population, where people adopt a foreign language due to involvement in social relations, and non-literate peoples, as L.N. Gumilyov, changing the language is very easy. Yes, but where is the Slavic Empire in Europe? She was not there anywhere, that is. there was not a single valid reason for the spread of the Slavic language.

This simplest conclusion from world history - languages ​​are spread by empires - is, of course, confirmed in our history. In the Tale of Bygone Years there is a mention of the Varangian Empire:

Also given above is the statement that the Varangians were Russians, and this is completely consistent with world history: this is how it should be. The Russian language should not belong to the Slavs, the Germans primarily, but specifically to the Varangians, and the Varangians are not in Kyiv, but in Novgorod, as we know from the analysis of the Varangian theory above.

We cannot, of course, admit that in Europe in the ninth century AD there was an unknown empire (especially among Muslims). But the empire, which died shortly before the birth of Rus' and did not leave its written history, was only one - the Avar Kaganate. Consequently, we are simply obliged to conclude that the Varangians are the Russian-speaking part of the Avars, named in the Russian language (this language could have been called differently - there is no information). What is curious is that a few words remain from the Avars, and they all fit into the Russian language, see the third part of the article about Rus' and the Slavs, “Avars and Rus'.” The connection between the Varangians and the Slavs, of course, can be traced, because the Danube Slavs lived under the rule of the Avar Kaganate. Accordingly, we are obliged to conclude that the Russian language was perceived by the Danube Slavs as one of the imperial ones, spread along the Danube within the Kaganate, and later to the Vistula with the fleeing Poles. This is fully consistent with the facts of world history and even looks banal - in contrast to the fantastic settlement of wild Slavs over vast territories, which is impossible to believe.

Correlate this with the Slavic theory, i.e. with the systematic development of the Slavs from the Flood to Kyiv itself, only a person bewildered by all sorts of “theories”, from stupid to downright insane, could. It is written very clearly that Oleg captured the enemy fortress, where people with non-Russian names - Askold and Dir - were defending, after which he declared the capital of the new state here. "Mother of Cities" is a translation of the Greek word metropolis (in the more common Catholic Greek language, metropolis, like Homer instead of Omir or hegemon instead of hegemon). The ownership of this fortress on the Dnieper by the enemy is determined from the work of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, from the ninth chapter of his book “On the Administration of Empires,” entitled “On the Dews departing with Monoxyls from Russia to Constantinople.”

The construction of Russian cities in Ukraine was also started by Oleg, as noted in the previous passage, but this cannot be understood from Likhachev’s ignorant translation: “That Oleg began to build cities.” The original says differently: “Behold, Oleg began to build cities,” Decree. cit., p. 14, which is literally translated into modern language: It was Oleg who began to build cities, i.e. It was he who began to build Russian cities in Ukraine, in the crushed Khazar empire, and not anyone else. Obviously, this is why Oleg was nicknamed the Prophetic: having captured a small Khazar fortress on the Dnieper, he proclaimed his capital here for further struggle against the Khazars, and soon a large Russian city arose here, surrounded by others... And the city was simply huge for those times, the largest, probably in Europe, with a population of probably tens of thousands of people. There are said to be four hundred churches in it alone.

Ideology in The Tale of Bygone Years

From an examination of the chronicle data, it is obvious that the Slavic theory, the theory of the origin of Russians from the Slavs in Kiev and the Dnieper, is a blatant lie that contradicts not only historical sources, including the same “Tale of Bygone Years,” but also common sense itself. And the question arises, of course, for what purpose did the chronicler tell outright lies about the great cultural Slavs who did not exist?

Yaroslav the Wise, of course, is not some kind of Kotsel, but this is indescribable impudence, and from any, we repeat, point of view - both Greek and Latin.

Everyone can easily imagine how Christianity was established where this Kotsel ruled: the Germans came, cut some, tore others to bloody shreds, and then strictly explained that this was being done exclusively in the name of all the brightest and most beautiful things that humanity knows, - in the name of Christ. Our people, led by Vladimir, did almost the same thing, only instead of the Czechs there were Byzantine Greeks and our Christianity was not imposed, but accepted from the Greeks, see Art. "Baptism of Rus'".

Vladimir provided the Greek emperors Vasily and Constantine with military assistance in the fight against the troublemaker Barda Phocas in exchange for the priests, after which, naturally, he expected what was promised. No, look for a fool for five Roman soldi, the Greeks did not send priests, they deceived. Then Vladimir got ready, came to Crimea and took the Greek Chersonese, demanding not only the priests, but also a Greek princess as his wife, the sister of Vasily and Constantine, as a penalty for delay with the priests. The Byzantine emperors had to give up the priests and the princess, whom our chronicle still commemorates in 988, although the baptism of Vladimir is attributed not to a political agreement, but to his great spiritual insight... This is also a blatant lie. Of course, liars cannot be called Christians: they are Christian political ideologists.

Since Vladimir snatched the Christian priests from the Greeks by brute force - by threatening to take Constantinople after he took the Greek Chersonesus, a small “canonical” inconvenience arose: it seems like Christianity was supposed to be spread by the apostles and ascetics, and torn from the Greeks by military force for political purposes...

The second terrible political problem of the new empire was the obvious fact that Christianity was widespread in Rus' - in the Russian north, of course - back in the time of Patriarch Photius, when the Bible was translated into Russian, long before Vladimir, who, however, was mentioned above Larion, without the slightest doubt, declared Yaroslav the Wise to be completely equal to the apostles and the sacred support of the existing power. Of course, this was not canonization in the strict sense, since in that sense we did not even have a Church, but Vladimir was clearly declared a saint. Larion’s Word on Law and Grace has reached us, where the “canonization” of Vladimir is expressed extremely clearly - it couldn’t be clearer. Actually, affirming the sanctity of existing power was the purpose of Larion’s appeal to the faithful. This task was exclusively political, and not spiritual (all authority is from God, said the Apostle Paul). The goal of Christianity is the salvation of souls, but not at all to educate them in the correct political conviction or love even for Christian power. Power has nothing to do with the salvation of the soul.

The affirmation of the sacredness of power is, of course, an ideology, an eternal ideology in the world, for any strong power asserts itself as sacred - any one. The only difficulty was to make the new empire sacred in the canonical sense, and most importantly - without threats and violence, in a Christian way. Of course, the Greeks, under torture or threats to raze Constantinople to the ground, would even confirm that Christ was born in Rus' and left Rus' to teach in Palestine, but who needed that? And was it only the Greeks who were required to recognize the sacredness of the new world empire?

The Slavs were born only because, apparently, it was necessary to canonize power in the new world empire. Sacred Christian books in Russian existed before Vladimir - they were declared Slavic, not Russian, to which the chronicler paid great attention, inventing the story quoted above. Christianity existed in Rus' before Vladimir - it was declared Slavic, not Russian. Everything was cut down according to the Slavs, first of all - history. The Russians with their sacred empire began with Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, or quite a bit earlier, and before Vladimir there were exclusively Slavs, the ancestors of the Russians.

What was good about the new approach to history in the “canonical” sense? Yes, if only because the Slavs never forcibly tore Christianity away from the Greeks - on the contrary, the Greeks strangled them and tore them to bloody shreds in the name of all the brightest and most beautiful that humanity knows - in the name of Christ. The Slavs never destroyed Constantinople and were generally meek and quiet, like lambs. No one in Byzantium would ever call the Slavs with the terrible name Ros from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, as the Greeks still call us Russians to this day - from the biblical name of Prince Ros Mosoh and Fauvel, this Gog and Magog, the messenger of the cruel Adonai the Lord, who came to fight from the north at the head of many nations. To this day, there is not a single text in Greek in which the Russians would be named correctly, from the root rus, and not the biblical ros (actually, it is correct Rosh, but the Greeks did not have the Hebrew letter shin - Ш, it was replaced by WITH). And to understand the reason for this name, it is enough to read the words of Photius dedicated to our ancestors...

It seems that the reason for the birth of lies in our chronicle was not pride, as usually happens, the desire to exalt oneself by humiliating others, but, on the contrary, the desire to belittle oneself, to stoop to the lowest, in particular to the Slavs. Of course, a lie is a lie, but motives mean something, don't they?

A huge role in the falsification of history under the Slavs was probably played by the refusal of the Greek authorities to recognize our Church, which is why the Slavs were needed, to whom the Apostle Paul himself went to Illyricum - “a teacher to us Russians.” That's a strong word, isn't it? Why are all the Greek church hierarchs, and especially the secular authorities, against this? Nothing, empty space.

The Slavs were simply irreplaceable for ideology, and if they had not been in the Avar Kaganate at the time, they should even have been invented for the purpose of the triumph of ideology - the establishment of the sacredness of power in the state of Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir. Actually, history is ideology, always and everywhere, because the past is always and everywhere the foundation of the future. Historical works are not written in order to reveal to posterity the whole truth, as some naive people believe, but for contemporaries, in order to control the minds of contemporaries and, accordingly, the future. And astonishing as it may seem, historians sometimes succeed in mastering the future. For example, our minds are now dominated by such fierce obscurantists from centuries ago that it’s scary to even imagine them...

However, they were probably great righteous people: they didn’t eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, they didn’t commit fornication, and so on, according to the list. Well, if they lied somewhere, voluntarily or unwittingly, then it was not for the sake of sin, but from the best intentions - sacred, as it seemed to them. It may very well be that some of them themselves believed in their lies, considering it a strict conclusion, and the falsification of history just a “conjecture”, like the current ones. Well, you made a series of “conjectures” and came up with a bunch of nonsense, like Likhachev - is that really bad from a subjective point of view? And if Likhachev probably considered himself a scientist, then why should these past obscurantists think of themselves differently? How does their gigantic “conjecture” differ from the “conjecture” of Likhachev and others like him? Yes, nothing in the grand scheme of things: both are just history, that’s science.

Or the Königsberg Chronicle - a chronicle monument supposedly from the beginning of the 13th century, preserved in two copies of the 15th century - the Radziwill one, illustrated with numerous miniatures, and the Moscow Academic one. It is a “Tale of Bygone Years”, continued with weather records up to 1206.

The names are on behalf of the commander of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Vilna voivode Janusz Radziwill, who owned the first (Radziwill's own) list in the 17th century, and from the city of Königsberg, where this list was kept in the 18th century, until during the Seven Years' War it was taken to Russia in as a trophy (1761) and did not get into the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

The place where the list was created has not been precisely established, but there is an opinion that this monument is Western Russian in origin, and it is possible that the manuscript was written in Smolensk.

The list is kept in the Library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

Miniatures

Of greatest interest are the painted miniatures (617 in total) with which the Radziwill list is illustrated. This is one of three surviving Old Russian illustrated copies of chronicles. The other two are the Chronicle of George Amartol in the Tver list of the 14th century (a translation of the Byzantine chronograph, which is not actually a Russian chronicle) and the multi-volume Facial Arch of the 16th century.

Judging by the fact that in a number of cases the copyist inadvertently omitted the text found in the Radziwill list between the miniatures in the Moscow Academic List, a common protograph of both lists was illustrated.

Thus, the illustrations of the 15th century are a copy of earlier ones - as some researchers suggest, the original miniatures could even date back to the 11th century.

The miniatures of the Radziwill Chronicle, despite the schematized style, give an idea of ​​the life, construction, and military affairs of medieval Rus'. They are called “windows to a vanished world.” The subjects of the miniatures are varied: battle scenes, peasant uprisings, folk holidays, everyday scenes, specific historical episodes (“Battle of Nemiga”, “Capture of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk”).

1. Prophecy about Kyiv

It is obvious that the pagans are the Byzantines, and it is their naked Apollo with a shield and spear who is depicted. Snake... Maybe they wanted to kill him this way? Moreover, we remember the circumstances of the death of Prophetic Oleg.

4. Death of Oleg

And Oleg, the prince, lived in Kyiv, having peace with all countries. And autumn came, and Oleg remembered his horse, which he had previously set to feed, having decided never to mount it. For he asked the wise men and wizards: “Why will I die?” And one magician said to him: “Prince! Will you die from your beloved horse on which you ride?” These words sank into Oleg’s soul, and he said: “I will never sit on him and see him again.” And he ordered to feed him and not to take him to him, and he lived for several years without seeing him, until he went against the Greeks. And when he returned to Kyiv and four years had passed, in the fifth year he remembered his horse, from which the wise men predicted his death. And he called the elder of the grooms and said: “Where is my horse, which I ordered to feed and take care of?” He answered: “He died.” Oleg laughed and reproached that magician, saying: “The magicians say wrong, but it’s all a lie: the horse died, but I’m alive.” And he ordered him to saddle his horse: “Let me see his bones.” And he came to the place where his bare bones and bare skull lay, got off his horse, laughed and said: “Should I accept death from this skull?” And he stepped on the skull with his foot, and a snake crawled out of the skull and bit him on the leg. And that’s why he got sick and died. All the people mourned him with great lamentation, and they carried him and buried him on a mountain called Shchekovitsa; His grave exists to this day and is known as Oleg’s grave. And all the years of his reign were thirty and three.

The snake really crawled out of the skull... but was it the horse? And the snake itself in appearance is Red-headed Krayt, which is found in India and Southeast Asia. The guy on the left has two pairs of eyes and two noses, the second one from the left has also clearly been redrawn. I wouldn’t be surprised if before the corrections they wore turbans.

5. Igor’s campaign against the Greeks

Per year 6449 (941). Igor went against the Greeks. And the Bulgarians sent news to the king that the Russians were coming to Constantinople: 10 thousand ships. And they came and sailed and began to fight the country of Bithynia, and captured the land along the Pontic Sea to Heraclius and to the Paphlagonian land, and they captured the entire country of Nicomedia, and they burned the entire Court. And those who were captured - some were crucified, while others, standing them in front of them, shot, grabbed, tied their hands back and drove iron nails into their heads. Many holy churches were set on fire, monasteries and villages were burned, and a lot of wealth was seized on both banks of the Court. When warriors came from the east - Panfir the Demestic with forty thousand, Phocas the Patrician with the Macedonians, Fedor the Stratelates with the Thracians, and high-ranking boyars with them, they surrounded Rus'. The Russians, after consulting, came out against the Greeks with weapons, and in a fierce battle they barely defeated the Greeks. The Russians returned to their squad in the evening and at night, getting into the boats, sailed away. Theophanes met them in boats with fire and began to shoot fire at the Russian boats with pipes. And a terrible miracle was seen. The Russians, seeing the flames, rushed into the sea water, trying to escape, and so those who remained returned home. And, having come to their land, they told - each to their own - about what had happened and about the fire of the rooks. “It’s as if the Greeks had lightning from heaven,” they said, “and, releasing it, they burned us; that’s why they didn’t defeat them.” Igor, having returned, began to gather many soldiers and sent them overseas to the Varangians, inviting them to attack the Greeks, again planning to go against them.

Firearms?

6. Treaty of Igor with the Greeks

The ambassadors sent by Igor returned to him with the Greek ambassadors and told him all the speeches of Tsar Roman. Igor called the Greek ambassadors and asked them: “Tell me, what did the king punish you?” And the king’s ambassadors said: “The king, delighted with the peace, sent us; he wants to have peace and love with the Russian prince. Your ambassadors swore in our kings, and we were sent to swear in you and your husbands.” Igor promised to do so. The next day Igor called the ambassadors and came to the hill where Perun stood; and they laid down their weapons, and shields, and gold, and Igor and his people swore allegiance - how many pagans there were among the Russians. And Russian Christians were sworn in in the Church of St. Elijah, which stands above the Brook at the end of the Pasyncha conversation and the Khazars - it was a cathedral church, since there were many Christians - Varangians. Igor, having established peace with the Greeks, released the ambassadors, presenting them with furs, slaves and wax, and sent them away; The ambassadors came to the king and told him all the speeches of Igor, and about his love for the Greeks.

Church of St. Elijah in pre-Christian Rus', specially built for Russian Christians, because there are many Christian Varangians and... Khazars. Here is an old friend - naked Apollo-Perun on an antique stand.
This is some kind of brain drain!

7. Revenge of Princess Olga

Olga was in Kyiv with her son, the child Svyatoslav, and his breadwinner was Asmud, and the governor Sveneld was Mstishya’s father. The Drevlyans said: “We have killed the Russian prince; we will take his wife Olga for our prince Mal and Svyatoslav and we will do to him what we want.” And the Drevlyans sent their best men, twenty in number, in a boat to Olga, and landed in the boat near Borichev. And they told Olga that the Drevlyans had come, and Olga called them to her, and told them: “Good guests have come.” And the Drevlyans answered: “They have come, princess.” And Olga said to them: “So tell me, why did you come here?” The Drevlyans answered: “The Derevskaya land sent us with these words: “We killed your husband, because your husband, like a wolf, plundered and robbed, and our princes are good, because they protect the Derevskaya land - marry our prince Mala.” "". After all, his name was Mal, the prince of the Drevlyans. Olga said to them: “Your speech is dear to me, I can no longer resurrect my husband; but I want to give you honor tomorrow before my people; now go to your boat and lie down in the boat, magnifying yourself, and in the morning I will send for you, and you say: “We will not ride on horses, nor will we go on foot, but carry us in a boat,” and they will carry you up in a boat,” and she released them to the boat. Olga ordered to dig a large and deep hole in the tower courtyard, outside the city. The next morning, sitting in the tower, Olga sent for the guests, and they came to them and said: “Olga is calling you for great honor.” They answered: “We are not riding on horses or in carts, and we are not going on foot, but carry us in the boat.” And the people of Kiev answered: “We are in bondage; our prince was killed, and our princess wants for your prince,” and they carried them in the boat. They sat, majestic, with their arms on their feet and wearing great breastplates. And they brought them to Olga’s courtyard, and as they carried them, they threw them along with the boat into a pit. And, bending towards the pit, Olga asked them: “Is honor good for you?” They answered: “Igor’s death is worse for us.” And she ordered them to be buried alive; and covered them.

The Drevlyans are depicted as some kind of Europeans in cloaks and wigs, which appeared only in the 14th century.

8. Battle of Svyatoslav with the Greeks

And in the evening Svyatoslav prevailed, took the city by storm, and sent it to the Greeks with the words: “I want to go against you and take your capital, like this city.” And the Greeks said: “We cannot bear to resist you, so take tribute from us and for your entire squad and tell us how many of you there are, and we will give according to the number of your warriors.” This is what the Greeks said, deceiving the Russians, for the Greeks are deceitful to this day. And Svyatoslav said to them: “We are twenty thousand,” and added ten thousand: for there were only ten thousand Russians. And the Greeks set one hundred thousand against Svyatoslav, and did not give tribute. And Svyatoslav went against the Greeks, and they came out against the Russians. When the Russians saw them, they were greatly frightened by such a great number of soldiers, but Svyatoslav said: “We have nowhere to go, whether we want or not, we must fight. So we will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie here as bones, for the dead know no shame. If If we run, it will be a shame for us. So we won’t run, but we will stand strong, and I will go ahead of you: if my head falls, then take care of your own." And the soldiers answered: “Where your head lies, there we will lay our heads.” And the Russians became angry, and there was a cruel slaughter, and Svyatoslav prevailed, and the Greeks fled. And Svyatoslav went to the capital, fighting and destroying cities that stand empty to this day.

I'm having a hard time figuring out where...

9. Idol of Vladimir

And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kyiv, and placed idols on a hill outside the courtyard of the tower: the wooden Perun - the head of silver, and the mustache of gold, and Khorsa-Dazhbog, and Stribog, and Simargl, and Mokosh. And they worship them, calling them gods, and bring their sons and daughters and worship demons, and defile the earth with their sacrifices.

Purun golden-bearded, head of the silversmith, where? - I only see the already well-known red Apollo. But I see painted demons.

A large part of the chronicle is dedicated to the civil strife, and then the real trash begins.

10. Demons

There was another old man named Matvey: he was perspicacious. One day, when he was standing in his place in the church, he raised his eyes, looked around at the brethren who stood and sang on both sides of the choir, and saw a demon walking around them, in the form of a Pole, in a cloak, carrying under his skirt a flower called lepok. And, going around the brethren, the demon took out a flower from under his coat and threw it at someone; if a flower stuck to one of the singing brothers, he, after standing for a while, with a relaxed mind, came up with an excuse, left the church, went to his cell and fell asleep and did not return to the church until the end of the service; if he threw a flower on another and the flower did not stick to him, he remained standing firmly in the service until they sang Matins, and then he went to his cell. Seeing this, the elder told his brethren about this. Another time, the elder saw the following: as usual, when this elder stood for matins, the brethren walked through their cells before dawn, and this elder left the church after everyone else. And then one day, when he was walking like this, he sat down to rest under the beater, for his cell was at a distance from the church, and then he saw the crowd coming from the gate; he looked up and saw someone riding a pig, and others walking beside him. And the elder said to them: “Where are you going?” And the demon sitting on the pig said: “Follow Michal Tolbekovich.” The elder made the sign of the cross and came to his cell. When it dawned and the elder understood what was happening, he said to the cell attendant: “Go and ask if Michal is in the cell.” And they told him that “just now, after Matins, he jumped over the fence.” And the elder told the abbot and the brethren about this vision.

Under this elder, Theodosius reposed, and Stefan became abbot, and according to Stefan, Nikon: all this under the elder. One day he was standing at Matins, raised his eyes to look at Abbot Nikon, and saw a donkey standing in the abbot’s place; and he realized that the abbot had not yet risen. The elder saw many other visions, and he rested in venerable old age in this monastery.

And there was also another monk named Isaac; When he still lived in the world, he was rich, for he was a merchant, a native of Toropchan, and he planned to become a monk, and distributed his property to the needy and to monasteries, and went to the great Anthony in the cave, praying to be tonsured a monk, and accepted him Anthony, and put a black robe on him, and gave him the name Isaac, and his name was Chern. This Isaac led a strict life: he put on a hair shirt, ordered to buy himself a goat, stripped its fur and put it on a hair shirt, and the raw skin dried on it. And he shut himself up in a cave, in one of the passages, in a small cell, four cubits deep, and there he prayed to God with tears. His food was only prosphora, and that every other day, and he drank water in moderation. The great Anthony brought him food and served it through a window - such that one could only stick his hand through, and so he ate his food. And so he labored for seven years, without going into the light, never lying down on his side, but, sitting, he slept a little. And one day, according to custom, with the onset of evening, he began to bow and sing psalms at midnight; when he got tired, he sat in his seat. One day, when he was sitting like this as usual and had extinguished the candle, suddenly a light shone in the cave, as if from the sun, as if taking out a person’s eyes. And two beautiful young men approached him, and their faces shone like the sun, and they said to him: “Isaac, we are angels, and there Christ is coming to you, fall down and bow to him.” He, not understanding the demonic obsession and forgetting to cross himself, stood up and bowed down, as if to Christ, to the demonic act. The demons shouted: “You are ours, Isaac, already!” And, leading him into the cell, they sat him down and began to sit around him, and his cell and the entire cave passage were full. And one of the demons, called Christ, said: “Take sniffles, tambourines and harps and play, let Isaac dance for us.” And the demons burst into sniffles, and harps, and tambourines, and began to amuse themselves with them. And, having tired him out, they left him barely alive and left, having so outraged him.

Songs and dances of evil spirits.

Isaac observed that the demon would not calm down and defended himself from them with the sign of the cross.

What is the saving power of the life-giving cross - nothing can be done to Isaac from the visions of the devil!

Such were the monks of the Theodosius Monastery; even after death, they shine like luminaries, and they pray to God for the brethren living here, and for the lay brethren, and for those who donate to the monastery, in which to this day they all live a virtuous life together, together, in singing and in prayer , and in obedience, to the glory of Almighty God, preserved by the prayers of Theodosius, to him be glory eternal, amen.

11. Mystical phenomena in the chronicle

An unusual natural phenomenon is the fall of a serpent from heaven during the hunt of Vsevolod Yaroslavich of Kyiv near Vyshgorod.
The snake is the same - red-headed, which bites the Prophetic Oleg.

Pestilence in Polotsk and zombies

Yako Navier beats Polotsk

Invasion of locusts on Russian land.

Judging by the picture, the locusts are being incinerated by the sun.

The sign is three suns and a month in the sky.

Similar event at a later time

Earthquake

A fiery pillar of fire hammers the earth like lightning, illuminating the entire earth.

12. Unknown animals

The bear is dancing

The dog ran

Monkey eats an apple and shits

???

Jackal torturing a small dog

Bear disease

Never allow children to draw in books!

The entry of the army of Yaropolk Vladimirovich of Kyiv into Pereyaslavl, which was for 8 days in the hands of Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, on the left is an allegorical image of the Dolgoruky coat of arms, clearly drawn over the existing image.

A knight in 15th century armor makes hara-kiri

It is believed that this version of naked Apollo is Perun, but judging by... the acorn, it is Veles.

Troubadour from medieval Europe in tights

Another

And further

Eight-legged horse

Battle of the Troubadours

Robin Hood?

Brother Tuk?

Imagine, some are even trying to explain this logically!

You will be met there by a fire-maned lion and a white ox full of eyes...

A strange feeling remained after reading the text and illustrations of the chronicle. And, perhaps, I will neither declare this document a fake nor prove its authenticity. Definitely, the illustrations were subject to repeated editing. Some pictures look as if they were drawn by demon-possessed Isaac, and the beginning of the chronicle is more adequate in quality and content, both illustrations and text. Much does not fit into the generally accepted history. This applies to clothing and uniforms of soldiers. In the entire chronicle there is not a single battle scene from which one could clearly understand where the enemies are and where the Russians are, everyone is dressed the same. All differences come down only to the headdresses of the rulers. The illustrations themselves speak about the controversial history of the baptism of Rus'. The fact that the first Christian church in the chronicle illustrations appears to be located on the territory of the ancient Russian state speaks volumes. Vladimir after baptism is depicted in all illustrations with a halo, although the first reliable information about the official veneration of Vladimir as a holy equal-to-the-apostle dates back only to the 14th century, i.e. after writing the chronicle.