The Varangian prince Rurik was invited to reign. Where did Rurik really come from

It was this man who was destined to initiate the construction of a new state, which over more than a thousand years of history has grown into the largest state in the world. Let's get acquainted briefly with who was the first prince of young Russia?

History of the Eastern Slavs before Rurik

The ancient Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", answering the question: "Where did the Russian land come from," says that before the advent of the first prince of the Varangian Rurik, many scattered tribes lived on the territory of future Russia - Krivichi, Slovene and others. All these tribal unions had common culture, language and religion. Each of them tried to unite the rest of the tribes under its command, but the balance of power and constant wars did not reveal the winner. It was then that the leaders of the tribes decided that none of them would get power and it was decided that the invited prince would rule all the tribes. At that time, the most formidable warriors who were respected among the Slavic tribes, with whom there were close trade and cultural ties, were the Varangians - the inhabitants of Scandinavia. They easily served both the Byzantine emperors and went to hired squads in the west, and were also free to accept local beliefs, which made the Slavic leader Gostomysl and his companions go to Scandinavia and invite the Rus tribe and their king, Rurik, to rule.

Rice. 1. Prince Rurik.

Biography of the first Russian prince

We know very little about Rurik's biography. The date and place of his birth are unknown, and the years of reign are considered 862-879.

Rurik did not come to Russia alone. He was accompanied by two brothers - Sineus and Truvor. Their squads landed in northeastern Russia and were invited to Novgorod. Often there are disputes in which city Rurik ruled. There is an opinion that this is Ladoga - the ancient capital of the north Eastern Slavs. However, it was in Novgorod, having taken the reins of government, that Rurik went down in history as the first Russian prince.

Rice. 2. The calling of the Varangians.

He sent his brothers to reign in other strategically important cities. Sienus assumed power in Beloozero, and Truvor began to reign in Izborsk.

The internal policy of the prince was aimed at strengthening the external borders of the state, as well as their expansion. During the period of his reign, Smolensk, Murom and Rostov became part of Russia. Rurik made attempts to move south, but things did not go beyond the robberies of local peoples. Rurik's squad advanced to the Kiev lands. With the famous rulers of Kiev, Askold and Dir, Rurik signs a peace treaty. And although Askold still tried to plunder the lands of Rurik, his squad was defeated.

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Rurik began the subjugation of the Finno-Ugric tribes. He was responsible for the preservation and patronage of the Baltic-Volga river route, paving the way "From the Varangians to the Khazars", establishing trade relations between Scandinavia and the Arabs who passed through his lands.

He died in 879 in the city of Ladoga, leaving behind on earth a little son, the future Prince Igor.

Rice. 3. Prince Igor.

Igor was still a child when Rurik died. Before he grew up, the country was ruled by one of Rurik's associates, Oleg. He annexed Kiev to the young country, moved the capital there and was known for campaigns against Byzantium. Igor Rurikovich began his reign already in the role of the Kiev prince.

Rurik laid the foundation for the Russian monarchy. We learn about his immediate descendants from the pedigree chart.

Table “Immediate descendants of Rurik”

Prince	Who is Rurik	Years of government
Igor Rurikovich
	daughter-in-law
Svyatoslav the Warrior
Yaropolk Svyatoslavich

This year marks 1150 years of Russian statehood. This statehood began paradoxically - with the calling of the Varangians. How did the Slavic tribes live before Rurik came to them? What new did he bring? Priest Vasily SEKACHEV, an employee of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, tells the National Assembly about this.

The calling of the Varangians. V.M. Vasnetsov, 1913 G.

“Now it’s hard to imagine that someone would give not only all their land, but even a small part of it — for example, Kurile Islands- an alien, a stranger. Meanwhile, in 862, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Novgorodians invited the Varangian Rurik to reign, giving him power over their entire principality. What happened?
- Some consider the plot with the calling of a foreign ruler to be exclusively folklore, part of a certain tradition. One of the modern textbooks compares Rurik's calling to Novgorod in 862 with the invitation of the Anglo-Saxons to Britain in the 6th century, considering both events legendary. This is rather strange, because the Britons really invited the Anglo-Saxons. The Novgorodians of Rurik were also invited. As for the similarity of these two events, some literary processing probably took place in both cases, but it is important to understand what actually stood behind these similar stories, which made them typologically close. Take events in ancient Britain. Abandoned by the Romans, exhausted by the constant raids of the warlike Picts and Scots, the ancient Britons invited the Anglo-Saxons, known for their military prowess, to help, who, however, not only drove the enemies away, but also subjugated the Britons themselves, founding the famous seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In part, we see something similar here in Russia.

By the time Rurik was called in 862, the invitation of the Varangian squads to protect the cities had become an established tradition. From the middle of the 8th century on the territory of the future Russia, new cities arise, fundamentally different from those that existed before. Previously, cities were only military centers, the capitals of princes. In the 8th century commercial and industrial cities began to appear, which needed protection from tribal princes who tried to control them. The princes were at the head of the early state formations that appeared after the Slavic settlement of the 6th-7th centuries. These were not just tribes, as previously thought, but precisely the early states - "Slavinia", according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Byzantine emperor and writer of the 10th century.

- Where does the new information about those times come from? Are there any new sources?
- No, the book of Konstantin Porphyrogenitus "On the Management of the Empire", which says a lot of interesting things about our Slavic ancestors, has long been known to historical science. It's just that before everything was considered differently: if the classics did not talk about the existence of the state at this stage, then it could not exist. There are a lot of Byzantine, Arabic, Armenian, Western European sources that should now be read differently. This work is undoubtedly already underway. The most interesting studies of V. Petrukhin, E. Pchelov, A. Gorsky, British historians S. Franklin and D. Sheppard appear. But there are still many clichés and ideologies left from the Soviet past. Take, for example, the same Varangian question. Until recently, the point of view prevailed that everything is original in our country, we cannot have any foreign influence, we originated from ourselves and we have all the best. Other points of view were discarded or regarded as deliberately false. Meanwhile, so much archeological data about the Varangian presence in Russia has already accumulated that it is now impossible to deny the participation of more organized Viking Varangians in the formation of a single Russian state.

- So, after all, the more organized Viking Germans brought the beginnings of statehood to the less developed Slavs?
- Well, firstly, as we have already found out, the early states of the Slavs still existed before the Vikings. However, the Vikings (Varangians, as we began to call them - apparently, from the German “who took an oath”) directed our life in a slightly different direction. Their appearance on the territory of the future Russia in the middle of the VIII century. revived trade and gave rise to the development of the new cities already mentioned. The Vikings are our northern neighbors, their sphere of interest, as a rule, was located in the West. There they piracy, devastating coastal lands Frankish Empire, England (that's where the Anglo-Saxons already got it), Spain. They entered the mouths of the rivers Rhine, Meuse, Seine, attacked large abbeys and cities, and laid siege to Paris several times. At a later time, the Vikings advanced to Italy, captured Sicily. In the West, they were called Normans - "Northern people" - and there was even a special prayer in which Western Christians asked the Lord to deliver them "from the horror of the Normans."

But after the raids, the Vikings became merchants, trying to sell the loot more profitably. They actively traded in Constantinople, which they penetrated through the Mediterranean Sea (not forgetting, however, to be employed in the Byzantine imperial guard). And already in the VIII century. Vikings find another way to the capital of the Byzantine Empire - just along the rivers of our Fatherland. This is the famous route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”: from the Baltic Sea to the mouth of the Neva, then to Ladoga, through the Volkhov, Lovat, dragging to the upper reaches of the Western Dvina, then the Dnieper, and along the Dnieper to the Black Sea, and along it already to Constantinople. By the way, the Varangians then lay trade routes along other rivers and further to the East, to the Arab Caliphate (along the Volga, also through its upper reaches, to the Caspian Sea; along the Oka and the Seversky Donets, further through the Caucasus).

Initially, on the “way from the Varangians to the Greeks”, the Vikings also act as merchants, they arrange various transshipment points, a kind of trading post, near which trade with local residents eventually begins: the Varangians are attracted by furs, wax, honey, hemp, flax. The Slavs are gradually drawn into trade relations, Slavic merchants and artisans appear. They settled near the Varangian trading posts, while new cities appeared, having a trade and craft character. It is no coincidence that the Scandinavian sagas call our country Gardariki - “the country of cities”. All these are river, trading cities of a new type.

And when the tribal princes, the leaders of the "Slavinia" begin to rob merchants and artisans, imposing high duties on their cities, they naturally call for help those same Varangians, who now again act in the role of not merchants, but warriors. Relations with them acquire a contractual character: the prince (king) with a retinue (Rus) enters the service of the city, to its elders (in Slavonic "old men").

- With Russia?
- Yes. That's what the Scandinavian adventurers called themselves: rootsmen - rowers. That's what the locals call them. In Finnish, Swedes still have the name ruotsi, in Estonian roots'i. We began to call them "Rus". In the annals of the calling of Rurik, it is said that three brothers “from their birth” came to Novgorod and took “all of Russia” with them. In another place there is a record that the prince came "with his Russia", that is, a retinue. This explains the words of the chronicler: “From the Varangians, after all, they were nicknamed Rus, and before that there were Slavs” (898).

— What happened next?
— The kings were very successful in defending the interests of their cities. They began to defeat the Slavic princes - and moreover, even to subordinate their lands to cities. Completely different principalities arose, with centers in developed cities. It was then that the king-princes had a temptation: not to continue to serve the city "elders", but to dominate them. This led to new clashes. In the 50s. 9th century in Novgorod, we just see a similar conflict, which in 859, according to the annals, led to the expulsion of an unknown Varangian prince from the city. However, it turned out to be even worse for the Novgorodians to live without a prince. After all, Novgorod, obviously due to the activities of the same Varangian princes, by that time was a huge northern empire, which included the lands of the Krivichi, and the future Pskov lands, and Beloozero - up to Rostov. Without the prince and his squad, it was impossible to keep these territories in obedience. Disintegration and civil strife began. And then in 862 the Novgorod authorities invite Rurik.

Rurik. Fragment of the monument "Millennium of Russia". Velikiy Novgorod

- Why Rurik?
- The fact is that the Varangian prince expelled in 859 came from Sweden, and Rurik, apparently, was a Dane. Apparently, this is Rorik of Jutland, a fairly well-known figure in Western history, no less than a Danish prince, descended from the Skjoldung dynasty, brother of the Danish king Harald. Rorik was born at the beginning of the 9th century, was subsequently expelled from Denmark and was in the service of Lothair, the son of the last emperor of the Frankish Empire, Louis the Pious.

- Is this the same Rorik who was called the "ulcer of Christianity"?
- Yes he. Lothar handed over Friesland to Rorik, and he defended it from the raids of other Vikings, but at the same time he himself was a fierce persecutor of Christians. After some time, however, Rorik of Jutland (and Friesland) was nevertheless baptized, perhaps for some opportunistic reasons, perhaps, sincerely, we do not know this.

Rorik continued to make attempts to take the Danish throne, but always to no avail. However, at the turn of 850-860. it was Rorik who led the campaign of the Danes against the Baltic tribe of the Curonians, who acted in alliance with the Swedes. The Swedish fleet was defeated in a naval battle, and this was the undoubted merit of Rorik. Historians believe that this is why the Novgorodians invited Rorik, that he was an enemy and winner of the Swedes, to whom their former prince belonged.

According to Western sources, just at the end of the 850s, Rorik disappears somewhere. Most likely, at that moment he was called to Russia. Historians note that the dating of The Tale of Bygone Years is rather arbitrary, there were errors. For example, the year that we have, according to the annals, is 866, according to Byzantine sources, it is 860 (this is the year of the famous campaign of Rurik's combatants Askold and Dir to Constantinople). And therefore, most likely, Rurik was called to Russia at the turn of the 850-860s. As for the German “Ordnung” (order) in the world of Slavic-Balto-Ugrian-Finnish chaos (all these are the ancestors of the modern Russian people), then, on the one hand, the Varangians, perhaps, brought us a certain organization of state life, but more important It seems to me that they gave impetus to the development of trade and crafts, and this took on original domestic forms and was superimposed on the traditional Slavic self-government.

- It turns out that the countdown of Russian statehood from Rurik is a convention? Rurik - one of many?
- By by and large, a single state with a capital in Kiev arose in 882, when a relative of Rurik Oleg (also from the Skjöldung dynasty - why he nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople: after all, “skjöld” is the “shield”) killed Askold and Dir and occupied Kiev. And the history of Russian statehood can be conducted from this moment (besides, in the annals under this year it is written that there used to be Varangians, Slavs and others, and now “everyone was nicknamed Rus”). Of course, we can say that after all, Rurik founded a dynasty that ruled Russia until 1598. But it seems to me that the significance of Rurik lies primarily in the fact that he was familiar with the beginnings of the Frankish statehood, dating back to the Roman statehood, and planted them on the territory of our Russia, while other Varangian kings had only the German order in their arsenal, not reasoning discipline and the power of the strong.

Rurik fortifications around the church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga. Photo by S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1909

Rurik left his coat of arms in Staraya Ladoga, where his residence was located. This is a hunting falcon flying down (falling on prey). Perhaps the famous trident of Prince Vladimir, which became the national emblem of Ukraine, comes from here. According to one version, the trident is nothing more than Rurik's falcon superimposed on the two-horned staff of the Khazar Khagan (the Khagan was considered the most authoritative ruler, and all the rulers tried to imitate him, adopting his symbols of power).

- Did the Vikings Sineus and Truvor really come with Rurik? Or are these misunderstood Varangian words?
– The motif of brothers acting together is found in the mythology of various European peoples, and this alarmed many researchers, in particular academician Rybakov, who said that these were not names, but distorted Varangian words: “his family” and “loyal squad”. But modern historians take this more calmly, they admit that Rurik should have had some helpers who could come from his relatives, and most importantly, archaeological research proves that both in Izborsk and Beloozero, these large shopping malls of its time, there are undoubted signs of the presence of the Vikings. At one time it was believed that this was not so, and there were no finds from the 9th century in Beloozero, but then they were found anyway.

- Who are Askold and Dir? And what do they have to do with Rurik?
- According to the annals, these are Rurik's warriors, who were sent to the south by him in order to restore Varangian control over the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", the middle of which was captured by the Khazars. Askold and Dir liberated Kiev from the power of the Khazars, but they themselves sat there as princes. In 866 (and according to the Greek sources, which we trust more, in 860) they went on a campaign against Constantinople. While the "godless Russians" ravaged the neighborhood, Patriarch Photius performed an all-night vigil in the Blachernae Church, and then, after procession along the walls of Constantinople, a miracle appeared from the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. Its edge was lowered by Patriarch Photius into the sea, a terrible storm broke out, which scattered the Russian fleet and drove them away from the city. After that, Askold and Dir invited a Greek preacher to Kiev and received holy baptism, the first Christian diocese arose in Kiev. Who knows, maybe the fact that their former leader Rurik was a Christian played some role in their conversion to God.

The Old Russian annals of the XII century "The Tale of Bygone Years" says that exactly 1153 years ago such tribes as the Chud, the Ilmen Slovenes, the Krivichi and the whole called for the Varangian Rurik to reign in Novgorod.

The vocation of the Varangians is an event from which it is traditionally customary to count the beginning of the reign of the Rurik dynasty, which united Novogorod and Kievan Rus.

Varangians in power

The chronicler of the "Tale" calls the reason for inviting Rurik to the civil strife that engulfed the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes living in the Novgorod lands. The ancestor of the princely dynasty came with his people, called Rus. Historians to this day argue who Rurik was and where exactly he came from. Many associate its origin with Denmark and Sweden. Mikhail Lomonosov led him out of the Prussians with the Varangians. He relied on toponyms and later chronicles. The Russian scientist also accepted the Slavic origin of Rurik as an indisputable fact. One way or another, he became the first chronicle authentic Russian prince.

Rurik (Miniature from the "Royal titular book". 17th century) Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

In 862, according to the chronicle, three brothers from the Varangians - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor - came to rule three urban areas. Sineus settled in Beloozero, Truvor - in Izborsk, but Rurik, according to some sources, settled in Ladoga, according to others - in Novgorod.

At the same time, the legend about the calling of the Varangians can be nothing more than a legal justification new form board. Legitimate power must always be approved by the public, and according to some reports, the elders at a general meeting decided to abandon popular rule and put a single ruler over themselves who could fairly administer justice and protect the Slavs from raids.

Probably, in reality it was a little different. The Varangians, presumably, were invited to protect themselves from barbarian raids and to end civil strife. The invited military leaders could understand how rich the land where they came to serve, and they wanted more. It is possible that they remained in power against the will of the Slavs.

Execution of the Brave

Later, in the annals, evidence appears that the Novgorodians rebelled against the Varangian rulers. The leader of the uprising was a certain Vadim the Brave. Rurik and his brothers managed to suppress the rebellion, and executed the Brave. Sineus and Truvor apparently died in these battles. After that, Rurik annexed their lands to the Novgorod region.

Two Varangians from Rurik's squad, Dir and Askold, went to Constantinople. On their way south, they ended up in Kiev, where they were hired to protect themselves from external enemies. There, the hired Varangians quickly turned from defenders into rulers. They were able to completely capture the Kiev city region.

The merchant journey to Constantinople of Askold and Dir took place later, but turned into a conquering one. The Varangians gathered a large army and in 866 on 200 boats they moved to the Byzantine capital. They could not take it, because, according to the testimony of the chronicler, the Greek Patriarch Photius lowered the riza into the water Mother of God that caused a storm. She sank some of the boats of the invaders, who were frightened by what had happened. They decided to apply to the Metropolis of Constantinople with a petition for holy baptism.

Already closer to 870, the Russian lands had the Northern Union - with its center in Novgorod, as well as the Southern Union - with the capital in Kiev. The first was ruled by Rurik, and in the second, power belonged to Dir and Askold.

First of the dynasty

The Varangian, who initiated the countdown of the Rurik dynasty, died in 879. He left behind a close relative and friend Oleg as Novgorod prince.

Rurik, during his reign, managed to annex Finnish lands to the Russian territories, as well as territories that were occupied by scattered tribes of the Eastern Slavs.

Most of the Slavs were now united by common customs, language and faith. This contributed to the formation of a new political formation, when a sovereign ruler is at the head of the state. Rurik did not become one, but was the founder of a dynasty that ruled until the end of the 16th century. The last of the Ruriks on the throne was Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.

In September 2015 on central square Staraya Ladoga, on the banks of the Volkhov, a monument to Rurik and Prophetic Oleg was erected. Many researchers are inclined to believe that it was from here that the unification of the Slavic tribes began and the history of Russia began.

Rurik on the monument "1000th Anniversary of Russia" in Veliky Novgorod. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

This monument was the first sculpture that immortalized the founder of Russian statehood. Earlier Rurik among others statesmen was depicted only on the monument "Millennium of Russia".

As you know, the discussion around Norman theory The emergence of the Russian state has been going on for many centuries. According to her, at the origins of its formation were the Normans ("northern people") - the Scandinavians, invited by representatives of the Slavic tribes. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the names of Rurik, Sineus and Truvor are heard. A few years ago, a monument was even erected to the legendary Rurik (and his son Oleg the Prophet) in Staraya Ladoga, marking exactly the very place where they came to reign. However, this theory has many opponents. Among them is our today's interlocutor - director of research at the National Center for Underwater Research, scientific director of the project "Underwater Heritage of Russia" Andrey LUKOSHKOV.

So the artist Nicholas Roerich depicted the arrival of overseas guests in the northern Slavic lands. The painting "Foreign Guests" (1901) is in the collection of the Russian Museum. REPRODUCTION. AUTHOR'S PHOTO

- Andrei Vasilyevich, what gives you reason to doubt the Norman theory?

First of all, the work of archaeologists, who record the limited distribution of Scandinavian products in the territory Ancient Russia, and Old Russian - on the Scandinavian Peninsula. And vice versa, the wide use of ancient Russian products on the southern coast of the Baltic and the South Baltic - in the ancient Russian lands.

The conclusions of the "land" colleagues are confirmed by our own research. Since 2006, specialists from the Center for Underwater Research of the Russian Geographical Society have been scientific program for the reconstruction of ancient water trade routes. We do underwater prospecting work to find ships lying at the bottom of rivers and lakes, and try to understand how the transport corridors passed.

It has already been possible to carry out instrumental surveys of the bottom of the Neva, Volkhov, Luga, Oredezh, Rossoni, Narova, Velikaya, Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland in Russia, as well as the rivers Suur-Emajõgi, Kale-Joki and Lake Peipsi in Estonia, the rivers Venta, Lielupe, Bullipe , Daugava and Gulf of Riga in Latvia. As a result of the search, dozens of dead ships of different eras were found, which indicates the constant use of these routes. In addition, we also analyzed the finds of ancient vessels made by colleagues from the south of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Northern Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

The main conclusion: among the objects found along these waterways, there are no keel ships characteristic of the Scandinavians. The found boats and ships belong to the traditional Slavic types.

The Slavs did not build keel seagoing ships, similar to the Scandinavian ones, but used flat-bottomed ones, convenient for navigation along rivers full of shoals and vast sandy shallow waters of the southern and eastern coasts of the Baltic. In fact, we are talking about ships of the "river - sea" type, which were the best way adapted for the delivery of goods to ancient Russian cities remote from the sea coast.

These ships were fundamentally different from the Scandinavian ships with powerful keels and riveted load-bearing plating. Slavic ships had wireframe- with a dugout base or powerful load-bearing frames, on which the sheathing was attached end-to-end. The seams of the boards of the bottom and sheathing had grooves, they were sealed with planks, which were called flippers (losts). They were fixed in the grooves with metal brackets.

Such technologies were widespread both in the territory of Ancient Russia and on the southern coast of the Baltic, where the South Baltic Slavs lived. By the way, they were successfully used until the middle of the twentieth century.

In addition, Slavic ships did not have side rudders characteristic of the Scandinavian tradition, but were equipped with wide stern oars. In Ancient Russia they were known as "styr" (sterno), in Low German - sture. Another common technique was the use wooden nails, which wedged in the holes, and forged iron nails, fixed by double bending of the tip.

The stern and prow of an ancient dugout boat found by underwater archaeologists on the Luga River.
PHOTO from the archive of the National Center for Underwater Research

- So where then could the legendary Rurik come from?

According to many historians, he could rather come from the territory of modern Northern Germany or the current Kaliningrad region than from the Scandinavian Peninsula. Historians name two main versions of the starting point where Rurik could live. First: the southern coast of the Baltic - on the lands of the Obodrites from Oldenburg to Rostock, standing on the Varnov River ...

Let us explain to readers that the obodrites are a medieval union of Slavic tribes that lived in the lower reaches of the Elbe (Labe), in the west of modern Mecklenburg, in the eastern part of Schleswig-Holstein and the northeastern part of modern Lower Saxony ...

The second version - Rurik could come from the territories at the mouth of the Neman River. On old maps, its entire lower reaches and mouth are called Russa.

Today there is no clarity on this issue. But, in our opinion, the arrival of Rurik to the source of the Volkhov along the rivers is more likely than sailing from the south of the Baltic through the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga to Aldeygyuborg (as the current Staraya Ladoga was called in Swedish sources) in the lower reaches of the Volkhov. However, from the texts of the chronicles it follows that after the death of Rurik, the Rus left the territory of Staraya Ladoga for the Dnieper and there, on the banks of the Volkhov, the Scandinavians really came ...

In general, from Russian and Scandinavian written sources it follows that on early stages of its existence and in the first centuries of the formation of Ancient Russia, Ladoga (Aldeygyuborg) had special rights up to autonomy. And we know that throughout the 11th century, Scandinavians were at the head of the Ladoga yarlstvo, submitting to the authority of the Slavic supreme princes.

Judging by the sagas, the Scandinavians came to Aldeigjuborg on their ships, then asked for permission to advance to Holmgard, which today is understood as the Rurik settlement, which is near present-day Veliky Novgorod. Having received the "go-ahead", they left their ships in Ladoga and moved deep into the Slavic territory, either by land or on local Slavic ships.

And, judging by the surviving written sources, this was the only way for the Scandinavians to penetrate into the region between Ladoga, Ilmen and Lake Peipus. After all, neither the Latvian Gauja, nor the Estonian Pärnu, nor the Narova or Luga, Scandinavian ships could not go deep. They were strong in their seaworthiness, but they were built for sailing precisely on the open sea or along the so-called deep coasts - that is, those that immediately begin to deepen.

They simply did not have the opportunity to move along shallow rivers with a large number of rapids. First of all, due to the large mass and massive protruding keel down by 40 - 50 centimeters. Such a keel did not allow ships to pass through the rifts or maneuver between the stones on the rapids. And the massive hull excluded the possibility of dragging Scandinavian ships past the threshold along the coast ...

Even less than combat ships, the Scandinavian trading "knorrs" were suitable for sailing along the Russian rivers. Indeed, in addition to what has already been said, they were built for sailing and had only three pairs of oars on the bow for maneuvering when entering the port and approaching the pier. The crew of these vessels consisted of only a few people, who physically could not provide either long rowing up and down the river, or towing a vessel with a tow line.

The same applies to the advance of the Scandinavians upstream of the Daugava (Western Dvina). There, the final point of the Scandinavian voyage was the Daumgale fortress (now it is a hillfort on the left bank of the Daugava River, 22 km southeast of Riga. - Ed.). By the way, in terms of plan it is very similar to Staraya Ladoga.

- It turns out that the Scandinavian ships could not penetrate deep into the territory of Russia?

Yes, even Scandinavian historians recognize this. In their opinion, the Scandinavians could move there only using local Slavic ships, which is also confirmed by our underwater research. So far, not a single vessel built according to the Scandinavian constructive scheme. And the find closest to the territory of Russia is only in Finnish waters in the Lapuri region near the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland near the modern border of Russia and Finland.

True, Scandinavian ship rivets were found in several settlements. This may mean that Scandinavians may have lived here, but either a short time or they quickly lost their Scandinavian skills.

As for the Norman theory, it must be clearly understood that this is a purely speculative concept. It arose in the 17th century, in the era of Great Sweden, when this country had colonies in America and Africa and for a short period (during the Time of Troubles) owned Novgorod and created for itself great story. The theory became widespread a century later, that is, when the Arabic, Persian, Old Russian and Scandinavian written sources known today had not yet been put into circulation, and there were practically no archaeological data.

New data in favor of the Norman version has not appeared for a long time, but against it - more and more. And the study of courts is only one of the components of the overall picture. I repeat, there are no finds of Scandinavian ships in Russia (except perhaps in Staraya Ladoga, but it was most likely a Scandinavian settlement), but there are many Slavic ones.

In addition, Scandinavian sources generally write very little about visits to Russia. Moreover, well-known cases are the end of the 10th century and the 11th century. And, most importantly, we are talking only about eight or nine episodes of the arrival of Scandinavian detachments to Russia, led by Scandinavian "political emigrants" - kings, who were defeated in the struggle for power and either entered the service of the Russian princes, or came to rob food for their warriors . This number also includes two cases of groups of Scandinavian Christians fleeing to Russia, fleeing the persecution of their pagan radicals. At the same time, they stayed in Russia for a short time - no more than three years. In one case, five. And the number of such units was small.

In general, archaeological finds prove that the impetus for movement, trade and development of the Ladoga lands came from the south, from the side of the Slavs, and not from the Scandinavian northwest. And, without a doubt, it was the Slavs who dominated the river routes of the north-west of Russia and the Baltic ... Research continues - let's see what else can be found.

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On Bolshaya Porokhovskaya Street, 18, there is a stone mansion in the northern modern style, fashionable for the 20th century. Let's take a closer look at it.

Counterfeit coins of various denominations surfaced here and there, and soon reports of “rather strange finds” began to come to the police.

In what year did Rurik begin to rule and why was he invited to reign in Russia? Plz help!!

1. 862-879
2. 862-879
3. Varangians - forest paths, snags - a clumsy forest, barbarians crossing paths, crossroads.
   Vikings are Vikings, we are kings.
   The name of the people - Russians, appeared after the appearance Russian Empire. And before that, the same people were called - Russ. Because they lived in Russia. But, Russia is a form of government in the country. Russia is the generic device of the country. The ancient countries of Daaria (Dar to the Aryans, it is also in Greek - Hyperborea), Asia (now Asia), Great Tartaria - this is all Russia. The Russian Empire, and later Russia, is no longer Russia. Although Russia is Russia this, which means Russia this, but in the country there was no longer a tribal government. It was before the Russian Empire, much smaller in area - Russia, which some people considered the country of Russenia. In terms of governance in the country, e can be considered Russia.
4. In the middle of the 9th century, the Slavic and Finno-Ugric expelled the Varangians from Russia across the sea. The enmity began, the clan went on the clan. They decided to look for a prince to rule and judge with truth. They sent ambassadors to one of the Varangian tribes and in 862 called for Prince Rurik to rule with the brothers Sineus and Truvor. Rurik's brothers are dead.
5. 862 879 -Years of Rurik's reign Rurik in the annals According to the Old Russian chronicle of the 12th century, the Tale of Bygone Years, in 862 the Varangian Rurik with his brothers, at the invitation of the Chud, Slovenes, Krivichi and all tribes, was called to reign in Novgorod. This event, from which the beginning of the statehood of the Eastern Slavs is traditionally counted, in historiography received the conditional name of the Calling of the Varangians. The chronicler called the reason for the invitation the civil strife that engulfed the Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes living in the Novgorod lands. Rurik came with all his family and the people of Rus, whose ethnicity continues to be debatable. The chronicle reports how, after the death of the brothers, power was concentrated in the hands of the eldest of them, Rurik: And they came and sat the eldest, Rurik, in Novgorod, and the other, Sineus, on Beloozero, and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. Novgorodians are those people from the Varangian family, and before they were Slovenes. Two years later, Sineus and his brother Truvor died. And one Rurik took all the power, and began to distribute cities to his husbands to that Polotsk, to this Rostov, to another Beloozero. The Varangians in these cities are nakhodniks, and the indigenous population in Novgorod is Slovene, in Polotsk Krivichi, in Rostov Merya, in Beloozero all, in Murom Murom, and Rurik ruled over all of them. According to the annals, one can notice the expansion of the lands subject to Rurik. His power soon after coming to reign in Novgorod extended already to the Western Dvina Krivichi (the city of Polotsk) in the west, the Finno-Ugric tribes of Meri (the city of Rostov) and Murom (the city of Murom) in the east. In the late Nikon chronicle (1st half of the 16th century) it is reported about the turmoil in Novgorod, the inhabitants of which were dissatisfied with the rule of Rurik. The event is attributed to the year 864, that is, when, according to the Ipatiev list of PVL, Rurik founded Novgorod. To suppress the turmoil, Rurik killed a certain Vadim the Brave, about whom only what is said in the Nikon Chronicle is known: In the summer of 6372, Novgorodians were offended, saying: as if we were a slave, and suffer a lot of evil in every possible way from Rurik and from his kind. In the summer, kill Rurik Vadim the Brave, and many other Novgorodians beat his advisers.Historians connect the message of the Nikon Chronicle about the uprising of the Novgorodians with the later events of the 11th century under Yaroslav the Wise.Earlier than Nikonovskaya, the annals say nothing about Vadim the Brave and the turmoil of the Novgorodians against Rurik , especially since Novgorod itself was built, according to archaeological dating, after the death of Rurik near his fortified residence (fortified settlement). In 879, according to the annals of the PVL, Rurik dies, leaving his young son Igor under the care of his commander and, possibly, a relative of Oleg. Ancient Russian chronicles began to be compiled 150200 years after the death of Rurik on the basis of some oral traditions, Byzantine chronicles and a few existing documents. Therefore, in historiography, there are different points of view on the annalistic version of the calling of the Varangians. In the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, the theory of the Scandinavian or Finnish origin of Prince Rurik (see Normanism) prevailed, later the hypothesis of his West Slavic (Pomeranian) origin developed.
6. Drank less than the locals