We know "the way from the Varangians to the Greeks", we remember that Russian history, according to one of the main historical concepts, began with the Varangians. It was they who stood at the origins of Russian statehood.
Rurik
Status: Founder of the Rurik dynasty and Russian statehood.
Of course, the legendary king is beyond competition in this ranking. It was his Novgorodians, Krivichi, Merya and Murom who were called to Russia in 862 as a crisis manager. It is not known how Rurik coped with the duties assigned to him, but it is recorded that after a couple of years of reign the Novgorodians began to grumble: "… insulted Novgorodians, saying:" as if to be a slave to us, and there is a lot of evil to suffer in every possible way from Rurik and from his kind."
However, this did not prevent the Varangian king from retaining power and becoming the founder of the dynasties of Russian Grand Dukes and Tsars, which was interrupted only at the end of the 16th century. It is still not clear why the Novgorodians called Rurik. It is not clear from what people this king was. Modern historians are confused in the testimony: some believe that our Rurik and the Danish pirate Rurik of Jutland are one person, others even consider him a Slav.
Oleg
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Status: Father of the “mother of Russian cities”.
He is the Prophetic Oleg. Competes with Rurik for the right to be considered the founder of the Old Russian statehood. Replaced Rurik after his death as ruler in Novgorod. He was also the official guardian of Rurik's son, Igor. Apparently, he was much more ambitious and aggressive than the founder of the royal dynasty. It was he who captured Kiev, putting an end to other Varangians and Kiev princes in combination (Askold and Dir). It was he who proclaimed Kiev “the mother of Russian cities”. However, he was not satisfied with the future capital of Ukraine. In 907, having equipped 2,000 boats of 40 soldiers each, Oleg went to visit the Romans. To prevent Constantinople from becoming the new mother of Russian cities (or a father, or an uncle), the Byzantines signed up for a rather serious indemnity in favor of Oleg.
Oleg died under strange and rather stupid circumstances. A year later, he came to remember the horse he had killed, from whose skull a viper crawled out and completed the glorious career of the prince. This story was brilliantly described by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in the "Song of the Prophetic Oleg".
It remains a mystery why Oleg was called "Prophetic" (that is, knowing the future). According to one version, the prince received such a nickname immediately after the campaign to Byzantium in 907, where the Prince refused the poisoned food presented by the captive Greeks (this is the gift of a seer). On the other, Oleg was fond of magic, and performed not only the duties of the supreme ruler and leader of the squad, but also a sorcerer.
Igor
Status: Maximally avenged Russian prince.
Igor continued Oleg's work - collecting tribute from neighboring peoples. He did it not so successfully. At first, Igor was unable to convince the Byzantines - as a result, his fleet was burned by "Greek fire". True, the prince was honored to be included in the Byzantine encyclopedic dictionary "Court", which began to be compiled at the end of the 10th century. But a fatal failure for Igor was the collection of tribute from the Drevlyan tribe. Since it was not necessary to count on the Drevlyans to publish their own encyclopedia in the near future, Olga decided to simply destroy the Drevlyan elders and burn their capital.
Askold and Deer
Status: Connoisseurs of beads and jewelry.
Actually, these are two separate people, but they can be considered one. The main losers of early Russian history. Former associates of Rurik, veterans of the first Varangian campaign against Constantinople in 866, quietly reigned in Kiev, until Prophetic Oleg decided to make him “the mother of Russian cities”. Oleg approached Kiev with his fleet in 882. Then he did not yet bear the nickname Prophetic, but he still possessed a certain cunning. The king landed part of his squad ashore, having discussed a secret plan of action. He himself, pretending to be sick, remained in the boat and sent a notice to Askold and Dir that he was carrying a lot of beads and jewelry. When the Kiev princes boarded the ship to evaluate the goods, Oleg introduced himself and introduced his companion: "I am Oleg the prince, and this is Ryurikov Igor the prince." And it was all over.
Sineus and Truvor
Status: "Own family" and "own squad".
Together with Rurik, they came to rule Russia. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, Sineus became the leader of Beloozero, and Truvor became the leader of the Slavic tribe of Krivichi. However, historians have spoiled the beautiful legend a little. So, a version appeared that the name "Sineus" is a distorted Old Swedish "kind", and "Truvor" is a "faithful squad". It turns out that Rurik did not come with his brothers, but with his clan and army.
Svyatoslav
Status: "Alexander the Great of our ancient history."
Among the peoples surrounding Russia, he was known as an "outrageous". Almost not according to Stanislav, the phrase “I’m going for you” followed, after which entire state formations disappeared from the face of the Earth, like the Khazar Kaganate. It is known about Svyatoslav Igorevich that he walked "like Pardus" (like a leopard), successfully harassed the Bulgarian kingdom with Byzantium and was killed in an ambush by the Pechenegs, who made a solemn bowl from his skull for drinking wine. He was good in battle, alien to any comfort (he slept on bare ground with a saddle under his head), was arrogant towards Christians and independently made sacrifices to Perun. However, the idol had its own plans for Svyatoslav: returning from the next campaign, the prince was ambushed by the Pechenegs. Having finished with Svyatoslav Igorevich, the steppe inhabitants made a solemn bowl from his skull for drinking. In particular,the Pechenezh Khan Kurei and his wife prepared special decoctions from this "vessel" so that they would have a son as brave as Svyatoslav.
Vladimir
Status: Baptist of All Russia.
The son of Svyatoslav took over from his father all the Varangian prowess, as well as love for pagan gods. But at some point, Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko became disillusioned with the idols, released several hundred concubines and decided to take an unprecedented step by appointing a tender for a new faith for Russia. Upon the Lord's conduct, the prince chose Orthodoxy.
