Science, despite the high level of development, until now cannot answer the question of who Prince Rurik really was - the Varangian, who ruled the lands where the Finno-Ugric and Slavic tribes lived. There are still disputes between historians about where the one who is considered to be the founder of Russia came from.
There are many theories that interpret the origin of the ancient prince in different ways. The earliest ancient Russian annalistic collection - "The Tale of Bygone Years" - speaks of the moment of the birth of Russian statehood: the inhabitants of Novgorod were called to reign the Scandinavians. At this time, internecine wars were incessant on the territory of the future Rus. However, it is still worthwhile to think carefully whether to believe this information, since no other sources that would mention this event have survived to our time.
Contemporary Russian historiography has several theories of its own on this score: Norman and anti-Norman. Those who adhere to the first version are sure that the people of Russia, which was mentioned in the chronicle, really had a relationship with the Scandinavians and had a great influence in the process of the formation of Russia as a state. The adherents of the second hypothesis not only deny the influence of the Varangians, but also say that they were of South Baltic, Slavic and even native origin. The supporters of these two theories are fiercely arguing among themselves, even though such a strict division exists exclusively in Russian historiography, while foreign experts do not take such radical positions.
But, if everything is more or less clear with Norman roots, then anti-Normanism deserves closer study. The first who spoke in favor of the theory of anti-Normanism was Mikhail Lomonosov, a well-known Russian academician, who was extremely dissatisfied with how the German historians Friedrich Miller and Gottlieb Bayer approached the interpretation of The Tale of Bygone Years, calling them ignorant and dark Finno - Ugric and Slavic tribes that inhabited the Ladoga territories. Of course, on the one hand, all the claims of the scientist to the works of his German colleagues are fully justified, but on the other hand, they served as the basis for the appearance among patriotic scientists of statements that the Rus tribe was originally Slavic, and those who assert the opposite are Russophobes.
It is worth noting that the name Rurik was quite widespread in Scandinavia, but despite this, modern supporters of the theory of anti-Normanism are trying in every possible way to slander him. So, in particular, they argue that this name comes from the Slavic word "rarog", which means "falcon", and "Varangian" is derived from the word "cook". Thus, the Varangians, on the basis of such assumptions, could well have been salt makers from the city of Russa in the Novgorod region.
Anti-Normanists offer other arguments, in particular, they say that the Russian language has very few borrowed words from the Scandinavian languages, in contrast to the population of Britain, which was actively replenishing its vocabulary from the language of the Vikings, their conquerors. However, this statement is easy enough to refute: the Old Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon dialects in that historical period were quite close. And if, for example, look at Sicily, in which the Viking states also existed, then a picture similar to Russia is clearly visible - there are very few borrowings.
It should be noted that due to the presence of a very small base of sources, there is no way to say anything. At the same time, this state of affairs gives a lot of scope for different interpretations of the events described in these sources. In addition to the stories of the Vikings themselves, in which you can find references to a visit to the Ladoga region, as well as individual stories of travelers, historians can pin their hopes exclusively on archaeologists.
Note that archaeologists do find many traces of the ancient Scandinavians staying in Priilmenye. The Rurik settlement, which was supposedly the residence of Rurik and his descendants, is a real find for researchers. Archaeological excavations carried out that during the period of the alleged call of the Varangians, that is, in the middle of the 9th century, Scandinavian artifacts were quite rare, and only by the beginning of the next century their number increased several times.
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The earliest discovered artifacts were women's jewelry, in particular, brooches, which are found in the settlements of the Swedish Vikings Birka. Scientists attribute neck steel rings to about the same historical period, some of which were decorated with pendants in the form of Thor's hammer (as you know, this is the Scandinavian god of thunder). During the excavations, other jewelry was also found, including rings, as well as clothes and some household items, analogs of which are found in Sweden.
In this case, the question arises why the events described in the "Tale of Bygone Years" cause so much doubt? According to the Polish archaeologist Vladislav Duchko, the author of the book "Vikings Rus", the compiler of the chronicle considered them to be the works of bygone days. So, for example, if we analyze the episode in which it is said that Rurik brought “all Russia” with him, having driven away the Varangians before that, it becomes clear that the author divides these two peoples: there are Varangians, foreign robbers who came from across the sea, and there is Russia - completely different Vikings. The chronicle says that some Varangians were called Rus, while others were called Swedes, Normans, Angles and Gotlandians. By the way, at that time period mentioned, all these names of peoples were not known.
The compiler of the chronicle really knew about the arrival of Rurik, but he placed this event in those medieval realities in which he lived himself. The concept of "Varangians", which he mentions, is an anachronism, since it appeared at the end of the 10th century in the East. In addition, the names of the cities that are mentioned in the annals simply did not exist in the middle of the 9th century.
And the indication that Rurik was invited by the local nobility is an attempt to give legitimacy to this event. Obviously, there was no invitation, since such an agreement required the presence of one ruler, and one did not exist among the tribes who at that time inhabited the region.
"Arrival of Rurik in Ladoga" V. M. Vasnetsov
Historians are faced with similar difficult questions in those cases when it comes to the origin of Rurik himself. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was suggested that most likely, we are talking about a representative of the Danish royal family Rörik, nephew or brother of King Harald Kluck of Denmark. This was a real-life historical person mentioned in the Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks. In this source, he is shown as a Viking who knew no fear, who became famous for a large number of military campaigns.
The story about him lacks that time period, which roughly coincides with the time of Rurik's reign. This made it possible for some particularly courageous historians to declare that it was Rorik who was the very Varangian, the founder of Russia. In reality, the existing sources are clearly insufficient to draw such a conclusion.
However, it is also not worth considering Rurik as a chronicler's fantasy. Obviously, he was a real historical character, but by the time The Tale of Bygone Years was written, the events associated with his name were so distant in the past that, apart from the name, nothing remained of the prince. Therefore, the story of Rurik must be considered as extremely simplified, with part of the elements highly distorted, and partly invented.
The chronicler was confused about dates. So, for example, when he wrote about the invitation of Rurik, he simultaneously announced the expulsion of the Varangians, who had previously imposed tribute on the inhabitants of the region. The chronicler then reported on the death of the prince's brothers, Sineus and Truor, which occurred two years later, but at the same time left several records blank over the following years. All this suggests that the chronicler was trying to squeeze at least something out of the meager information he had and come up with his own course of events. This assumption becomes even more obvious in the place where the chronicler wrote about the campaign of Rus against the Byzantine capital. The author dated this event to 866, although other sources claim that it happened in 860.
So where did Rurik and his Russia come from? Most of the items discovered during the excavations of the settlements of Ryurikovo fortified settlement and Ladoga come from Sweden. If we analyze the chronology of the appearance of settlements on the Volkhov River from the middle of the 9th century, then it is quite possible to make the assumption that the Normans lived there in large numbers, and, possibly, made up the majority of the population. Moreover, even in the upper reaches of the Volga River, in the east, during excavations, settlements have been discovered containing traces of the culture of the Scandinavians who settled on these lands. No doubt they had a great influence on the local tribes.
There are many theories about how Rurik was called to reign. According to some historians, the indigenous peoples signed an agreement with him and his retinue on their admission to service as mercenaries. According to others, Rurik was invited for the reason that there was no order on the lands where Slovenia, Chud, Krivichi and the whole lived.
However, the most probable is the third theory, which says that the Rus of Rurik did not differ in absolutely nothing from those Varangians who collected tribute from the local population and were expelled. It turned out to be an extremely difficult task to simply expel the Rurik.