Rurik is one of the most mysterious figures in ancient Russian history. For a long time it was, as it were, a symbol of Normanism, which denied the organizational abilities of the Slavs. They considered him a Scandinavian king, who supposedly managed to establish order in the land of "wild" Slavic tribes and give them a state organization.
In the 19th century. the French traveler K. Marmier visited Mecklenburg, which, as is known in the early Middle Ages, was the center of the West Slavic tribal union of the cheers. There he wrote down a very interesting legend. According to her, Rurik is the son of the encouraging prince Godlav, once called to Russia together with two brothers. And in this regard, the very name "Rurik" is interesting. Consistent anti-Normanists have always brought him closer to the ethnonym "Rereg". The fact is that the encouraged were also called "reregs", that is, "falcons". The image of the falcon served as their tribal sign.
But it also served as the coat of arms of the Rurik dynasty, which ruled our country for a long time. OM Rapov has convincingly proved that their coins depict a falcon with folded wings, diving at its victim. It turns out that the famous trident of Rurikovich is a schematized image of a falcon.
Coat of arms of Staraya Ladoga - falcon falling down (coat of arms of Rurik)
Sokol-rereg was widely known among the Eastern Slavs. The falcon warrior is often found in the Russian epic. So, the epic Volga the hero often turned into this formidable bird and, in her guise, fought with the black raven Santal. In Vladimirov's epics, Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich travel along the Khvalynsky (Caspian) Sea on the Sokol, a ship that is attacked by "black ravens" (Turks or Tatars). In Kievan Rus, the Polovtsians were called black ravens, and the Rus princes were called falcons.
I will not resist the temptation to delve a little into mythology. The fiery spirit of Rarog-Rarig is etymologically close to the Rreg-falcon. The Slavs represented him as a bird of prey. The falcon was also popular with other Indo-European peoples. For example, among the ancient Iranians, who considered him one of the incarnations (incarnations) of the Iranian god of War and Victory Verethragna (an analogue of our Perun). In addition, the Iranians depicted Farn in the form of a falcon, a symbol of royal power.
The search again leads us to the military-aristocratic theme, to the princes and knights. The falcon is their bird. She, as it turned out, is closely related to Rurik and Rurikovich. And then the question arises: "Why is nothing said about the Rurikovich in the Lay of Igor's Host"? This question worried and still worries many researchers.
Promotional video:
Charm in the form of a falling falcon.
At the same time, there is still an indirect mention of Rurikovich in the "Lay" - it calls the Russian princes falcons. Rapov, already mentioned, drew attention to this. And not in vain! We are talking here about the Reregovichi, the descendants of the Rereg-Sokol. This is the true name of Rurik.
Further, the data from the Chronograph of the former Rumyantsev Museum will help us a lot (Description by A. Vostokov), which contains the following statement: “In the days of Michael the Greek Tsar and in the days of Prince Rerek of Novgorod, Saint Konstyantin the philosopher, called Cyril, created literacy in the Slovenian language I am verbally speaking lititsu.”It should be remembered that the Poles have the name Ririk, and the Czechs Rerek. I also note that the cheers had a trading post called“Reric”by the Danes.
It all fits together. However, there is one difficulty. The very name "Rurik" got into the East Slavic chronicles in the Celtic vocalization. Not in the Scandinavian, but in the Celtic, for it is more characteristic of ancient France (among the Scandinavians, only the name Hrerek is close to the type in question), where in the 9-12 centuries. the name Rurik occurs 12 times. Some researchers even bring it closer to the tribal name "Rurik" or "Raurik" (from the rivers Ruhr and Ruara).
But all this can be explained by the confusion in the written sources of two plots. One plot is associated with the activities of Rereg Novgorodsky, the other - with the king Rorik of Denmark. In the 30s. 9 c. he inherited from his father Halfdan Friesland (the region of the Germanized Celts), bordering on the lands of the embrace. They decided to use the services of an experienced warrior and invited him to the service. Rorik's activities in the Obodrit lands are very similar to the activities of Rereg Novgorodsky in the East Slavic lands. Most likely, at a later time, the image of Rorik the Germanic (the middle name inherited from the Germanized Frisians) superimposed on the image of Rereg the Slav and remained as such on the pages of the Russian chronicles.
The identity of Rurik's mother makes it possible to establish the Joachim Chronicle. One of the princes of the so-called. Velice Hrada Gostomysl had problems with the continuation of the dynasty - all his sons died in the wars. One night he had a prophetic dream: from the womb of his middle daughter Umila a huge tree grew, covering the entire city. The prince decided that her sons would continue the dynasty. Umila herself was at that time married to some neighboring prince, whose name the Joachim Chronicle does not name. But she calls the name of one of her sons - Rurik.
Rurik, Sineus and Truvor receive Slavic ambassadors calling them to reign.
Figure 19 c.
After the death of Gostomysl, Rereg and his brothers began to rule the Velicegrad land. It is noteworthy that the Joachim Chronicle does not say a word about the riots that allegedly were the reason for his calling. And the very expression “but alongside (supposedly there is no order - AK) in it”, known to us from the “Tale of Bygone Years” and beloved by Russophobes of all stripes, does not at all indicate the inclination of the Ilmen Slavs to anarchy. The outstanding Russian historian S. Lesnoy (Paramonov) argued that the word "outfit" meant "power", "management", "order", and not "order" at all. Moreover, some chronicles say “:“there is no orderly (ie, the ruler) in it.” not in a foreigner,teaching the Slavs how to live.
Initially, Rereg ruled not in Novgorod, but in Ladoga. The Joachim Chronicle clearly contrasts Velitsa with the city of Novgorod. The latter became the capital of Northern Russia only in the fourth year of Rereg's reign, and before that it was Ladoga. It is generally much older than Novgorod, which arose somewhere in the middle of the 9th century. The formation of Ladoga can be safely attributed to the 6th century. - this is the time when the earthen settlement, excavated by archaeologists at the place where the Ladozhka River flows into the Volkhov, dates back to this time. The agricultural implements found here indicate the high agricultural culture of the inhabitants of the settlement, who knew field arable farming. According to archeology, Ladoga already in the 8th century. becomes a major international port and the most important point of local and transit trade. Here they find a huge number of treasures of Arab coins - dirhams,which indicates the trade and economic power of the city. In ancient times it was Ladoga, and not Novgorod, that controlled the entire Lower Volkhov region, Izhora land, Ladoga Karelia, and the region of the Obonezhsky row. As a matter of fact, Novgorod itself was "new" precisely in relation to the old Velitsa city, to Ladoga, hence the "Lord Novgorod the Great", that is, the "new Velitsa city".
We know very little about Rereg's activities as the prince of the Ladoga-Novgorod land - the Joachim Chronicle claims that he did not fight with anyone and reigned in the world. But his reign was by no means so calm. The Nikon Chronicle speaks of the presence among the Novgorodians of a strong opposition to Rereg, headed by a certain Vadim the Brave. The confrontation ended tragically. In 872, Rereg killed Vadim and his associates. However, many disaffected remained - in 875 many Novgorodian husbands fled to Kiev.
From the same Nikon chronicle it is clear that under Rereg, Novgorod and Kiev entered into armed confrontation with each other. In 873 the princes of Kiev Askold and Dir went to war against Polotsk, which belonged to Novgorod.
One of the most important pillars of Rereg was the Varangians. Today, almost anyone can say with confidence that the Vikings are Scandinavian Vikings, mercenaries used by the princes in the struggle for power and during military campaigns.
This statement is one of the most widespread stereotypes that we inherited from the long decades of Norman rule in historical science. In fact, the Vikings are by no means identical with the Vikings. For a long time, many Russian historians (F. L. Moroshkin, I. E. Zabelin, A. G. Kuzmin, and others) rejected the version about their purely Scandinavian origin and turned their eyes to the southern coast of the Baltic. In the early Middle Ages, it was inhabited by the Slavs up to the mouth of the Laba (Elbe). It was here that the turbulent history of the Varangians began.
The Varangians had three "hypostases": ethnic, territorial and professional. I will tell you briefly about each of them.
Ethnic. In the owl time in the south of the Baltic there lived a Slavic tribe of Vagrov-Vagirs, whose name is etymologically close to the word "Varangian". In the same place, sources localize the tribal union of Varna.
Territorial. In connection with the mention of the Varangian (i.e., the Baltic) Sea, The Tale of Bygone Years says that “along the same sea, the Varangian Semo should be grazed to the limit of Simov (Volga Bulgaria - A. K.), along the same sea to west to the land of Agnyanski (Denmark - AK) and Voloshski (Frankish Empire - AK) ". It is clear that the Vikings simply could not inhabit the southern Baltic, and stretching right up to Vozhskaya Bulgaria. Before us is the population of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, "splashing out" also on the territory of the European part of modern Russia (historians have long recorded the presence of intensive colonization by the Baltic Slavs of the East Slavic lands of Northern Russia).
Professional. You should pay special attention to it. Talking about the famous vocation of the Varangians to Novgorod, "The Tale of Bygone Years" asserts the following: "Sice bo zvakhsya Varyazi Rus, like all friends are called Svie, friends are Urman, Anglyane, friends Gotha, and si". Who are these "friends", that is, others? It is quite obvious that we are talking about other Varangians. Some Varangians were Rus, some Anglaians, etc. So they were also a professional polyethnic (more precisely, Slavic-Scandinavian) organization. The presence of such mixed military communities is described in the "Saga of the Yom Knights". It describes a detachment consisting of Slavic and Scandinavian warriors located in the city of Wolin. The name of the Varangian community was probably given by the Vagry - according to the medieval German author Helmold,the most talented sailors among the Slavs.
Varyagov - experienced warriors and sailors - made up the closest circle of Rereg. For the inhabitants of Ladoga and Novgorod, they were by no means strangers, discoveries. The Varangian-Rus from the Southern Baltic arrived in Northern Russia, somewhere half Slavic-Baltic. Obviously, their homeland was the legendary island of Ruyan (Rügen) - the religious center of the Western Slavs, inhabited by Ruyan-rugs, that is, the same Rus. And they surrounded not some alien stranger there, but the grandson of the natural Ladoga prince Gostomysl.
The Varyag-Rus played a huge role in the history of the Eastern Slavs. Researchers have long noted the greatest, for the fate of the Old Russian state, the importance of the Black Sea region - the Kuban and Crimea. The most powerful centers of the naval expansion of the Rus to the south and east existed here. So the Genoese portolan maps localize in the region of the Bosporus of the Cimmerian (Kerch Strait) a certain "Varangolimen" - "the Varangian bay".
"Vlesova Kniga" tells how, in pre-Oleg times, units of the Varangians arrived in Kiev and defeated the Khazars who had established themselves there, for a while.
The Varangians supported Prince Oleg in the struggle for the Kiev throne. They also actively supported Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, who later baptized Russia. The Varangians were generally characterized by a keen interest in Christianity - it is no coincidence that the first Russian martyrs were two Varangian Christians, killed by a crowd of militant supporters of the old gods (the chronicles say that among the first Russian Christians there were especially many Varangian warriors). By the way, of all these gods, the Varangians liked Perun more. In the religion of Christ and the cult of Perun (the Varangian Christians highly revered St. Elijah the Prophet - the Old Testament Thunderer), they saw a harsh warlike faith in a fiery transformation. They, professional soldiers, proud knights, liked that Christianity and "Perunism" appeal to the aristocracy, to the princely-monarchical, and not the priestly-veche principle. The Varangians are one of the most powerful elements of the centralization of Russia.
Even more mysterious than Rereg himself is such an event as the establishment of his dynasty in the Kiev principality - the most powerful of all Slavic military-political formations. There is already a place to be a kind of historical detective story.
PVL claims that Rereg died in 872, leaving his young son Igor as heirs to the throne. Boyar Oleg (Olga), one of the closest associates of the encouraging prince, became regent under him. According to the PVL, Oleg undertook a campaign to the south, during which he captured Smolensk, Lyubech, and then Kiev. Moreover, the latter was not captured during a military attack, but as a result of a conspiracy. Pretending to be a merchant, Oleg insidiously killed Askold and Dir (former boyars of Rereg) who ruled Kiev and seized power in the capital of southern Russia, declaring Igor its prince.
At first glance, this well-known, textbook story does not cause any particular doubts, for it fits well into the realities of the confrontation between Kiev and Novgorod. At a second glance, it already seems dubious. On the third, it was simply implausible.
A lot is not clear
It is unclear how Oleg was able to usurp power in Kiev in such an impudent way. Kiev at that time was the most powerful medieval city, the main center of Rus-Gardariki ("city powers"). If he entered Kiev under the guise of a merchant, then he must have very few soldiers, which immediately casts doubt on the possibility of a successful, and even so overt, usurpation.
Further - in the PVL, Oleg "presents" the young Igor to the people of Kiev, "certifying" him as a Kiev prince - "se az your prince." But what did the Kievan Rus care to a representative of an alien dynasty, why was its establishment so painless?
Why did Oleg's "sabotage group" arrive in Kiev not from the north, but from the south - near the village of Ugorskoye? Why was Novgorod, from where Oleg began his campaign, was not one of the cities that took part in his own campaign against Constantinople (i.e., it turns out that Novgorod under Oleg was not part of the Kiev principality, but was annexed to it later)? Why does the PVL differ from the data of some other chronicles, according to which Oleg fled from Novgorod with the young Igor, fleeing from the opponents of the Reregovich dynasty (who, as already noted, were very strong)?
It is generally known that the original text of the PVL, written by the famous monk Nestor, has undergone a major revision of political significance. In the PVL, there is a clearly expressed desire to elevate Novgorod at the expense of other centers of Slavism. Obviously, behind this desire were certain forces within the dynasty, closely associated with Novgorod and the Scandinavians (the offspring of Vladimir Monomakh from a marriage with the Scandinavian princess Gita). In the Novgorod chronicles Kiev is generally proclaimed a contemporary of Novgorod, so the trend is more than obvious.
At the same time, there is a "southern" trace in the plot under consideration. Oleg arrives in Kiev from the south (through the village of Ugorskoe). His name is most easily etymologized on the “southern” Bulgarian basis - “olgu” in Old Bulgarian means “great”. Oleg marries Igor to a Bulgarian - today it has been proven that Princess Olga (note - again, the ancient Bulgarian name with the base "olgu") was from the Bulgarian city of Pliska, as indicated by an ancient document found in the collection of Count Uvarov. Indeed, it is ridiculous to consider Olga, the spouse of a powerful Kiev sovereign, a simple villager (from Vybutovskaya Vesya) or even the daughter of a Pskov prince - the role of Pskov was so insignificant then. If we consider that during the confrontation between Rereg and Kiev, the latter fought against Bulgaria, then the following version clearly emerges.
Oleg, who fled with Igor from Kiev, arrived in his homeland in Bulgaria, where he enlisted the support of the local monarch. At the same time, he groped the ground in Kiev, where, judging by the data of the Joachim Chronicle, they were extremely dissatisfied with the activities of Askold, by the way, a usurper. Oleg then overthrew not two princes (Askold and Dir), but one - Askold. Yes, for some time they were co-rulers, but they belonged to completely different military and political traditions. Dir was a local prince - a descendant of Kiy, Askold - a boyar of Rereg, who left his leader and fled to Kiev. This is confirmed by the data of the Vlesova Kniga and the writings of the medieval Polish author Jan Dlugosz, who used Russian chronicle sources that have not come down to us. According to the first source, Askold - the "dark warrior" got into the confidence of Dir, became his co-ruler,after which he killed the natural prince of Kiev (In VK Dir is called Hellenic, A. Busov mistakenly translates - "Alansky", which for some reason makes historians consider him Greek. At the same time, in ancient times the titles of rulers often included the names of defeated or conquered peoples. So, the emperor Justinian was called Antic by the name of the Slavic people of the Antes, whom he defeated. We know that approximately in 860 the victorious campaign of the Rus against Constantinople took place.). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century). Busov mistakenly translates "Alansky", which for some reason makes historians consider him a Greek. At the same time, in ancient times the titles of rulers often included the names of conquered or conquered peoples. So, the emperor Justinian was called Antique by the name of the Slavic people of the Antes, whom he defeated. We know that approximately in 860 the victorious campaign of the Rus against Constantinople took place.). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century). Busov mistakenly translates "Alansky", which for some reason makes historians consider him a Greek. At the same time, in ancient times the titles of rulers often included the names of conquered or conquered peoples. So, the emperor Justinian was called Antique by the name of the Slavic people of the Antes, whom he defeated. We know that approximately in 860 the victorious campaign of the Rus against Constantinople took place.). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century).in ancient times, the titles of rulers often included the names of conquered or conquered peoples. So, the emperor Justinian was called Antique by the name of the Slavic people of the Antes, whom he defeated. We know that approximately in 860 the victorious campaign of the Rus against Constantinople took place.). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century).in ancient times, the titles of rulers often included the names of conquered or conquered peoples. So, the emperor Justinian was called Antique by the name of the Slavic people of the Antes, whom he defeated. We know that approximately in 860 the victorious campaign of the Rus against Constantinople took place.). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century). According to Dlugosh, Askold and Dir were descendants of Kiy, the founder of Kievan Rus. The latest data are corrected by the data of the "Vlesovaya Book", as well as by the message of Al-Masudi, who calls Dir as the sole ruler (“King Dir is the first of the Slavic kings” - the statement refers to the 9th century).
"Vlesova Kniga" asserts that the usurper Askold scoffed at the customs of the Russians, combining the preaching of Christianity with an insult to Russian national sentiment. Obviously, this twice traitor and usurper pursued a pro-Byzantine policy (judging by VK data, he once guarded Byzantine merchants) - his “baptism” was very different from that conducted by Prince Vladimir, who always tried to speak with Byzantium on equal terms.
Naturally, the people of Kiev had no reason to love such a "prince". On the contrary, they hated him ardently. The Joachim Chronicle reports that Askold was removed from power and killed by the Kievites themselves, dissatisfied with his pseudo-Christianization.
Then it turns out that Oleg was one of the initiators of Askold's removal. And it is quite obvious that it had to be of a legitimistic nature, under the banner of a struggle to restore the old dynasty. The people of Kiev so easily recognized Prince Igor because he had some kind of dynastic rights to the Kiev throne. The direct branch of the Kievites could be interrupted with the death of Dir and now it was necessary to look for the dynasty closest to them (a similar situation developed in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century). It was the Rurik dynasty, or rather, the Reregovich dynasty.
Most likely, she was also close to the dynasty of the Bulgarian kings. The personalities of Oleg and Olga confirm this almost best of all. The fact that the text of the famous treaty between Russia and the Greeks, concluded as a result of Oleg's victorious campaign against Constantinople, is replete with various Bulgarisms. The events of the Russian-Bulgarian war during the time of Svyatoslav also draw attention to themselves. When the troops of Prince Svyatoslav entered the territory of Bulgaria, his power was immediately recognized by 80 cities located in its east. Why? Did he not possess some weighty rights to the Bulgarian throne? In addition, we must not forget that the population of eastern Bulgaria still has the maximum similarity with the eastern Slavs, as Academician Tretyakov wrote about in the early 50s. ("East Slavic tribes"). Svyatoslav,as "PVL" tells us, he wanted to move the capital of Russia to the Danube - to eastern Bulgaria, to the city of Pereyaslavets, which was founded by his distant ancestor Kiy. Obviously, the great Svyatoslav pursued far-reaching goals - to crush Byzantium and turn Kievan Rus into a powerful all-Slavic empire - listing the merits of Pereyaslavets, the prince clearly highlights its central position in the entire Slavic ethnic massif.
Based on the article by Alexey Konkin "The Riddle of Rurik"