The warriors of Svyatoslav, in alliance with the Pechenegs, crushed the Khazar Kaganate and fought in Bulgaria, with Byzantium. The Pechenegs were called "the thorn of the Rusiyev and their strength."
The first Danube campaign
In 967 the Russian Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich set out on a campaign to the banks of the Danube. There are no reports in the annals about the preparation of this campaign, but there is no doubt that Svyatoslav prepared himself seriously, as before the war with the Khazar Kaganate. New professional warriors were trained, the number of vigilantes, of which there were even more, gathered from the Russian tribes "voi" (volunteer hunters who go to war at will, to hunt), built a significant number of boats on which it was possible to walk along the rivers and cross the sea, weapons were forged. The Russian army, as in the campaign against Khazaria, was mainly on foot. The speed of movement was achieved due to the use of boats and the presence of a developed network of waterways in Eastern Europe. In addition, Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich had light allied cavalry, if the Pechenegs took part in the campaign against the Khazars, now the Hungarians (Ugrians) have also become allies.
Pechenegs. It is worth knowing that the Pechenegs, contrary to the myth that distorts the true history of the Russian people, were not “Turks” (like the bulk of the population of Khazaria and the later Polovtsy and Horde-“Mongols”). At the end of the 9th century, the Pechenezh tribes roamed between the Volga and the Aral Sea, were at enmity with the Khazars, Polovtsy and Oguzes. Then they crossed the Volga, drove out the Ugrians who lived between the Don and the Dnieper, captured the Northern Black Sea region up to the Danube. The Pechenegs were mainly engaged in cattle breeding and were at enmity with Khazaria, Byzantium, Hungary, Russia (especially after baptism) and other countries. At the same time, the Pechenegs constantly acted as allies with the Rus. So, the soldiers of Svyatoslav, in alliance with the Pechenegs, crushed the Khazar Kaganate and fought in Bulgaria, with Byzantium. It is not for nothing that the Arab author Ibn Haukal said about the Pechenegs: "The thorn of the Rusyevs and their strength." They were the striking force of Russia.
The Pechenegs, like the Rus, were Caucasians. The Pechenegs were distinguished by a way of life that was different from the northern Slavic Russians, who were mainly engaged in agriculture and crafts. They preserved the traditions of the Scythians, common to the entire super-ethnos. "Cossack way of life" - today you are a peaceful farmer and cattle breeder, and tomorrow - back into the saddle and go to war. But they were not Türks (they could have only a small admixture of Türkic blood) and were not representatives of the Mongoloid race. Contrary to the distorted picture of "classical" history created for Russia by foreigners (Germans) and supported by Russian Westernizers, in the III - XIII centuries. The Black Sea region was densely inhabited by the clans of the Rus-Aryans, the descendants of the Rus-Scythians and Sarmatians. They were not united, they were often at enmity with each other, like the alliances of tribes and the lands of the northern Slavs-Rus before their unification by the Rurikovichs. But all were part of a single superethnos - with one language (which did not exclude various dialects, dialects), material and spiritual culture. It is not surprising that the Pechenegs did not leave any traces in the Russian steppes as a special ethnos, that is, the material culture of the northern Russians and Pechenegs was common. At the same time, the excavations of the South Russian steppe burials of the "Pechenezh" period (X-XIII centuries) show complete continuity with the Alano-Sarmatian tradition: all the same burial mounds, and under them - a stuffed horse accompanying the owner, inlaid silver belts, bone overlays on heavy bows, straight-edged sabers, waist garters-amulets, etc. A significant part of the Pechenezh burials were made in ancient burial mounds of the Iron Age or even the Bronze Age, that is, the Pechenegs considered themselves the heirs and descendants of the former steppe population - the Sarmatians and Scythians. The Pechenegs were one of the parts of the super-ethnos, a fragment of the former Great Scythia, an ancient northern civilization. Therefore, they easily found a common language with the Russian princes, fought together. The same relationship will develop between Russia and the Polovtsy, the same fragment of Scythia.
Thus, the prevailing myth that the Pechenezh hordes allegedly constantly waged a fierce struggle with Kievan Rus does not correspond to reality. On the contrary, relations between Russia and the Pechenegs during the entire 10th century were peaceful and allied and worsened only after the adoption of Christianity by Kiev. It is not without reason that Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus set the "driving a wedge" between Russia and the Pechenegs as the main task of Byzantium's policy in the Black Sea region. The only Russian-Pecheneg conflict was noted in the first years of the reign of Prince Igor (920), and then the Pechenegs became part of the Russian army in the campaign against Constantinople-Constantinople in 944. In 965, Pechenezh troops help Svyatoslav Igorevich to crush Khazaria. Then the Pechenegs support Svyatoslav in the war with Bulgaria and Byzantium. True, it was the Pechenezh prince Kurya who lay in wait and killed Svyatoslav when he returned to Russia. But there is clearly an internal conflict in Kiev. Obviously, the Grand Duke became a victim of the Kiev conspiracy (led by the Byzantine and Christian parties), and the Pechenegs acted as an instrument, not initiators.
The Pechenegs kill Svyatoslav Igorevich. Greek Chronicle of John Skylitzes
Serious wars with the Pechenegs began only during the reign of Prince Vladimir, but they were part of a general civil war, when "Dobrynya baptized Novgorod with fire, and Putyata with a sword." The baptism of Russia by Greek missionaries was the beginning of a serious turmoil, for many centuries many Russian lands retained a pagan faith or dual faith - outwardly Christians, but in fact, pagans. The process of formation of fiery Russian Orthodoxy took hundreds of years. The Pechenegs took part in the internecine war between the Vladimirovichs - Yaroslav and Svyatopolk on the side of the latter. In 1016 they took part in the battle of Lubech, in 1019 in the battle of Alta. In 1036, the Kiev prince Yaroslav will defeat the Pechenegs. But not because they were strangers. And because they made raids and did not want to recognize the power of the Rurikids, and also preserved the ancient pagan faith. The surviving families of the Pechenegs will go to the Carpathians and the Danube. Others will become part of the union of the berendeys (black hoods) and become the border guards of Kiev. The Pechenegs will be replaced by the Polovtsians, the same representatives of the super-ethnos of the Rus as the Pechenegs.
Svyatoslav also carried out diplomatic preparations for the war. In 967, a secret treaty was concluded between the Byzantine Empire and Russia (the Russian chronicler did not say a word about its content). From the side of Byzantium, it was signed by Kalokir. The second Rome, in exchange for the security of its possessions in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, ceded the mouth of the Danube to the Russian state. Prince Svyatoslav was to receive the coastal region of the Dniester and Danube, the territory of the present Dobrudja. It was the city of Pereyaslavets on the Danube that was originally the main target of Svyatoslav Igorevich.
Svyatoslav did not immediately appear in Bulgaria. At first, the Russians, according to the information of the Russian historian V. N. There the Hungarian allies were waiting for them. “From the Ugric,” wrote Tatishchev, “I had strong love and consent.” Apparently, during negotiations with Kalokir, Svyatoslav sent ambassadors to Pannonia to the Hungarians, revealing to them the plan of a campaign on the Danube. According to Tatishchev, the Bulgarians also had allies - the Khazars, Yases and Kasogs, whom Prince Svyatoslav defeated during his eastern campaign. Tatishchev reports that the Bulgarians had an alliance with the Khazars even during the Khazar campaign of Svyatoslav. Part of the Khazars escaped in Bulgaria. The Khazar factor was one of the reasons that prompted Svyatoslav to bring troops to the Danube.
By the end of spring or summer 968, Russian troops reached the borders of Bulgaria. According to the Byzantine chronicler Leo the Deacon, Svyatoslav led an army of 60,000. Apparently, this is a great exaggeration. Svyatoslav did not raise tribal militias, bringing only a squad, "hunters" (volunteers) and detachments of Pechenegs and Hungarians. Most historians estimate the army of Svyatoslav at 10-20 thousand soldiers (together with the allied Pechenezh and Hungarian troops). The Russian rook flotilla freely entered the mouth of the Danube and began to quickly climb upstream. The appearance of the Rus came as a surprise to the Bulgarians. According to Lev Deacon, the Bulgarians put up a phalanx of 30 thousand soldiers against Svyatoslav. However, this did not embarrass the Rus, having landed on the shore, the "Tavro-Scythians" (as the Greek sources called the Rus), quickly jumped out of the boats, covered themselves with shields and rushed into the attack. The Bulgarians could not withstand the first attack and, fleeing from the battlefield, closed in the fortress of Dorostol (Silistra).
Thus, Svyatoslav in one battle secured dominance over Eastern Bulgaria. The Bulgarians no longer dared to fight directly. Even the emperor Justinian, in order to protect the province of Mizia from the invasion of the "barbarians" (as they called Bulgaria at that time) and prevent the enemy from breaking through further, built about 80 fortresses on the banks of the Danube and at some distance from it on road junctions. All these fortifications were taken by the Rus in the summer-autumn of 968. At the same time, many fortresses and cities surrendered without a fight, the Bulgarians greeted the Rus as brothers, expressing dissatisfaction with the policy of the capital. The hopes of the Romans that Svyatoslav would get bogged down in the war with Bulgaria did not justify themselves. In the very first battles, the Bulgarian army was defeated, and Russian troops destroyed the entire defensive system in the east, opening the way to Preslav and to the Byzantine border. Moreover, in Constantinople they saw a real threat to the empire in the fact that the victorious march of the Russian army through the Bulgarian lands was not accompanied by robberies, the devastation of cities and villages, violence against local residents (and this is how the Romans waged wars). The Russians saw the Bulgarians as brothers by blood, and Christianity was just asserting itself in Bulgaria, ordinary people did not forget their traditions and the old faith, common with the Russians. The sympathies of ordinary Bulgarians and part of the feudal lords immediately turned to the Russian leader. Bulgarian volunteers began to replenish the Russian troops. Some of the feudal lords were ready to swear allegiance to Svyatoslav. As previously noted, part of the Bulgarian nobility hated Tsar Peter and his pro-Byzantine entourage. And the alliance between the Russians and the Bulgarians could lead the Byzantine Empire to a military and political catastrophe. The Bulgarians, under the decisive leader Simeon, almost took Constantinople themselves.
Svyatoslav Igorevich initially followed the clauses of the treaty concluded with Byzantium. He did not invade deep into the Bulgarian state. As soon as the lands along the Danube and Pereyaslavets were occupied, the Russian prince stopped the hostilities. Prince Svyatoslav made Pereyaslavets his capital. According to him, there should have been a "middle" (middle) of his state: "… I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - because there is the middle of my land, all the benefits flow there …". The exact location of Pereyaslavets is unknown. Some historians believe that this was the name of the fortress Dorostol at that time, where Svyatoslav's troops would hold the defense during the war with the Byzantine Empire. Other researchers believe that this is Preslav Maliy on the lower Danube in present-day Romania. The famous historian F. I. Uspensky, who published fundamental works on the history of the Byzantine Empire, believed that Pereyaslavets was the ancient headquarters of the Bulgarian khans, which was located near the modern Romanian city of Isakcha near the mouth of the Danube.
Svyatoslav, according to the chronicle, "is the prince in Pereyaslavtsi, there is a tribute on the Greeks." The terms of the agreement concluded by Kalokir in Kiev, apparently, included an agreement on the resumption of the payment of the annual tribute to Russia. Now the Greeks have resumed paying the tribute. In essence, the military-allied articles of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944 were implemented in the agreement between Svyatoslav and Kalokir. Constantinople and Kiev in different periods of their history were not only enemies, but also allies against the Arabs, Khazars and other opponents. Kalokir arrived in Bulgaria with a Russian army and remained with Svyatoslav until the Russian-Byzantine war. The Bulgarian government remained in Preslav. During the first Danube campaign, Svyatoslav made no attempts on the sovereignty of Bulgaria. It is possible that after the approval in Pereyaslavets, Prince Svyatoslav concluded a peace agreement with Bulgaria.
Svyatoslav invades Bulgaria with the Pechenezh allies (from the Chronicle of Konstantin Manass)
Deteriorating relations with Byzantium
The peace was short-lived. The second Rome, true to its policy, began to take the first hostile steps. Basileus Nikifor Foka ordered to close the Bosphorus with a chain, as the Greeks usually did in anticipation of the appearance of the Russian fleet, began to prepare the army and navy for a march. The Greeks, apparently, took into account the mistakes of past years, when the Rus caught them by surprise and approached the very walls of Constantinople from the sea. At the same time, Byzantine diplomats began to take steps to normalize relations with Bulgaria in order to prevent the possibility of creating a Russian-Bulgarian union. Moreover, at the head of Bulgaria was still a Byzantine group led by Tsar Peter, who dreamed of revenge and was dissatisfied with the appearance of Svyatoslav on the Danube. A Byzantine embassy was sent to Preslav, headed by the experienced diplomat Nikifor Erotic and the Bishop of Euchaite. Constantinople changed its policy towards Bulgaria in the most radical way: there were no more dictates and ultimatums, the demands to send tsar's sons to Byzantium as hostages were forgotten. Moreover, the Second Rome offered a dynastic union - the marriage of the daughters of Peter and the Byzantine princes. In the Bulgarian capital, they immediately fell for the bait and the Bulgarian embassy arrived in the Byzantine capital. The Bulgarians were received with great honor.
Thus, the cunning Greeks received hostages from the Bulgarian nobility, who were lured under the guise of viewing brides for the Byzantine princes. After that, part of the Bulgarian nobility, willingly or unwillingly, had to follow the instructions of the Second Rome. This explains a lot in the behavior of the Bulgarian elite, which, after the departure of Svyatoslav, opposed the Russian garrisons that remained in Bulgaria. The pro-Byzantine party, hostile to Rus, can also include the rulers of Pereyaslavets on the Danube.
At the same time, the Byzantines carried out another action against Svyatoslav. The Greeks skillfully used gold for bribery. While in Pereyaslavets, Svyatoslav in the summer of 968 received alarming news from Kiev: the Pechenegs besieged Kiev. This was the first appearance of the Pechenegs at Kiev. The secret Greek embassy persuaded several leaders of the steppe inhabitants to strike at Kiev, while the formidable Svyatoslav was not there. The Pechenezh tribal union was not united, and if some tribes helped Prince Svyatoslav, others did not owe him anything. The Pechenegs flooded the outskirts of Kiev. Svyatoslav Igorevich, quickly gathered the army into a fist, left some of the foot soldiers in Pereyaslavets, and with a rook's army and a horse squad set out for Kiev. According to the Russian chronicle, the Pechenegs began to withdraw their troops even before the arrival of Svyatoslav, having seen that the troops of the voivode Pretich were crossing the Dnieper. The Pechenegs mistook the forces of Pretich for the squads of Svyatoslav. Pretich began negotiations with the Pechenezh leaders and concluded an armistice by exchanging weapons. However, the threat from Kiev had not been removed yet, then Svyatoslav arrived, who "drove the Pechenegs into the poly, and byst the world."
Second Danube campaign
Svyatoslav Igorevich entered Kiev in triumph. Kievans greeted him with enthusiasm. The first half of 969 Svyatoslav spent in Kiev with his sick mother. Apparently, Olga took her son's word not to leave her until soon death: “You see, I'm sick; where do you want to get away from me? " - for she was already sick. And she said, "When you bury me, go wherever you want." Therefore, although Svyatoslav was eager to go to Bulgaria, where the alarming information came from, he remained. In July 969 Olga died. The deceased princess was buried according to the Christian rite, without filling a mound and without performing a funeral feast. The son fulfilled her wish.
Before leaving, Grand Duke Svyatoslav carried out a management reform, the importance of which will grow even more soon after his death. He will hand over the supreme power in Russia to his sons. Two legitimate sons, from a noble wife, Yaropolk and Oleg, will receive Kiev and the restless Drevlyansky land. The third son, Vladimir, will receive control over Novgorod, Northern Russia. Vladimir was the fruit of Svyatoslav's love for his mother's housekeeper Malusha. Dobrynya was Malusha's brother and Vladimir's uncle (one of their prototypes of the hero Dobrynya Nikitich). According to one version, she was the daughter of Malk Lubechanin, a merchant from the Baltic Lubeck (possibly of Jewish origin). Others believe that Malusha is the daughter of the Drevlyane prince Mal, who led the uprising in which Prince Igor was killed. The traces of the Drevlyane prince Mal are lost after 945, probably, he did not escape the revenge of Princess Olga.
After arranging business in Russia, Svyatoslav at the head of the squad moved to Bulgaria. In August 969 he was again on the banks of the Danube. Here the squads of the Bulgarian allies began to join him, the light cavalry of the allied Pechenegs and Hungarians approached. During the time when Svyatoslav was absent from Bulgaria, significant changes took place here. Tsar Peter went to a monastery, handing over the throne to his eldest son Boris II. The Bulgarians hostile to Svyatoslav, taking advantage of the political support of the Second Rome and the departure of the Russian prince with the main forces to Russia, broke the truce and began hostilities against the Russian garrisons remaining in the Danube. The commander of the Russian forces, the Volk, was besieged in Pereyaslavets, but he still held out. According to Leo the Deacon, Preslav asked Constantinople for military assistance, but in vain. Having once again confronted Russia and Bulgaria, the Greeks did not want to interfere. Nikifor Foka turned his attention to fighting the Arabs in Syria. A powerful Byzantine army went to the East and laid siege to Antioch. The Bulgarians were to fight the Rus one by one.
Voivode Wolf could not hold Pereyaslavets. Inside the city, a conspiracy of local residents developed, who established contacts with the besiegers. The wolf spreading rumors that he would fight to the last and hold the city until the arrival of Svyatoslav, at night secretly went down the Danube on boats. There he joined forces with Svyatoslav's troops. The combined army moved to Pereyaslavets. By this time, the city had been significantly fortified. The Bulgarian army entered Pereyaslavets, and was reinforced by the city militia. This time the Bulgarians were ready for battle. The battle was hard. According to Tatishchev, the Bulgarian army launched a counteroffensive, and almost crushed the Russians. Prince Svyatoslav addressed his soldiers with a speech: “We already have to graze; let's pull manly, brothers and druzhino! " "And the slaughter is great," and the Bulgarians overpowered the Rus. Pereyaslavets was captured again in two years. The Ustyug Chronicle, dating back to the most ancient annals, reports that having taken the city, Svyatoslav executed all traitors. This news suggests that during the stay of the Rus and after the departure of Svyatoslav to Russia, the townspeople were split: some supported the Rus, others were against them and made a conspiracy that contributed to the departure of the garrison under the command of the Wolf.
The calculation of the pro-Byzantine elite of Bulgaria for revenge and help from Byzantium did not come true. The Byzantine army at this time besieged Antioch, which was taken in October 969. This led to a serious change in the situation in Bulgaria. This time Svyatoslav did not stay on the Danube and almost without meeting any resistance went to Preslav - the capital of Bulgaria. There was no one to protect her. Tsar Boris, who was abandoned by the pro-Byzantine boyars who fled from the capital, recognized himself as a vassal of the Russian Grand Duke. Thus, Boris retained his throne, capital and treasury. Svyatoslav did not remove him from the throne. Russia and Bulgaria entered into a military alliance. Now the situation in the Balkans has changed not in favor of the Byzantine Empire. Russia was in alliance with the Bulgarians and Hungarians. A big war between Russia and the Byzantine Empire was brewing.
The sculptural image of Svyatoslav by Eugene Lansere
