1135 years ago, the founder of the Russian dynasty, Prince Rurik, passed away. In those days, present-day East Germany was inhabited by the Slavs - cheered, lyutichi, Ruyans, Luzhitsa, etc. And on the lands of our country there was a Russian Kaganate, an alliance of several Slavic and Finnish peoples: Slovenes, Krivichi, Chudi, Vesi, Meryan. Russian ships sailed the Baltic, Prince Gostomysl established contacts with overseas countries. He married his daughter Umila to Godolyub, the prince of the Rarog tribe. It was part of the tribal union of the Udrites, occupied the isthmus of the Jutland Peninsula and the land near its base. Now on this territory are the cities of Schleswig, Lubeck. Kiel - and at that time the Rarogs belonged to Rerik, the largest port in the Baltic.
They were encouraged by the allies of the emperor of the Franks Charlemagne, in all wars they acted on his side. But the king of Denmark, Gottfried, was preparing a blow against Charles, he made alliances with the enemies of the Franks - the Saxons, Lyutichs, Clays, Smolnyans. In 808 he defeated the cheerleaders. Rerik took by storm and burned, hanged the captive Godolyub. How the fate of Umila developed, we do not know. Maybe she went into hiding, found shelter with neighbors. Or maybe her husband managed to put her on a ship and send her to her father-in-law. One thing is known - she had a baby son. It is possible that he was born after the death of his father. In ancient times, they tried to give names with meaning, and the boy was named in honor of the deceased city of Rerik, in honor of the rarog falcon - the sacred symbol of the rarog tribe. His name was Rurik.
In 826, two brothers, Harald and Rurik, arrived from somewhere in Ingelheim, the residence of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. There is no information about Harald. Was he Rurik's brother? Or Godolyub's son from another wife? Or did Umila remarry? But their very appearance at the court of the emperor is understandable. After all, the princes of the cheers were considered vassals of Charlemagne, and Godolyub died fighting on his side. When the children grew up, they came to Karl's son for patronage. They grew up somewhere in Slavic countries, both were pagans. Louis christened the young people, personally became their godfather. At the same time, Rurik received the name George. The emperor recognized the rights of the brothers to the paternal inheritance, accepted them among his vassals.
But … the fact is that the lands of the rarog remained under the rule of Denmark. And to return the inheritance, Louis could not do anything. Even within his own empire, he meant too little. As early as 817, he retired from business, dividing the property between the children, Lothar, Pepin and Louis. In his old age, he also fell in love, produced a fourth son and tried to redistribute the land. This led to the fiercest wars that ended in 841 - the empire fell apart into three kingdoms. Probably Rurik and Harald participated in civil strife. But no one supported their desire to recapture their father's principality. And if the emperor allocated them possessions in his state, their brothers immediately lost: the sons of Louis the Pious redrawn the lands, gave them to their supporters.
For orphans and outcasts in the Baltic, a direct road opened - to the Varangians. However, they were called differently. In Byzantium "veringami" or "voring" - "who took an oath". In Scandinavia "Vikings" (Vick - a military settlement, base). In England, all Vikings, regardless of nationality, were designated "Danes" (this country was more often plundered by the Danes). In France - "Normans", Norwegians (literally translated, "people of the north"). The terms "Vikings" or "Varangians" were defined not by nationality, but by occupation. They were free warriors. Depending on the circumstances, they robbed, served as mercenaries. The different leaders had their own squads. Sometimes they united for joint campaigns. Sometimes they cut with each other.
In the IX century. The Baltic has turned into a pirate's nest. From here the squadrons spilled out in different directions. In 843 a large Norman fleet appeared off the coast of France. They plundered Nantes, ravaged the lands along the Garonne River, reaching Bordeaux. After wintering, we sailed south. They took La Coruña, Lisbon, reached Africa and attacked the city of Nokur. And on the way back, one of the detachments landed in Spain, took the impregnable Seville by storm. Most of the ships participating in this voyage were Norwegian. But the Arab chroniclers Ahmed-al-Kaaf and Al-Yakubi noted that the Varangians who took Seville were of a different nationality, “al-Rus”. The brothers Harald and Rurik commanded them.
Harald's name subsequently disappears from the documents. Apparently he died. And Rurik, apparently, was deeply offended by the Franks, who did not fulfill their promises to help, who despised the memory of his executed father. In 845, Rurik's boats marched and destroyed the cities along the Elbe. Then, together with the Norwegians, he captured Tours, Limousin, Orleans, participated in the first Norman siege of Paris. Rurik became one of the most famous pirate leaders, and in 850 he was elected leader in a joint campaign of several squadrons. Under his command, 350 ships (about 20 thousand soldiers) fell on England.
But the next target of Rurik's attacks was Germany. He began to systematically devastate the coast of the North Sea, making raids along the Rhine into the depths of German lands. He was so terrified that Emperor Lothair panicked. To avoid further ruin, he entered into negotiations with Rurik. It turned out that the Varangian prince was not at all opposed to reconciliation, but put forward a number of conditions. Lothar had to accept them. This emperor, like Louis the Pious, recognized Rurik's right to his paternal principality, agreed to consider him his vassal. This is exactly what Rurik wanted. He gained strength and authority in the Baltic, accumulated rich booty - now he could recruit a lot of thugs. And the emperor was obliged to support him in the war for the lost inheritance.
The operation started successfully. Rurik's squads landed in his homeland. They overthrew the princes, proteges of the Danes. He took possession of the lands of the principality and part of the Jutland Peninsula - earning the nickname Rurik of Jutland in the west. But the Danes came to their senses, called on the allied lutichi. And the emperor … betrayed. He was frightened of the war with Denmark, and in 854, when the prince got involved in battles, he renounced him. You never know, the pirate leader got into the fight by himself? Rurik remained in the face of the enemies only with his own forces, suffered defeat. The mercenaries began to leave him. Yes, and they hesitated. They were afraid that the Danes and Lyutichi would take revenge. The venture ended in failure …
But at the same time, important events took place on the other side of the Baltic. Gostomysl died. His sons died before their father. The Novgorod Archbishop Joachim wrote down a legend - shortly before his death Gostomysl had a dream that "from the womb of his middle daughters Umila" a wonderful tree grew, from the fruit of which people of the whole earth were satisfied. The Magi interpreted that "from her sons to inherit him, and the land will be satisfied with his reign." But the prophecy was not fulfilled immediately. After the death of the prince, the tribes of his powers quarreled, "Slovenia and Krivichi and Merya and Chud got up to fight on their own." This did not lead to anything good. The Khazars struck on the Volga, conquered the Meryans. And the Vikings started to attack the Slovenian capital Ladoga (Novgorod did not exist yet).
Danger made squabbles forget. The elders of the Slovenian, Rus, Krivichi, Chudi, Vesi entered into negotiations to unite again. Decided: "Let's look for a prince, who owned us and dressed us by right." That is, to rule and judge fairly. The Nikon Chronicle reports that there were several proposals: "Either from us, or from the Kazars, or from the Polyans, or from the Dunaichev, or from the Varangians." This caused heated discussions. "From us" - disappeared at once. The tribes did not trust each other and did not want to obey. In second place is “from Kazar”. In such a large center of trade as Ladoga, there were farmsteads of Khazar merchants, and, of course, they took care to form their own party. Isn't it easier to surrender to the Khazars, pay tribute, and they will "own and row"? And you can not directly from the Khazars, you can take the prince from the glades, Khazar tributaries.
It was in this pre-election struggle that the legend about Gostomysl's prophetic dream emerged, as it were, his "political testament." Although it cannot be ruled out that the dream with a wonderful tree was simply invented in the heat of controversy, trying to support Rurik's candidacy. Say what you like, his figure looked optimal. He was the grandson of Gostomysl through a daughter line, a famous warrior, his name thundered in the Baltic. On top of that, he was an outcast. A prince without a principality! I had to completely tie myself to the new homeland. All the "pluses" came together, and the encroachments of the Khazars and the boyars they bought were overcome.
They knew about Rurik in Ladoga. Sending the embassy overseas, they imagined where to look for it. They called to themselves: "Our land is great and abundant, but there is no outfit in it - go to reign and rule over us" (sometimes this phrase is translated erroneously, "there is no order in it," but the word "outfit" means power, control). Well, for Rurik, the invitation turned out to be more than welcome. All his life he dreamed of conquering his father's principality, but remained at a broken trough. He has already passed forty-five. Homeless life in strange corners and Varangian ships was becoming beyond age. He agreed.
In 862. Rurik arrived in Ladoga (the chronicles were compiled much later, they often contain anachronisms, instead of Ladoga they call Novgorod, which is familiar to chroniclers). Tradition says that two brothers, Sineus and Truvor, appeared with Rurik. They are not mentioned in Western chronicles, but it may well be that he had brothers - the Varangians had a custom of twinning, it was considered no less strong than blood kinship. Although there is another explanation - that the chronicler just incorrectly translated the text of the Norwegian primary source: “Rurik, his relatives (sine hus) and warriors (thru voring)”. That is, we are talking about two of his units. One consisted of fellow tribesmen who, after the defeat, remained loyal to him and left for a foreign land. The second of the Viking mercenaries.
Having accepted the reign, Rurik immediately made sure to cover his borders more reliably. One of the detachments was sent to the Krivichs in Izborsk. This outpost kept under observation the waterways across Lake Peipsi and the Velikaya River, and protected the principality from the attacks of Estonians and Latvians. Another detachment was stationed in Beloozero. He controlled the path to the Volga, took the whole tribe under the protection of the Khazar Kaganate. And after the new ruler looked around in a new place, he behaved very actively. He correctly assessed who was the main enemy of his power, and started a war against Khazaria.
His soldiers from Beloozero moved to the Upper Volga and took Rostov. The large tribe of Meri, inhabiting the interfluve of the Volga and Oka, threw off the yoke of the Khazars and came under the arm of Rurik. The prince did not stop there. Along the rivers, his flotillas advanced further and in 864 captured Murom. Another Finnish tribe, the Muroma, submitted to Rurik. The annexation of two important cities was noted not only by the Russian chronicles; the “Cambridge Anonymous” mentions the war between Khazaria and Ladoga.
The Khazars had to get very nervous. Someone who, and their merchants traded all over the world, they knew what crushing blows Varangian landings could deliver. But wars are fought not only with swords and spears. A pro-Khazar party already existed in Ladoga, through which they tried to influence the election of the prince. Now it was used again, stirring up dissatisfaction among the Slovenes with Rurik. Finding excuses was not so difficult. The Ladoga boyars hoped that the invited prince would rule at their behest - where would he go in a foreign country? But Rurik did not become a puppet, he undertook to strengthen the centralized power. The maintenance of the mercenaries required funds, the subjects had to fork out. And the closest entourage of the prince was also encouraged by the Norwegians. In a word, foreigners came and sat on their necks …
The Khazar agitation reached its goal. In 864, when Rurik's army was on the Volga and Oka, an uprising broke out in his rear under the leadership of a certain Vadim the Brave. The chronicle says: "That same summer, the Novgorodians were offended, saying: it is like being a slave to us, and there is a lot of evil to suffer in every way from Rurik and from his kind." Yes, even in those days, the familiar schemes were developed: in the midst of a war, to stir up people to fight for "freedoms" and "human rights". But it is worth noting that the Krivichi and the Finnish tribes did not support the Slovenes. And the prince acted promptly and tough. Instantly rushed to the Ladoga region and suppressed the riot. “That same summer, kill Rurik Vadim the Brave and beat up many other Novgorodians of his friends” (Svetniks - that is, accomplices). The surviving conspirators fled. The Krivichi in Smolensk refused to accept them, they proceeded further: “The same summer many Novgorod husbands escaped from Rurik from Novgorod to Kiev”. Men were not called common people, but the nobility - the uprising was perpetrated by the wealthy elite.
It was not by chance that they fled to Kiev. There arose a center of confrontation with Rurik. Two leaders of the hired Varangian squads, Askold and Dir, separated from the prince and decided to look for other trades. They were heading to Greece, but on the way they saw Kiev, controlled by the Khazars, a sudden raid took possession of it. They tried to use it as a base for pirate raids - this is what all the Vikings did. They made trips to the Polotsk tribe, to Byzantium, Bulgaria. But the Bulgarians beat them, the expedition to Constantinople was swept away by a storm, Polotsk, after suffering horrors, turned to Rurik for protection. The Greeks let their allies, the Pechenegs, go to Kiev. And the Khazars were not inclined to forgive the loss of Kiev. Askold and Dir twitched, began to twist.
In 866 they agreed to recognize themselves as vassals of the Byzantine emperor, even to be baptized. Greek diplomats stood up for them before the Khazars, and they also agreed to make peace. But on condition - to oppose Rurik. The Varangians fulfilled the order. They hit upon the subjects of the prince, the Krivichi, captured Smolensk. True, they failed to build on their success, they were stopped. But the goal of Byzantium and Khazaria was achieved, they played off Ladoga and Kiev. Therefore, Rurik did not continue fighting against the kaganate. If he sent troops to the Volga, he would have been threatened with a blow to the rear, from the Dnieper. Defeating Askold and Dir was also not easy, two great powers stood behind them. And the accomplices of Vadim the Brave dug in Kiev, waiting for the right moment to sow confusion again. On reflection, Rurik agreed to make peace with his opponents.
He took up the internal structure of the state. He established management structures, appointed governors to Beloozero, Izborsk, Rostov, Polotsk, and Murom. He began to put grads everywhere. They served as strongholds of the administration, defended the subordinate tribes. The prince paid special attention to the defense from the side of the Baltic. In the second half of the IX century. revelry of the Vikings has reached its highest point. They terrorized England, and now and then burned down German cities along the Elbe, Rhine, Moselle, Weser. Even Denmark, itself a pirate's nest, was completely devastated by the Vikings. And only to Russia after the arrival of Rurik there was not a single invasion! She is the only European state with access to the sea that has found safety from the Baltic predators. This was the undoubted merit of the prince.
True, the Varangians began to appear on the Volga, but they came to trade in prisoners. So Khazaria did not remain in the loser. A stream of "live goods" poured from the Baltic Sea, which the Khazars bought in bulk and resold to the markets of the East. But for Russia, the transit turned out to be profitable. The treasury was enriched with duties. The prince could build fortresses, maintain an army and protect his subjects without burdening them with high taxes. And the subjects themselves could sell bread, honey, beer, fish, meat, handicrafts for a good price to passing Varangians and merchants, and buy European and Oriental goods.
Rurik, like Gostomysl, took the title of Kagan (literally "great" - later in Russia two titles merged into one, "Grand Duke"). He was married several times. His first wife was called Rutsina, she was from the Baltic Rus. The second was a German or Scandinavian Hitt. No information about their fate and offspring has reached. And in 873-874. Ladoga sovereign visited abroad. He made a very large-scale diplomatic tour of Europe for that time. He met and negotiated with Emperor Louis the German, King Charles the Bald of France and King Charles the Bold of Lorraine. What was discussed, history is silent. But Louis the German was at enmity with Byzantium. And Rurik was gradually preparing for the struggle for Southern Russia, he needed allies against the Greeks, who had wrapped Kiev in their networks.
On the way back, the prince visited Norway. Here he looked after his third wife, the Norwegian princess Efanda. Upon returning to Ladoga, they played a wedding. The young wife gave birth to Rurik's son Igor. And the right hand and adviser of the prince was Efanda's brother Odda, known in Russia as Oleg. Although it may be so that even earlier he was close to the sovereign and married him a sister. In 879, Rurik's stormy life came to an end. He began her as an unfortunate orphan and an outcast - he ended it as the ruler of many cities and lands from the Gulf of Finland to the Murom forests. He commanded a handful of soldiers aboard a pirate ship - and died in a palace, surrounded by households, hundreds of courtiers and servants. His son Igor remained the heir, but he was still a child, and his uncle Oleg took the place of regent.
Subsequent events testify to the qualities of Rurik as a ruler. After his death, the state did not disintegrate, as was often the case with the ancient kingdoms. The subjects did not revolt, did not come out of obedience. Three years later, Oleg led to Kiev not only his squad, but a large militia of Slovenians, Krivichi, Chudi, Vesi, Merians. This means that Rurik and his successor managed to earn popularity among the people, their power was recognized as legal and fair.
By the way, Moscow already existed at that time. It has not yet been mentioned in any chronicle, and we do not even know what it was called. But she was. It was revealed by excavations on the territory of the Kremlin. Under the layer that belonged to the buildings of Yuri Dolgoruky, scientists discovered the remains of an older city. It was quite developed and comfortable, with fortress walls, wooden pavements, and one of the squares was paved in a completely unusual way, with bull skulls. On the street of "Pra-Moscow" archaeologists found two coins: Khorezm 862, and Armenian 866. This is the era of Rurik.
