Igor Rurikovich - the prince of the great Kievan Rus.Based on what is written in the annals, Igor reigned in 915-945. Igor Rurikovich was a direct descendant of Rurik, the husband of Princess Olga and the father of Svyatoslav. Igor is considered the first ancient Russian prince.
Pechenegs
К концу 9 столетия, перед тем как Игорь стал Prince, next to the Russian lands appeared some nomads - Pechenegs. They shot well with their guns, and were also excellent riders. Pechenegs looked fierce and wild. Igor Rurikovich was the first who had to fight and defend their land from the Pechenegs. Riding on steppe horses, the Pechenegs threw themselves at their enemies. They were cunning. If they could not defeat the enemy, they ran away, forcing him to run after them. This was done in order to lure the enemy into the ring and attack from the rear.
The first trip to Byzantium
Igor Rurikovich’s foreign policy was quite aggressive. However, its main goal was the desire to create the most comfortable conditions for Russian merchants to trade.
In 941, Igor decided to launch a military campaign against Byzantium, but his plans were ruined. The Bulgarians from the Danube informed Byzantium about the attack. The Byzantine emperor decided to give battle to Igor and his army.
He gathered a large army consisting of a largethe number of ships. Igor's army was not ready for such a rebuff. On the ships of the Byzantines fiery shells were used, which consisted of oil, sulfur, tar and other substances. They could not be put out even with water. Therefore, the fire shells turned out to be a terrible force of the enemy. Those Russian soldiers who managed to survive the battle recalled these events with horror. They said that the Greeks shot them with lightning. Byzantium managed to defeat the army of Prince Igor.
Second trip to Byzantium
Prince Igor Rurikovich wanted to erase the shamedefeat, so he decided to organize a campaign in the Greek lands a second time. For this, Igor paid the Pechenegs to fight for him. He set off with his retinue by land, and sent the Pechenegs by sea. However, once again Igor’s plans were violated. The emperor was again warned. Having decided to avoid a collision, having assembled a squad, the emperor decided that it was better to pay off Igor and the Pechenegs than to fight again. The Greeks sent several merchants to meet the prince to make a deal. The merchants met him on the way to Byzantium. There they made a proposal to abandon the war. Gathering the squad, Igor Rurikovich decided that it was better to accept the gifts than to participate in the war. Also, the Byzantine emperor sent rich gifts to the Pechenegs. Agreeing to these conditions, the prince deployed troops and went home. A year later, Prince Igor Rurikovich signed a peace treaty with Byzantium. All his rule, Igor tried to subjugate the Eastern Slavic unions of his power.
Trekking in the Caspian lands
In 913, Igor Rurikovich was going to makehike in the Caspian lands. He lowered 500 ships into the water and set off across the Black Sea straight to the Sea of Azov, and further along the Don to the Volga. There was one problem: the road to the Caspian lands passed through the lands of the Khazars. It was impossible to just go through their land - this required the personal permission of the ruler. Igor managed to negotiate with the Khazars. They missed him, as well as his army, but demanded in return half of what they would get in the Caspian.
In the Caspian lands, the Russians behaved likewild animals. They robbed, killed people, burned down houses and churches, took women captive. In general, Igor managed to get a huge booty. Together with the booty and his army, he went home. But the verbal agreement between the Khazars and the prince was broken. The Khazars wanted to take all the booty from Igor, but he refused. As a result of this three-day terrible battle, Igor’s army was defeated, and the Khazars took possession of all the booty, without leaving their lands. The surviving part of the warriors fled up the Volga, but there they were forced to fight the Bulgarians.
Such is the foreign policy of Igor Rurikovich - resolute, aggressive and ruthless. He tried to make his country richer by attacking his "neighbors."
Increase tribute
In 945, the squad expressed its discontent.This was due to their financial situation. After hearing the claims, Igor decided to go for a tribute to the Drevlyane. Since the Drevlyans did not participate in the battle of Byzantium, they were obliged to pay tribute to Prince Igor. He almost doubled it in spite of the fact that during her gathering the army mocked people, burned houses and plundered villages. Drevlyans had to endure it. However, Igor crossed all borders. Such was the internal politics of Igor Rurikovich.
Igor's death
After another tribute gathering on the way home, IgorRurikovich decided that he had collected too little tribute. He sent most of the troops home, and he and his retinue turned back. For the Drevlyane it was a shock, and they could not accept it. Due to the fact that this time the army of Igor was too small, the Drevlyane decided to break it, and they did it. Most princes Drevlyane executed.
If you believe the records, the prince was tied by them tostretched trees. After the trees were released, Igor broke into two parts. Princess Olga cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for this act. She executed all the elders, killed many representatives of the civilian population, burned the land, and also besieged the Drevlians with a huge tribute, more than it was under Prince Igor. With the support of the squad and the boyars Igor, Olga began to rule Russia until the time when Igor’s son, Svyatoslav, grew up.
