The reign of Rurik, the half-legendary prince of old Russia

The reign of Prince Rurik - this time, shrouded in legends and secrets. It is still not known exactly who this legendary person was, who gave the Slavs the first ruling dynasty.

"Tale of Bygone Years" says that in 862year, the Ilmen Slovenes (the Zudi, Mary and Vesi tribes), tired of the protracted internecine wars for power, called on a foreign ruler. They hoped that in this way they would be able to conclude a long-awaited peace. Three brothers immediately responded to their request - Truvor, Sineus and Rurik. The first of them settled in Izborsk, the second - on the White Lake, and the third - in Novgorod. After the death of the brothers, Rurik gathered all the power over their lands.

Rurik’s reign is connected with the hypothesis thatthe northern prince was not completely a stranger to the Slavs. Later sources say that he was a descendant of Gostomysl, the prince of Novgorod, the elders: his middle daughter, Umila, married one of the Varangian rulers. The new prince of Novgorod took as his wife Efanda, who came from a noble local family.

During the reign of Rurik, the people of Novgorod raisedinsurrection. However, the prince severely suppressed the forces of Vadim the Brave, and executed him himself. Many rebels, fearing the ruler’s revenge, fled to Kiev. The chronicle also describes how the two boyars asked for the prince's campaign (whether to help Constantinople). Askold and Dir left Novgorod with their clans and squads, but they did not get to their destination, and also settled on the banks of the Dnieper. The reign of Rurik lasted another twelve years after these events. After the death of the ruler, the power passed to his closest relative, Oleg Veshchy, appointed guardian of the minor Igor. He drove Askold and Dir out of the golden-domed Kiev, and proclaimed himself the Grand Duke.

Однако некоторые историки считают, что правление Rurik was not based on the vocation of his boyars. Most likely, he seized power during the military campaign, so the people of Novgorod rebelled against him. Perhaps the boyars did not agree: some of them were supported by the Varyag, and some were against the outsider. It is also not known who the legendary prince was: the Baltic Slav, Finn or Scandinavian.

The name Rurik in Europe is known from the fourthcentury. Some researchers believe that it comes from the name of one Celtic tribe - whether raurik, or Rurik. In the eighth and ninth centuries, princes of that name ruled the Jutland Peninsula. Sineus can be translated from the same Celtic language as "senior", Truvor means "third by birth." Other historians consider Rurik Rerik, the leader of the Vikings. Perhaps the plot with the vocation of the Varangian on the throne of Novgorod was included in the chronicles much later, therefore there is so little detailed information in it.

However, despite some inaccuracies, the boardRurik on the territory of the Russian lands remains a fact. It had important consequences for the Slavs, since it established the ruling dynasty (Rurikovich), contributed to the development of Russia as a state, centralized power. The reign of Rurik, whose tribal sign was a trident (or dvozubets) marked a new page in the development of Kievan Rus, its golden age, which culminated in the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.