Based on extensive historical material, the author tells about the famous Vikings - Scandinavian warrior-seafarers (in Rus' they were called Varangians, and in Western Europe - Normans), about their trade, predatory and conquest campaigns in the 9th-11th centuries in European countries and to the shores of America and Africa. The publication is equipped with illustrations, author's maps, background information about the Viking campaigns, their rulers, genealogy of clans and connections with the Rurik family. For the general reader and specialists. Published for the first time.