Among other books devoted to the formation of the ancient Russian state, Boris Romanov's book stands apart. The focus here is not the struggle of princes for power and not military campaigns, but the life of an ordinary person from birth to death with all its hardships and joys, ordeals and thoughts - in a word, everyday life. This man has many faces: before us is a whole gallery - princes, warriors, spiritual fathers, servants, serfs, serfs... The author looks into the most hidden corners of Russian life and, as a result, creates a broad picture of the morals of pre-Mongol Rus', based on a thorough analysis of written sources from the 11th - early 13th century. The scope of his consideration includes Russian chronicles, teachings, paterikons, lives, church statutes, literary monuments, international treaties, various editions of Russian Pravda. Boris Aleksandrovich Romanov (1889–1957) is a Doctor of Historical Sciences, an outstanding expert on ancient Russian life.