The book by A. V. Gudz-Markov is an attempt to give a general overview of the history of Ancient Rus' in the pre-Mongol era. The author bases his research mainly on a scrupulous study of ancient Russian chronicles. And this is especially valuable, since the texts of the chronicles in our country, although they were published from time to time by academic institutions and scientific publishing houses, were published in extremely small editions. The book tells about the formation of ancient Russian statehood, the heyday of Kievan Rus, contacts with Byzantium and wars with steppe nomads, princely congresses and attempts to preserve the unity of Rus', and the reasons for the outbreak of internecine wars. Much attention is paid to the struggle of the princes for the Kiev table, the reasons for the sharp decline in the role of the “capital city” of Kyiv, the tragic events of the first third of the 13th century, and finally, Batu’s invasion, which became a real disaster for ancient Russian civilization.