The risky plan was a success, and Halfdan the Grim sat on the grand princely throne of Kyiv. But he understands that this development of events does not suit too many, because for Byzantium and Rome, independent pagan Rus' is like a bone in the throat. And the envoys of the main enemies follow a long-known road: bribing the Pecheneg leaders and simultaneously inciting the son of the Khazar Kagan. Everything is being done in order to, if not destroy free Rus', then weaken it and force it to play by someone else’s rules.