The initial Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, written two centuries after the birth of Rus', could not be impartial - much was distorted to please the princes-customers, even more hushed up, so in our ancient history there are gaping “black holes” and “white holes” stains,” there are far more questions than answers, and the historical investigation turns into an exciting detective story. Whose blood flowed in the veins of the legendary Rurik and did he even exist? Why did the Prophetic Oleg take revenge on the “foolish Khazars”? Did he nail a shield to the gates of Constantinople and why did he “accept death”? How did Prince Igor really fall and what secrets did Princess Olga keep? Why is the grandiose victory of Svyatoslav over Khazaria given only a couple of lines in the chronicle, and is it worth believing the official version of his death? Whose fault is it that we know so little about the original pagan faith of our ancestors, was Prince Vladimir a Saint, and what was the Baptism of Rus' - a blessing or a curse? “Our book is dedicated to revealing these secrets of Russian history, each chapter of which represents a kind of detective investigation. Just like in a real detective story, we will have our own suspects and witnesses, defenders and prosecutors, clues and evidence...”