Rurik is one of the most mysterious figures in ancient Russian history. The founder of the Rurik dynasty - a dynasty of Russian princes and then tsars, which ruled for 736 years, from the end of the 9th to the 16th centuries. For almost seven and a half centuries, the Rurik dynasty created, protected and strengthened Russia. This story begins in the 9th century. 862, enmity and death reign in the Slavic lands, internecine wars literally devastate the lands, and then the Slavic and Finnish tribes decide: in order to quickly establish order in their lands, they need to invite a prince from the outside, from the Varangians. “These Varangians were called Russia”...Who was the legendary founder of this dynasty, about whom chroniclers almost never write—a Norman, a Prussian, or a native of the Slavs? Was he called by the Novgorodians or, having carried out a raid with a Scandinavian squad, seized power in Novgorod? The dynasty that determined the fate of a huge state, the rulers who came from the north and managed to unite the Slavic lands, the great princes who created uniform laws, culture and even language - who are they? In this grand-ducal and then royal family, divided into many branches, there were the most cruel, and the wisest rulers, and saints, and famous warriors...