Despite the fact that the history of Russia and Europe seems to us to be very well studied, there are still “blank spots” in it and questions arise to which there are still no clear answers. Consideration of the history of the maritime cultures of the peoples of Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as the peoples of the East, could help find answers to some of them. The author has put forward a number of assumptions that allow us to resolve one very important problem - the origin of the Slavs.