The monograph of two British historians, offered to the attention of the Russian reader, is the first book in Longman's multi-volume History of Russia. The authors ask the question that worried Russian historians, starting with the compilers of “The Tale of Bygone Years,” namely, “where did the Russian land come from?” Answering this question, the authors, relying on the latest discoveries and research, revise many key moments in the initial history of Rus'. Scientists re-evaluate the role of the Normans in the emergence of a political unification on the territory of the East European Plain, criticize the Kiev-centric concept of Russian history, substantiate a new understanding of the so-called appanage period, which, in their opinion, is erroneously considered a period of political and economic decline of Ancient Rus'.

CONTENTS:From the authors (3).Preface to the English edition (5).

PART I. ROOTS AND PATHSChapter I. Silver seekers from the north (c. 760 - c. 900) (15).At the originsThe First reports about the RusRaids and neighbors (ca. 860 - ca. 900)Chapter II. Turning to the south (111).Slavs and semi-nomads in the 9th century.Russian bridgehead on the Middle Dnieper (c. 900–930)Chapter III. Dnieper Rus' (c. 920-960) - organize or die (167). Chapter IV. A sharp turn and the adoption of Christianity (c. 960-1015) (206). Last resettlement: Svyatoslav on the Danube Settlement on the spot: Vladimir in Kiev Strengthening positions

PART II. Kyiv AND RUSSIA Chapter V. Martyrs and mercenaries (c. 1015-1036) (267). The struggle for the throneRights and righteousnessMilitary powerChapter VI. Cracks on the facade (1036-1054) (302). Constantinople on the Dnieper? “Law” “Grace” “Book sweetness” Chapter VII. Inner circle: The formation of the political culture of the dynasty (1054 - ca. 1113) (355). Oaths and testaments of the Yaroslavichs and others (1054–1076) Uncles and nephews (1076–1093) The Lyubech agreement and its consequences (1093–1113) Chapter VIII. The prince and the city (c. 1070 - c. 1120) (401). Money people Daughters, sisters, wives and widows Monks “Russification” of culture

PART III. THE RISE OF SPECIFIC CENTERSChapter IX. Integration and diffusion (c. 1130 - c. 1170) (463). Integration and diffusion (c. 1130 - c. 1170) Expanding the network of trade routes and settlements Expanding family: Diversity of dynastic politics Faith in the lands of the Rus Chapter X. Future and past: 1185 g . and subsequent years (520).

Selected bibliography (529).Maps (559).Genealogical tables (575).Index of names (584).List of abbreviations (597).D.M. Bulanin. The beginning of Rus' and the initial history of the Rus. Notes for the Russian translation (600).