Where and when did the Russian people arise? This complex question has been troubling domestic historians for several centuries. Even the author of the medieval chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” began his work with the phrase: “Where did the Russian land come from?” To solve this issue, we will have to cross the Baltic Sea from end to end more than once. Our path will pass not only in space, but also in time. It took Odysseus ten years to wander the sea to return to his native Ithaca. The migration of an entire people over the course of its long historical destiny can take centuries and even millennia. To trace the people's wanderings through the waters of the Baltic Sea, we will need an unusual ship. Its nose is decorated with a bull's head, and a griffin sits on the mast. When the wind fills the sail, we can sail out into the vastness of time. Our path will not be easy and long, but the reward will be high - we will, at least in general terms, learn the true history of our people thousands of years before the officially accepted date of the founding of the Old Russian state.