Until 912, Kievan Rus was ruled by Prince Oleg on behalf of Igor, since the latter was still very young. Being modest by nature and upbringing, Igor respected his elders and did not dare to lay claim to the throne during the life of Oleg, who surrounded his name with a halo of glory for his deeds. Prince Oleg approved the choice of wife for the future ruler. The Kiev prince Igor married in 903 a simple girl, Olga, who lived near Pskov.

Beginning of reign

After Oleg died, Igor became the full-fledged prince of Rus'. His reign began with war. At this time, the Drevlyan tribe decided to leave the power of Kyiv and the uprising began. The new ruler brutally punished the rebels, inflicting a crushing defeat on them. This battle began numerous campaigns of Prince Igor. The result of the campaign against the Drevlyans was the unconditional victory of Rus', which, as a winner, demanded additional tribute from the rebels. The following campaigns were aimed at confronting the Pechenegs, who, having expelled the Ugor tribes from the Urals, continued their advance to the West. The Pechenegs, in the fight against Kievan Rus, occupied the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, thereby blocking the trade opportunities of Rus', since it was through the Dnieper that the route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed. The campaigns carried out by Prince Igor against the Polovtsians met with varying success.

Campaigns against Byzantium

Despite the ongoing confrontation with the Cumans, new wars continue. In 941, Igor declared war on Byzantium, thereby continuing the foreign policy of his predecessors. The reason for the new war was that after the death of Oleg, Byzantium considered itself free from previous obligations and ceased to fulfill the terms of the peace treaty. The campaign against Byzantium was truly outstanding. For the first time, such a large army was advancing on the Greeks. The Kiev ruler took with him about 10,000 ships, according to the chroniclers, which was 5 times more than the army with which Oleg won. But this time the Russians failed to take the Greeks by surprise; they managed to gather a large army and won the first battle on land. As a result, the Russians decided to win the war through naval battles. But this did not work out either. Byzantine ships, using a special incendiary mixture, began to burn Russian ships with oil. Russian warriors were simply amazed by these weapons and perceived them as heavenly. The army had to return to Kyiv.

Two years later, in 943, Prince Igor organized a new campaign against Byzantium. This time the army was even larger. In addition to the Russian army, mercenary detachments were invited, which consisted of Pechenegs and Varangians. The army moved towards Byzantium by sea and land. The new campaigns promised to be successful. But the surprise attack failed. Representatives of the city of Chersonesus managed to report to the Byzantine emperor that a new large Russian army was approaching Constantinople. This time the Greeks decided to avoid battle and proposed a new peace treaty. The Kiev prince Igor, after consulting with his squad, accepted the terms of the peace treaty, which were identical to the terms of the agreement signed by the Byzantines with Oleg. This completed the Byzantine campaigns.

End of the reign of Prince Igor

According to records in the chronicles, in November 945, Igor gathered a squad and moved to the Drevlyans to collect tribute. Having collected tribute, he released most of the army and with a small squad went to the city Iskorosten. The purpose of this visit was to demand tribute for himself personally. The Drevlyans were outraged and planned murder. Having armed the army, they set off to meet the prince and his retinue. This is how the murder of the Kyiv ruler took place. His body was buried not far from Iskorosten. According to legend, the murder was characterized by extreme cruelty. He was tied hand and foot to bent trees. Then the trees were released... Thus ended the reign of Prince Igor...

The Rurik dynasty ruled the state for over 700 years. Today, the events in which Prince Igor participated are known only from a number of chronicles, which sometimes contradict each other.

Childhood and youth

Igor's exact date of birth is unknown. And if the Tale of Bygone Years, in principle, is silent about this point, then in other chronicles the year of birth varies greatly. It is most likely that he was born in 875. His father Rurik was the founder of the ancient Russian state. But when he died in 879, the boy was too young to rule. Therefore, a regent was appointed to Igor - a relative of Rurik -. He was a warrior and often took the boy on military campaigns.

There is very little information about Igor’s mother. Only the Joachim Chronicle indicates that she was the Norwegian princess Efanda. The historian Tatishchev considered her Oleg’s sister.

It is possible that Igor had both brothers and sisters, but there is no mention of these people in the chronicles. But some sources mention the prince’s nephews and cousins. Most likely, they did not own lands and powers, but were part of the prince’s squad.

Often his name is mentioned with the adjective "Old". There are two possible origins for this nickname. Since there was more than one Igor in the Rurik dynasty, they decided to call the first of them “Old”. And, most likely, historians of later periods began to use this, and not his contemporaries. Another reason for this nickname could be the fact that the prince came to power not after reaching adulthood, but only after Oleg’s death. Igor at that time was already about 37 years old.

Governing body

The prophetic Oleg left Igor a rich state, showing by his own example how to manage it. But power brought a lot of worries. As soon as the Drevlyans learned about Oleg’s death, they immediately refused to pay tribute to the new ruler. Igor was forced to gather a squad and go to their lands. And so that in the future they would be discouraged from rebelling against the prince, he imposed a tribute on them twice as much as before. Since then, the Drevlyans have harbored a strong grudge against him.

The domestic and foreign policy of Igor Rurikovich was of an aggressive nature. After the Drevlyan uprising, he decided to collect tribute from people differently. Every year, together with his warriors, the prince traveled around the lands under his control and collected a “tax” from the tribes that lived there. He took everything: flour, grain, honey, animal skins, etc. Now this was called polyudye. But Igor’s people behaved extremely rudely and impudently with the people. And the prince himself was distinguished by a tough and hot-tempered disposition.

In 915, Igor went to the aid of Byzantium, which was attacked by the Bulgarians. In 920 he defeated the Pechenegs. But the most important military campaigns in the life of Prince Igor were his campaigns against Byzantium.

In 941 he sailed to Byzantium, accompanied by a thousand ships. However, the Greeks managed to repel the attack; they used a new weapon at that time - “Greek fire” - a mixture of oil and other flammable substances. With the help of "fire" they burned most of the enemy ships.

Igor was forced to return home, but with only one goal - to gather a new army for the next campaign against Byzantium. This time he was successful. The prince concluded a peace treaty with the Byzantines, under which he was provided with a monetary payment.

Igor stood at the head of Ancient Rus' for 33 years, the years of his reign were from 912 to 945. His family sign was a stylized diving falcon.

Personal life

Igor’s wife was a Pskov woman with the fabulous name of Beautiful, to whom the young prince, before concluding the union, gave a new name - Olga. Why he did this, again, there are several options. Or it was his whim and a demonstration of power. At the time of their marriage, the young man was 25 years old, and the girl was only 13. Or the reason for this act lay much deeper.

Some sources say that Olga is Oleg’s daughter. Namely, it was Oleg who matched her to Igor. His goal was to strengthen his influence on the matured young man. The name Olga is a derivative of the male name Oleg. The woman went down in history as Olga, becoming the Grand Duchess and the first ruler to convert to Christianity.

They had a son, Svyatoslav, who three years later became a prince under the tutelage of his mother.

Igor had other wives, but Olga always remained his beloved woman. She was wise and approached issues thoughtfully and carefully. Whether Igor had children in other marriages is not reported in the chronicles.

Death

The death of Prince Igor deserves special attention. In 945, his warriors began to complain that they did not have enough money, that they were not financially prosperous. The warriors persuaded the ruler to go to the Drevlyan lands to collect polyudye. They took tribute beyond the prescribed amount and committed violence against the inhabitants.

On the way back to Kyiv during a halt, Igor unexpectedly decided to return to the Drevlyans for additional tribute. The prince sent part of the army with the already assembled polyud to Kyiv. And he himself went back with a small number of warriors.

As soon as the Drevlyans heard about the return of the prince, they decided to resolve the situation peacefully, but Igor refused to leave the land. Therefore, the Drevlyans, led by their ruler, Prince Mal, decided to rebel against Igor, since his activities violated the norms of the established way of life.

Igor was in the minority, his warriors were quickly defeated by the Drevlyans, the prince was captured, and soon executed. According to the Byzantine chronicler Leo the Deacon, the murder of the prince was carried out with particular cruelty. Igor was tied to the tops of bent trees and his body was torn into pieces.

After his death, Princess Olga ascended the throne, since her son Svyatoslav was too young. Having become the head of state, Olga decided to avenge the death of her husband.

Prince Mal sent the princess matchmakers. The Drevlyans sailed along the Dnieper by boat. Olga ordered the soldiers to carry the boat along with the guests to the palace, thus honoring them. But by that time they had dug a hole in the yard, into which they threw the matchmakers along with the boat, and then buried them alive. Soon ambassadors from Mal came to Olga. The woman told them to wash off the road first. The men entered the bathhouse, it was immediately closed and set on fire.

Prince Igor was buried near the town of Iskorosten, Olga decided to go with her squad to her husband’s grave. The princess was met by the Drevlyans, but immediately asked where the ambassadors the prince had sent her were. The woman convinced them that they were following with the Kyiv squad. At the funeral feast, she gave the Drevlyans too much to drink, and when they were already indecently drunk, she ordered the warriors to chop them all up.

Olga besieged Iskorosten, but the Drevlyan people were not going to surrender. Therefore, the princess decided to take them by cunning. She informed them that her husband had been avenged, and demanded a conditional tribute from the inhabitants of Iskorosten: three sparrows and three doves from the yard. The townspeople, suspecting nothing, with obvious relief, fulfilled the princess’s demand.

Olga ordered her warriors to tie a lit tinder to the leg of each bird and release them. The birds returned to their nests and set the city on fire. The Drevlyans fled, but immediately fell into the hands of Olga. Some were killed on the spot, others were captured and then sold into slavery.

The actions of Princess Olga, who avenged her husband's death, are terrifying. But those times were distinguished by their cruelty, so her actions corresponded to the mores of the era.

Memory

• Igorevskaya street in Kyiv

Movie

• 1983 – “The Legend of Princess Olga”, as Igor Alexander Denisenko

Literature

• “Igor”, A. Serba
• “Prince Igor and Princess Olga”, V. Sedugin
• “Tip of a sword scabbard from a mound near Korosten”, M. Fechner

art

• “Prince Igor collects tribute from the Drevlyans in 945”, K. Lebedev
• “The first meeting of Prince Igor and Olga”, V. Sazonov
• “Prince Igor”, K. Vasiliev
• “Princess Olga meets the body of Prince Igor”, V. Surikov
• “Prince Igor”, I. Glazunov
• “The Execution of Prince Igor”, F. Bruni

Igor was the first prince of the Old Russian state from the Rurik dynasty. Few people know that Rurik himself was the Prince of Novgorod. And Prince Oleg, called the Prophet, subjugated Kyiv and moved the capital to it. Oleg was a relative of Rurik and, dying, he left the young Igor to him, as well as a kind of regency under him. The prophetic Oleg ruled with absolute power as an unlimited autocrat, but he carried out a number of deeds, especially bloody ones, in the name of the young Igor. For example, having deceived the princes Askold and Dir who ruled there from Kyiv, he executed them, declaring: “You are not princes and not of a princely family. But I am of a princely family. And this is Rurik’s son.”

Prince Igor ruled Kiev for 33 years and it would seem that his life, as the actual founder of the dynasty, should be known for certain. However, it is not. There is no unity even in determining the date of his birth. Therefore, the encyclopedia indicates that he was born around 878, a year before the death of his father, whom some historians do not consider to be a historical figure at all.

Most people who graduated from the Soviet school will be able to remember that Igor was an insignificant prince who died while collecting tribute from the Drevlyans due to his greed and stupidity. However, this version does not correspond to historical truth. Moreover, the causes of his death and the real killers have not been definitively established. Igor began to reign independently only after the death of the Prophetic Oleg - also a semi-legendary personality, at least not mentioned in any foreign source, and this despite the fact that his “shield is on the gates of Constantinople.” Oleg died in 911 (according to other sources in 922). Before his death, he managed to marry Igor to the future first Russian saint - Princess Olga. Before her marriage, Olga’s name was Pregrada, and she came from Pskov, where she was either a commoner, or, on the contrary, from a noble family of Gostomysl. It is possible that she was actually born in Plovdiv and was a Bulgarian princess. A number of historians claim that Olga was

daughter of Prophetic Oleg. And all that is known for certain is that at baptism she received the name Elena. After Olga, Igor took several more wives. However, according to ancient chronicles, the one who later became a saint enjoyed the greatest respect from him. It is believed that the marriage took place in 903, however, this date is highly doubtful. Especially if you analyze the fact that their son Svyatoslav was born in 942.

Prince Igor made his first military campaign against the Drevlyans in 914. This Slavic tribe had its capital in Iskorosten, 150 kilometers from Kyiv. The prophetic Oleg conquered them, but after his death the Drevlyans refused to pay tribute. Igor defeated the Drevlyans and imposed a tribute on them greater than Oleg's. In 915, Igor had his first clash with the Pechenegs. Igor managed to conclude an “eternal peace” with them, which lasted until 920, after which there was virtually continuous war on the borders of Rus' and the steppe. During the reign of Igor, Russian squads willingly sailed along the Caspian Sea, plundering the coastal states of the region. They even managed to plunder and massacre the capital of Caucasian Albania, the city of Berdaa, located on the territory of modern Azerbaijan. “The Rus, greedy for battle, ... set out to sea and made an invasion on the decks of their ships ... These people devastated the entire territory of Berdaa ... They are something other than robbers, like wolves and lions. They never indulge in the joy of feasts... They take over countries and conquer cities...” Nizami later wrote.

However, Oleg’s military glory – that same shield – greatly attracted Prince Igor. In 941 he undertook his first campaign against Constantinople. It is interesting that the Russian chronicles telling about this campaign are a retelling of Greek sources; they report: “On June 11... the dews sailed to Constantinople on ten thousand ships.” The main forces of the Byzantines at this time fought on other fronts. However, the leader of the city, warned by the Bulgarians about the invasion, boldly entered the battle. The Byzantines were armed with “Greek fire” - a flammable mixture that could burn in water, and managed to burn most of the Russian fleet. The trip ended in nothing. However, as a result, his prince Igor became the first Russian ruler to appear in the Byzantine chronicles. He is the first to be cross-mentioned in both Russian and foreign sources. And, accordingly, he is the first ruler of Rus', whose real existence is considered proven.

The first failure did not discourage Prince Igor. In 943-944, the prince assembled a new army, which, in addition to the Slavic units, included many Varangian squads and the mercenary cavalry of the Pechenegs. He again goes on a campaign against Constantinople and wins, without shedding a drop of blood. The Byzantines were so frightened by reports of the prince’s huge army that they sent forward ambassadors who promised to pay tribute, generously reward each warrior and, in modern terms, provide most favored nation treatment to Russian merchants. After consulting with the squad, the prince accepted these proposals. And he returned to Kyiv with fame and wealth. What this prince, wise in many battles and thirty years of ruling the state, who expanded its borders and successfully restrained the onslaught of enemies, did next, according to the official version, cannot be explained logically. In 945, at the request of the squad, which was “overspent and worn out,” he went to the Drevlyans for tribute. It should be understood that the squad was the highest stratum of the society of that time, from which the boyars were subsequently formed, so they certainly could not go hungry and be poorly dressed. In addition, nothing is reported anywhere about the refusal of the Drevlyans to pay the tribute that Igor imposed on them back in 914. That is, it turns out that the autocrat, having gathered the entire leadership of the country, sets off to rob his own subjects. Well, let's say that's exactly how it was. Then, apparently, later he simply went crazy. Having collected tribute without any resistance, Igor sends most of the squad with valuables to Kyiv, and with a small gang returns to Iskorosten, wanting to rob it again. The Drevlyans, under the leadership of Prince Mal, rebel, destroy his squad, and tie the prince himself to two trees and tear him to pieces.

Further more. An enemy so hated that the most brutal execution was chosen for his destruction is buried with great pomp and honor near Iskorosten, having built a huge mound over his body. Prince Mal, without thinking twice, goes to woo Princess Olga. The inconsolable widow, naturally, as a good Christian woman, orders him and his entire retinue to be buried alive in the ground in revenge for the death of her husband. Moreover, she was so heartbroken that later she went to take revenge on the Drevlyans three more times. Historians have long noticed that there is something wrong with this version. It is quite difficult to rely on ancient chronicles as a reliable document, since everything was written exclusively at the request of the rulers and in the manner that these rulers considered correct. A version was proposed that Igor could have been killed by dissatisfied Varangians. In an expanded version, the version says that the Varangians were bribed. The question remains: by whom? The ancient principle of detective work says: “Qui prodest” - look for someone who benefits. So, Princess Olga, without having any dynastic rights, after the death of Prince Igor, single-handedly ruled Russia for 17 years, from 945 to 962.

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On which a lot of dirt was poured. His death, as described in The Tale of Bygone Years, left a negative imprint on his entire reign, in which a lot of sweat and blood was shed to strengthen the Russian state.

The chronicle about the last days of the prince says the following: “The squad said to Igor: “Sveneld’s youths are dressed in clothes, and we are naked. Come with us, prince, for tribute, and you will get it, and so will we.” And Igor listened to them - he went to the Drevlyans for tribute, and added a new one to the previous tribute, and his men committed violence against them. Taking the tribute, he went to his city. When he was walking back, after thinking about it, he said to his squad: “Go home, and I’ll come back and collect some more.” And he sent his squad home, and he himself returned with a small squad, wanting more wealth.” Further, the plot is known to everyone from school history textbooks; the Drevlyans decided at a meeting: “If a wolf gets into the habit of the sheep, he will carry out the entire flock until they kill him; so is this one: if we don’t kill him, he will destroy us all.” The Drevlyans organized an ambush and killed the prince and his warriors, “since there were few of them.”

The picture is imaginative, bright, memorable. As a result, we know from childhood that the Russian Grand Duke Igor is a greedy and stupid robber (he went with a small number of soldiers to an already robbed tribe), a mediocre commander (the plot of the burning of the Russian fleet by “Greek fire” in 941), a useless ruler who did not bring any benefit to Rus'.

True, if you think sensibly and remember the subjectivity of historical written sources, which were always written to order, then you can notice several inconsistencies. The squad says to the Grand Duke, “and we are naked.” Just a year ago, in 944, the Byzantines, frightened by the power of Igor’s troops, gave him a huge tribute. The prince “took from the Greeks gold and silk for all the soldiers.” And in general, it’s funny to say that the Grand Duke’s squad (the military elite of that time) was “naked.” In addition, the chronicle reports that Igor took from Byzantium “the tribute that Oleg took and more.” Oleg took 12 hryvnia of silver per brother (a hryvnia was equal to approximately 200 grams of silver). For comparison, a good horse cost 2 hryvnia. Combat sea boat with rammed sides - 4 hryvnia. It is clear that after such wealth, the “treasures” of the Drevlyans - honey and furs - are an ordinary tribute (tax).

The next discrepancy is the image of the “unlucky prince”, a mediocre commander. Over the long years of his reign (ruled from 912 - died in 945), Igor lost only one battle - in 941. Moreover, the rival of the Rus was the world power of that time, which possessed advanced military technologies - Byzantium. In addition, the victory was won by the Byzantines due to the lack of a surprise factor - the Greeks managed to prepare well for the battle (the Bulgarians reported the attack of the Rus), and the use of the most powerful weapons of that time. It was the so-called. “Greek fire” is a flammable mixture that was used for military purposes; its exact composition is unknown. There was no protection from this weapon; the flammable mixture burned even on water. We must also take into account the fact that the military campaign as a whole was won by Igor. Three years later, the Grand Duke gathered a new army, replenished it with Varangians, entered into an alliance with the Pechenegs and marched against the enemy. The Byzantines got scared and sent an embassy asking for peace. The prince took a rich tribute and concluded a peace treaty. Igor proved himself not only as a warrior, but also as a diplomat - why fight if the enemy himself offers a profitable peace? He did not forget the betrayal of the Bulgarians, he “commanded the Pechenegs to fight the Bulgarian land.”

Why does Prince Igor order the Pechenegs? There is an answer and it also does not fit into the image of a “robber and adventurer.” In 915, when “the Pechenegs first came to the Russian land,” the Grand Duke was able to force them to peace. It is clear that if the Russian land had been weak, the situation would have developed differently. As in those days, so now, peoples understand only the language of force. The Pechenegs migrated to the Danube. In 920, in the chronicle of the Pechenegs there is another phrase - “Igor fought against the Pechenegs.” Please note - he did not repulse the raid, he did not fight with them on Russian soil, but “fought against the Pechenegs,” that is, he himself went against them and won. As a result, the Pechenegs decided to try the forces of Rus' only in 968. In addition, if the fate is the fact that Igor could “command” the Pechenegs to fight the Bulgarian land in 944, they were in vassal dependence on Rus'. At least some of the tribes. This is confirmed by the participation of auxiliary Pecheneg forces in Svyatoslav’s wars. For 48 years (two generations) the Pechenegs did not dare to touch Russian lands. This says a lot. Just one line - “Igor fought against the Pechenegs”, and a whole forgotten feat of the Russian army. The blow was so powerful that the brave warriors of the steppes were afraid to attack Rus' for two (!) generations. For comparison, the Polovtsians, who came later than the Pechenegs, made only fifty major attacks on Russian lands in one hundred and fifty years. This is not to mention small raids, which were not even counted. And if we take the period of the reign of the Baptist of Rus', Vladimir Svyatoslavich, then he had to build a line of fortresses along the southern borders of the state, and drive warriors there from all over the state. Under Vladimir, Rus'’s relations with the Steppe deteriorated sharply - there was an incessant “great war” with the Pechenegs, who almost every year broke through to the Kyiv suburbs. According to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, the Pecheneg hordes roamed just one day's journey from Rus'.

Foreign sources confirm the opinion about the power of Rus' during the reign of Grand Duke Igor. The 10th-century Arab geographer and traveler Ibn-Haukal calls the Pechenegs “a spearhead in the hands of the Rus,” which Kyiv turns wherever it wants. The Arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi calls the Don “Russian River” and the Black Sea “Russian, because no one dares to swim on it except the Russians.” This was during the reign of Igor the Old. The Byzantine writer and historian Leo Deacon calls the Cimmerian Bosporus (modern Kerch) a Russian base, from where Igor led his fleet against the Byzantine Empire. From the treaty with Byzantium in 944, it is clear that Rus' under Igor controlled both the mouth of the Dnieper and the passages to Crimea from the steppe.

The question is, who is the great statesman? Igor, to whom the mighty Byzantine Empire paid tribute, the Pechenegs were “the tip of his weapon” and for two generations they did not dare to disturb the Russian borders, the ruler who made the Don “Russian River”. Or Vladimir “The Saint” - a participant in the fratricidal internecine war, who owned hundreds of concubines and built forts on the Desna from the Pechenegs, who roamed a day’s journey from Russian cities.

The mystery of Igor's death and the role of Olga

The question arises: how did the great sovereign, commander and diplomat, who took gold, silver and silks from the Greeks, fall into the trap created by the greed of his soldiers? According to historian Lev Prozorov, Igor was killed not by the Drevlyans, but by the Varangian squad, which mainly consisted of Christians. Several facts speak about this. Firstly, a real Russian squad would not leave the prince. The squad and the prince were one. The warriors could not leave the prince in a hostile land. The prince's squad suffered significant damage in 941. Therefore, to collect tribute, he took Varangian troops and a “small squad”. Secondly, before the campaign against Byzantium in 944, Igor’s army was replenished with Varangians. After the second campaign against Byzantium, the treaty of 944 mentions that a significant part of the Rus swear allegiance in the cathedral church of Elijah the Prophet in Kiev Podol. The chronicle explains: “For many Varangians are Christians.” Thirdly, greed (the official reason for the death of Igor and his small squad) was not characteristic of the Rus and, in general, the pagans of northern Europe. The Rus and Slavs have always amazed foreigners with their generosity and selflessness, which often turns into extravagance. Christian Germans and Christian Poles, on the contrary, were distinguished by their greed for spoils. Fourthly, the Byzantine author Leo the Deacon writes that Igor was killed by the “Germans,” and Christianity on the shores of the Varangian Sea was then called the “German Faith.”

It is also interesting that the squad returned to Kyiv, the prince and his closest associates were killed, and the soldiers returned alive and well. They are not punished, and their ridiculous story becomes the official version. It is clear that the murder had a customer. The Christian community of Kyiv at that time felt good, even Prince Askold accepted the Christian faith, and under Igor a cathedral church appeared. The Christian community also had a high patron - Princess Olga, Igor's wife. It is officially believed that she was a pagan at that time, and was baptized at the hands of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine. But Byzantine sources do not confirm this version.

Olga’s “revenge” raises even more questions. She allegedly avenged her husband “according to cruel pagan custom.” It should be noted that according to pagan customs, blood feud was the work of a narrow circle of men - a brother, a son, the father of the murdered person, a brother’s son or a sister’s son. Women were not seen as avengers. In addition, at that time the affairs of Christians were no less (if not more terrible) than the pagans. For example, the Christian emperor Justinian the Great ordered the massacre of 50 thousand rebel Christians at the capital's hippodrome, and Emperor Basil II ordered the execution of 48 thousand captive Bulgarians (also Christians).

The number of deaths is surprising; at the “bloody feast” alone, according to the chronicle, 5 thousand Drevlyans who were drunk on Greek wine were killed. Judging by the way Olga hurries and the number of those killed, one gets the impression that this is not revenge, but a “cleansing” of possible witnesses. True, apparently, we will never know whether Olga was among the organizers of this murder, or whether she was used “in the dark” by agents of Constantinople who acted through the Christian communities of Kiev and the Drevlyansky land.

The Drevlyans were indignant and thought to free themselves from tribute. Igor pacified them and forced them to pay more than before. He also made trips to foreign lands, but he did not have the same luck as Oleg. Under Igor Rurikovich, a raid was carried out on the Caspian residents. In 913, the Russians appeared in the Black Sea on five hundred boats, sailed to the Azov Sea, climbed the Don to the place where it comes close to the Volga, and sent to the Khazar Kagan to ask for passage through his possessions along the Volga to the Caspian Sea: they promised to give Khazars half of all the spoils that they capture. Kagan agreed. Prince Igor's warriors dragged their boats into the sea, scattered along its southern and western shores, began to mercilessly beat the inhabitants, and take women and children captive. The residents tried to resist, but the Russians defeated their army. The victors captured huge booty and sailed from the Caspian Sea back to the Volga. Here they gave, as agreed before, half of the looted booty to the Kagan, but the Khazars wanted to take the other half from the Russians. After a three-day terrible battle, most of the Russian army was exterminated, and its remnants, fleeing up the Volga, almost all died in the fight against Bulgarians.

Pechenegs and Russians

At the end of the 9th century, shortly before the beginning of the reign of Igor Rurikovich, hordes of a new tribe of nomads - the Pechenegs - appeared in the neighborhood of the Russians. They began to roam the steppes from the Danube to the Don. The Byzantine government, in order to save its possessions from their raids, tried to live in peace with them, sent rich gifts to their leaders, and sometimes the insidious Greeks bribed the Pechenegs to attack the Russians. In peacetime, the Pechenegs sold horses, bulls, and sheep to the Russians, sometimes hired out to transport goods and thus helped trade relations with the Greeks. But for the most part, these nomads were at enmity with the Russians, unexpectedly burst into the Russian region in small detachments, plundered it, burned settlements, destroyed fields, and often attacked Russian merchant caravans, waiting for them at the Dnieper rapids.

The Pechenegs were tall, strong people with a wild, ferocious appearance. They were excellent horsemen and excellent shooters. Arrows and spears were their main weapons, and chain mail and helmets protected them from enemy attacks. On their light steppe horses, with wild screams, they rushed at their enemies, showering them with arrows. Then, if they could not immediately break the enemy, they took a feigned flight, trying to lure the enemy into pursuit and, with the help of an ambush, surround him and destroy him. Igor Rurikovich, the first of the Russian princes, had to defend his region from these steppe predators.

Prince Igor's campaigns against Byzantium

Igor, following the example of Oleg, decided to make a big raid on Byzantium and provide himself and his squad with large booty. Gathering a huge army, he headed the usual way on boats to the shores of Byzantium. As soon as countless Russian ships appeared in the Black Sea, the Danube Bulgarians let the emperor know about this. This time, the Russians attacked the Asian shores of the Byzantine Empire and, according to Greek news, began to rage terribly here: they subjected prisoners to various tortures, burned out villages, plundered churches and monasteries. Finally, the Greeks gathered their strength, equipped their ships and set out against their enemies. Igor Rurikovich was quite confident that the Russians would win, but he was mistaken. When the Byzantine ships met the Russians, suddenly the Byzantines began to throw fire at the Russian boats. If he gets on a boat, there is no escape! The flame engulfs it - the water does not extinguish it, the fire falls on the water - and it burns on the water!.. Horror took possession of everyone; the bravest ones, the fighting warriors, even wavered and all took to flight. Some of Prince Igor’s warriors threw themselves from the burning boats straight into the water and drowned; many Russians died here, many of them fell into the hands of the Byzantines.

Few escaped and later told with horror that during this battle the Greeks had heavenly lightning in their hands, that they threw it at the Russian boats and they died in the flames. The fact is that the Byzantines used a special composition of several flammable substances (oil, sulfur, resin, etc.) in war. When this composition was lit, the fire could not be extinguished by water; it even intensified the flame. This composition floated on the water and burned. On Byzantine ships, special copper pipes were installed on the bow, with the help of which the Greeks, coming close to enemy ships, threw a burning composition and lit them. This " greek fire", as he was called, terrified not only the Russians, but also other foreigners who attacked the Greeks.

Igor Rurikovich wanted at all costs to atone for the shame of his defeat and take revenge on the Greeks. He sent overseas to invite willing people from the Normans to a new campaign against Byzantium. Crowds of predatory warriors, greedy for prey, headed to Kyiv. Prince Igor spent three years getting ready, finally got ready, hired the Pechenegs, and so that they would not change, he took hostages from them and set off.

Prince Igor's campaign against Constantinople in 941. Miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle

A terrible message came to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople from Korsun (a Greek city on the Tauride Peninsula): “Rus is coming without number: their ships covered the entire sea!..” This news was followed by another from the Bulgarians: “Rus is coming and the Pechenegs are with them!”

The Byzantine emperor decided that it was better to somehow appease the enemies without entering into a new struggle with them, and sent several noble boyars to tell Igor: “Don’t come at us, take the tribute that Oleg took, we will also add to it.”

The Greeks and Pechenegs sent rich gifts - a lot of gold and expensive pavoloks (silk fabrics). The Russians had already reached the Danube at this time. Igor Rurikovich called his squad, told them about the proposal of the Byzantine emperor and began to consult what to do. We decided to accept the offer.

“When the emperor,” said the squad, “and so offers to pay tribute and we can take gold, silver and pavoloks from Byzantium without a fight, then what else do we need? Who knows who will win - us or them! And you can’t come to an agreement with the sea. We are not walking on land, but in the depths of the sea - death may be common to all of us.”

The prince accepted this advice, took gold and grass from the Greeks for himself and all his soldiers, and returned to Kyiv.

The next year, he and the Byzantine emperor exchanged embassies and concluded a new treaty, similar to the treaty between Oleg and the Greeks. Prince Igor Rurikovich came with his senior warriors (boyars) to the hill where the idol of Perun stood. Everyone laid down their weapons, spears, swords, shields and swore to the Byzantine ambassadors that they would respect the agreement. There were also Christians among the warriors, they swore allegiance in the church of St. Ilya.

Prince Igor presented the Greek ambassadors with furs, wax and servants (that is, slaves) and released them.

Treaties with the Byzantines of Igor Rurikovich and earlier - Oleg - show that the Russians did not just carry out wild raids, but also had trade benefits in mind. These agreements already stipulate various benefits for Russian traders; both sides are obliged to provide assistance to shipwrecked merchants, to fairly sort out and judge various quarrels that may arise during trade relations, etc. The wary Greeks, apparently afraid of the warlike Russians, demand that more than 50 of them, unarmed ones at that, not enter the capital at once ...

The Russian chronicles tell about the death of Igor Rurikovich as follows. In his old age he did not go to polyudye. The collection of tribute was called polyudye: the prince and his retinue usually walked through villages and towns “by people” and collected tribute, which he shared with the retinues. The prince began to entrust the collection of tribute to his boyar Sveneld. This was unprofitable for Igor’s squad, and they began to grumble:

“The youths (combatants) of Sveneld became rich in weapons and clothes, and we are naked, come, prince, with us for tribute, and you will get it, and so will we!”

Prince Igor collects tribute from the Drevlyans in 945. Painting by K. Lebedev, 1901-1908

Prince Igor listened to them and went into the land Drevlyans collect tribute, and he and his squad resorted to violence. The prince was already returning to Kyiv with tribute, but he wanted to collect more. Igor Rurikovich released most of the squad, and with a small detachment returned again to the land of the Drevlyans to carry out exactions. The Drevlyans were indignant, gathered at a meeting and decided with Mal, their foreman, or prince, as they called him: “When a wolf gets into the habit of going into a flock of sheep, he will plunder the whole flock if they do not kill him; so this one (Igor), if we don’t put him to death, will destroy us all.”

Execution of Prince Igor by the Drevlyans. Drawing by F. Bruni

When Prince Igor again began to collect tribute by force, the Drevlyans from the city of Korosten killed Igor’s small detachment and killed him himself (945). There is news that they, having bent the trunks of two trees to one another, tied the unfortunate prince to them, then released them, and Igor Rurikovich died a terrible death - he was torn into two parts by the trees.