In summer 6367 (859). The Varangians from overseas collected tribute from the Chud and from the Slavs, and from the Meri, and from all the Krivichi, and the Khazars took ermine and squirrel from the smoke from the glades and from the northerners, and from the Vyatichi.

In summer 6370 (862). They drove the Varangians overseas and did not give them tribute, and began to control themselves. And there was no truth among them, and generation after generation rose up, and there were strife among them, and they began to fight with themselves. And they said to themselves: “Let us look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” And they went overseas to the Varangians, to Rus', for that was the name of those Varangians - Rus', as others are called Swedes, others are Normans, Angles, others are Goths, these are the same. The Chud, the Slovenians, and the Krivichi all said to the Russians: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no clothing in it. Come reign and rule over us." And three brothers with their clans were chosen, and took all of Rus' with them, and came to the Slovenes first, and cut down the city of Ladoga, and the oldest Rurik sat in Ladoga, and the other, Sineus, sat on White Lake, and the third, Truvor, sat in Izborsk. . And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed. Novgorodians, the people of Novgorod, are from the Varangian family, before they were Slovenians.

Two years later, Sineus and his brother Truvor died. And Rurik alone took all power, and came to Ilmen, and cut down a town above Volkhov, and named it Novgorod, and sat down to reign here, distributing volosts and cities to cut down - to this Polotsk, to another Rostov, to this Beloozero. And in those cities the Varangians were aliens, and the original population in Novgorod was Slovene, in Polotsk - Krivichi, in Rostov - Merya, in Beloozero - all, in Murom - Muroma, and Rurik possessed all of them.

And he had two husbands, not of his tribe, but of the boyars, and they asked to go to Constantinople with their family. And they set off along the Dnieper, and, passing by, they saw a town on the mountain. And they asked: “Whose town is this?” And they said to them: “There were three brothers: Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, ​​who built this town and died, and we, their descendants, are sitting here and paying tribute to the Khazars.” Askold and Dir remained in this city, gathered many Varangians around them and began to own the land of the glades. Rurik reigned in Novgorod at that time *. (...)

In summer 6374 (866?). Askold and Dir went against the Greeks, and came there in the 14th year of the reign of Michael. The king was at that time on a campaign against the Hagarians and had already reached the Black River when the eparch sent the news that Rus' was marching on Constantinople. And the king returned. And they entered the Court**, committed many murders of Christians and besieged Constantinople with two hundred ships. The king entered the city with difficulty and prayed all night with Patriarch Photius in the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Blachernae. And with songs they brought out the divine robe of the Holy Mother of God, and dipped its floor in the sea. There was silence at that time, and the sea was calm, but suddenly a storm arose with the wind, and the huge waves that rose again swept away the ships of the godless Rus, threw them back to the coast, and beat them, so that few of them escaped such a disaster and returned home *** . (...)

In summer 6377 (865). The entire Bulgarian land was baptized. (...)

In summer 6387 (879). Rurik died, handing over his reign to Oleg, his relative, into whose arms he gave his son Igor, for he was still very small.

In summer 6390 (882). Oleg went on a campaign, gathering with him many warriors: Varangians, Chud, Slovenians, Meryu, all, Krivichi, and came to Smolensk with the Krivichi, and took the city and planted his husband in it. From there he went down and took Lyubech and imprisoned his husband. And they came to the Kyiv mountains, and Oleg learned that Askold and Dir reigned here. And he hid some soldiers in the boats, and left others behind, and he himself approached the mountains, carrying young Igor. And he sailed under Ugorskoe, covering his soldiers, and sent to Askold and Dir, telling them that “I am a guest, and we are going to the Greeks from Oleg and Prince Igor. Come to us, your relatives." When Askold and Dir arrived, the soldiers jumped out of the rooks, and Oleg said to Askold and Dir: “You are not princes and not of a princely family, but I am of a princely family.” And they carried Igor out: “And this is the son of Rurik.” And they killed Askold and Dir, and carried him to the mountain, and buried him [Askold] on the mountain, which is now called Ugorskaya, where Olmin’s court is now; Olma built the Church of St. Nicholas on that grave. And Dirov’s grave is behind the Church of St. Irene.

And Oleg sat down to reign in Kyiv, and Oleg said: “This will be the mother of Russian cities.” And he had Varangians and Slovenes, and others - who were called Rus. It was Oleg who began to build cities and established tribute to the Slovenes and Krivichi, and Meri, and ordered that the Varangians give tribute from Novgorod 300 hryvnia per summer for the sake of preserving peace, which was given to the Varangians until the death of Yaroslav.

In summer 6391 (882). Oleg began to fight against the Drevlyans and, having conquered them, took tribute from them by black marten.

In summer 6392 (884). Oleg went against the northerners, and defeated them, and imposed a light tribute on them, and freed them from tribute to the Khazars, saying: “I am their opponent, but you have no need.”

In summer 6393 (885). He sent to the Radimichi, asking: “Who do you give tribute to?” They answered: “The Khazars.” And Oleg said to them: “Don’t give it to the Khazars, but give it to me.” And they gave Oleg a cracker, as they used to give to the Khazars. And Oleg owned the glades, and the Drevlyans, and the Northerners, and the Radimichi, and fought with the Ulichs and Tivertsy. (...)

In summer 6406 (894) ****. The Ugrians [Hungarians] walked along the mountain past Kyiv, which is now called Ugrian, and came to the Dnieper, and became vezhas: they walked the same way as the Polovtsy now. And coming from the east, they rushed through high mountains, who were nicknamed Ugric, and began to fight with the Volokhs and Slavs who lived there. For the Slavs first sat here, and then the Volochs took the Slavic land. Afterwards, the Ugrians drove out the Volokhs, took possession of that land, and settled with the Slavs, conquering them; and from then on the land was nicknamed Ugric. And the Ugrians began to fight against the Greeks, and captured the lands of Thracia and Macedonia as far as Seluni*****. And they began to fight against the Moravians and Czechs.

* The text of the legend about the calling of the Varangians reflects some Novgorod legends. IN in this case Of interest is the change in view of princely power: it is now thought of as hereditary and valued as such. At the same time, the very task of power, of “ownership,” is presented more clearly. The authors of the 11th century did not know the Varangian legend, just as they did not know the name of Rurik. They started the dynasty with Igor “Stary” (oldest, long-standing). For the first time, the name Rurik in the family of Russian princes was given to the great-grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, the son of Rostislav Vladimirovich. The latter, after the death of his father in Novgorod, was forced to leave the city, wandered around different cities for a long time until he received an inheritance in Vladimir-Galician Rus'. Rurik Rostislavich (died in 1092) reigned here.
** "Judgment" - the Golden Horn Bay in Constantinople.
*** The story about Rus'’s campaign against the Greeks was clearly borrowed from Byzantine or some Balkan Christian sources. Its origin could be clarified by deciphering the date. But it is not easy to install. There are several cosmic eras and chronology styles in the chronicle. In addition to the Constantinople era, which dominated Rus' later (the time from the creation of the world to the Nativity of Christ was determined by it at 5508 years), in the early period they used the Antiochian era (the same period - 5500 years), as well as some special era that differed from the Constantinople for four years (the same period - 5504 years), and Bulgarian, focused on lunar calendar. The mention of Photius in the text indicates a time before 867 (when Photius was deposed), the reference to the 14th year of Michael suggests a date of 856 (6360), when Michael began to reign. But Michael was also killed in 867. It is possible that this date included events known from Byzantine sources and which took place in 860. There is no evidence of other Russian attacks on Constantinople at this time. But there is evidence - the district letter of Photius - about the baptism of some “Rus” around 866. Later, in alterations of the legends about the baptism of Vladimir, the name Photius will constantly appear, which indicates a mixture of different baptisms and, apparently, different written traditions.
****Under the year 6406, another edition of the legend about Slavic literacy was given. The date is set according to the Bulgarian era and corresponds to 894, when a council was held in Preslavl, which decided to transfer worship in Bulgaria from Greek to Bulgarian. This was the “second edition” of the books. The chronicle legend also has no extra-chronicle parallels. Here the Apostle Paul is called the Apostle of the Slavs and Rus'. He was revered especially among the Western Slavs, especially since, according to legend, he reached Illyria, and it was from there that the legend brought out all the Slavic tribes and peoples. The chronicler who included the legend emphasizes the identity of the glades and Rus', but does not in any way explain his attitude to the legend of the Apostle Andrew, nor does he evaluate the version according to which Prince Vladimir should take the place of the Apostle. There is a mechanical connection of materials of different content and orientation.
***** Selun (Solun) - now the Greek city of Thessaloniki

Encyclopedic Dictionary popular words and expressions Serov Vadim Vasilievich

Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it: come to reign and rule us

Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it: come to reign and rule us

From Church Slavonic: Our land is large and abundant, but there is no order in it; and go reign and rule over us.

From the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” by the ancient Russian chronicler, the greatest historian of the Middle Ages, monk of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery Nestor(XI - early XII century). This is what, according to his testimony, in 862 the Slavic ambassadors said to the Varangians from the Rus tribe, who had shortly before been expelled by the Slavs from the northeastern lands of what is now Russia.

Referring to Nestor, the Russian historian Vladimir Solovyov in his work “History of Russia from Ancient Times” (vol. 1, chapter 4) wrote that after the expulsion of Rus' (Varyags), the Slavic tribes themselves began to manage their lands, but “they owned it badly, not could establish internal order: there was no truth between them, the chronicler continues, generation after generation arose, strife began. In such circumstances, the tribes gathered and said: “Let us look for a prince who would rule over us and judge us by right.” Having decided so, they went across the sea, to the Varangians, to Rus', and told them: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it: come to rule and rule over us.” Three brothers gathered (Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. - Comp.) with their relatives, they took all of Rus' with them and came.”

As Nestor writes, these first Russian princes gave their name to these northeastern lands, which began to be called Russia or the Russian Land: “And from those Varangians it was nicknamed the Russian Land...”

Quoted ironically in relation to people who cannot improve their own (social, industrial, etc.) life and hope for outside help.