"Bright People of Ancient Rus’" by Boris Akunin, summary Automatic translate

This historical and artistic book, published in 2023, brings living human faces to the dry chronicles. The author reconstructs the events of the era between 860 and 1238 through the biographies of individual rulers. The text is divided into two alternating parts: a rigorous historical essay based on scant documentation, and a fictional novella that recreates the motives and passions of the deceased princes.

This publication opens the author’s "Illumination of History" series. This cycle is conceived as an emotional complement to the writer’s extensive works dedicated to the development of the Russian state.

Historical plot and the founder of the state

The early East Slavic unification arose for a purely pragmatic reason. The northern and southern neighbors needed to protect the river trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." The real creator of this system was the Varangian Helgi, known by his Slavic name, Prince Oleg. He united Novgorod and Kyiv under his rule, subjugated the surrounding tribes, and forced the Byzantines to pay a favorable tribute.

The novella depicts Eternal Oleg as an old man, having outlived all his comrades. The reader learns that Helgi secretly killed the old king Rorik, breaking his neck, and took possession of his concubine, Freya. He later dealt with Haskuld, depriving him of the right to die with a sword in his hand. Thirty-three years later, a priest informs the prince of a viper crawling out of Haskuld’s grave. Wishing to deceive the spirits, old Oleg orders his sword and dead horse buried in the enemy’s burial mound.

Passive and active Igor

The second Kyivan ruler, Igor, is described as a dull and greedy figure. Biographical inconsistencies suggest the existence of two different princes with the same name. The Igor in the chronicles led two large-scale naval campaigns against Constantinople. His own greed in collecting tribute from the rebellious Drevlians was his undoing.

The fictional account portrays Igor as a man consumed by envy of his great-grandfather. During the tribute collection, the prince orders the boy to be torn to pieces by horses for a rash word. Noticing that the Drevlyans are hiding their best furs in hiding places under old millstones, Igor decides to deceive his own retinue. He sends his warriors to Kyiv, while he himself, with a small force, secretly returns to Korosten to collect the rich furs, heading toward certain death.

The Wit of Princess Olga

The widowed Olga takes cruel revenge on the Drevlians for her husband: she buries the ambassadors alive, burns the second embassy in a bathhouse, and treacherously destroys the capital, Korosten. She then institutes the first systematic collection of tribute. Olga converted to Christianity during a political visit to Constantinople in 957.

The story reveals her extraordinary diplomatic talent. At an official reception in Constantinople, the Byzantine basileus falls asleep after drinking wine laced with a sleeping potion. The Emperor’s daughter-in-law, Theophano, secretly slipped the potion into his cup. Left alone with Empress Helena, Olga engages in tough political bargaining. The cunning princess promises to convert to the Greek faith on the condition that the stalled trade is resumed. If she refuses, she threatens to invite a German bishop to Kyiv, pitting the interests of Rome and Constantinople against each other.

The last Viking on the throne

Svyatoslav Igorevich lived and fought like a typical Scandinavian chieftain. The prince was burdened by state concerns, and long-distance campaigns in the Caucasus and the Balkans beckoned him. He defeated the Khazars, became embroiled in the Bulgarian War with the Greeks, and died at the hands of Pecheneg sabers at the Dnieper rapids in 972.

The artistic section shows the besieged Rus’ army after a long, grueling winter. The old commander Sveneld secretly negotiates with the Pecheneg ambassador: he gives the nomads the Byzantine spoils from his two ships in exchange for free passage. The proud Svyatoslav refuses to hand over the loot and throws himself into a hopeless battle. The prince perishes under a hail of arrows, and the cool-headed Sveneld sails unhindered to Kyiv to the new ruler.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Reformer

Vladimir Svyatoslavich united the lands by force of arms. Having defeated his brothers, he decided to baptize the people of Kyiv in 988. This step united the disparate tribes, giving birth to a unified church, literacy, and Christian morality.

In the novella, the baptized prince confesses to the Greek bishop Sophronios. Vladimir sincerely strives to observe the commandments. To uphold the prohibition "thou shalt not kill," he orders his warriors to inflict non-fatal wounds during battle and not to finish off defeated enemies. At the same time, the prince is burdened by the ban on the execution of criminals. Rich murderers are brought to Kyiv, where they are given a fine. Vladimir asks the bishop for penance in advance, intending to personally disembowel the rich man who amuses himself by slaughtering the city’s beggars.

Civil strife and the wisdom of Yaroslav

Vladimir’s death in 1015 triggered a long war. Svyatopolk the Accursed exterminated his brothers, but suffered final defeat at the hands of Yaroslav the Wise in 1019.

A fictional passage depicts Svyatopolk fleeing. Learning that his Pecheneg guards plan to betray him to their enemies, the prince poisons a jug of honey. He covers his faithful brother, Ratibor, with his scarlet cloak. The Pechenegs kill him while he sleeps, drink the poisoned mead, and die. Svyatopolk changes his clothes, leaves his bloody mace at a pagan idol, and disguises himself as a forest sorcerer.

The historical essay portrays Yaroslav as a far-sighted state builder. He issues the first set of laws, "Yaroslav’s Truth," builds churches, and enters into numerous dynastic marriages with the royal houses of Europe. However, his system of succession poses a threat to the future unity of the country.

In the novella, after the brutal Battle of Listven, Yaroslav invites his victorious brother, Mstislav, to Kalach Island. Instead of a duel, the clever prince proposes a division of lands: Mstislav takes charge of the military, while Yaroslav takes Kyiv and the financial flows, establishing a lasting peace.

Peacemaker Vladimir Monomakh

The proliferating Rurik dynasty suffers from a shortage of appanages. Oleg Gorislavich repeatedly leads the Polovtsian hordes against their hometowns. Vladimir Monomakh halts this process of disintegration. He renounces personal vendettas, cedes Chernigov to Oleg, and convenes princely assemblies to consolidate the family estates in 1097. Monomakh unites the armies and deals a crushing blow to the Polovtsians.

The story recounts the creation of the chronicle. Old Monomakh orders Abbot Sylvester to record the truth about his sins. The prince confesses to the treacherous murder of Khan Itlar, who had trusted him. Under pressure from the Kyivan authorities, the boyar Ratimir shot Itlar through the roof, shooting a hardened arrow into his heart. Monomakh agrees to leave this shameful episode in the chronicles so that posterity will understand the heavy price of statehood.

Shifting the center of power

Andrei Bogolyubsky moved the capital to Vladimir. He mercilessly sacked ancient Kyiv in 1169 and ruled alone. Despotism breeds conspiracy.

In the fictional version, Prince Andrei neglects his family, impales his brother-in-law’s severed head, and dreams of creating a great Imperium. That night, embittered servants, led by Peter the Little, burst into his chambers. The wounded ruler attempts to escape through a secret passage, but the conspirators notice a trail of blood on the steps and finish off Bogolyubsky.

His successor, Vsevolod the Big Nest, expands his domains through economic pressure and cunning. He avoids direct confrontations, winning wars through calculated anticipation, as he did at the standoff on the Kolaksha River.

In the fictional plot, the Vladimir crowd demands the death of the captured nephews Mstislav and Yaropolk. Vsevolod imitates a cruel Byzantine punishment. Bloody bandages are placed on the captives’ faces, creating the appearance of blindness. The Rostislavichi leave the principality unharmed.

Fatal ending

Mstislav the Bold brings about the final collapse of the country. The warrior assembles a coalition to aid the Polovtsians against the Mongols. The historical part describes the sudden appearance of an unknown enemy — the tumens of Subede and Jebe. Through Mstislav’s fault, the Rus’ troops kill the Tatar ambassadors. On the Kalka River in 1223, the Russian regiments suffer a terrible defeat. Fleeing, Udatny cuts down the boats, depriving his comrades of salvation.

The final story depicts an aged Mstislav. He falls through the river ice and suffers a mortal wound. The dying prince is carried to the hermitage of the one-eyed hermit Pavsiriy, a former warrior. The monk demands repentance for the bloodshed and the murder of the ambassadors. Mstislav refuses to repent and dies in pride without absolution, foreshadowing the coming catastrophe of Batu’s invasion.