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Rurik is shown on the first geneology chart
with the first several generations of Rus priinces. Rurik, Sineus and
Truvor (862-879) Prince Rurik (862-879). (see Novgorod) A "Veche" was convened by the Slavs
at which time it was voted to invite three brothers Rurik, Sineus, and Truvor
from the Varangian tribe Rus' to rule over the Slavs. In the ancient chronicle
(Novgorodskaya Pervaya Lietopis. M.; L., 1950. Page 106.), we read that
the Nordic princes were invited to Russia (the chronicle does not say by whom)
to bring order and defend Russian lands from foreign invaders. While it is true
that some Russian cities and principalities competed, even sometimes quarreled
amongst themselves and were often attacked by nomadic Turkish tribes and thus
needed more qualified Nordic warlords and their professional soldiers, the fact
that so many Nordic princes came to Russia at the time left the impression to
some Russian history students that their country was actually
"invaded" by the Rurikid princes and their men. We see in the legend
first the three brothers: Rurik in Novgorod, Sineus in Belozero and Truvor in
Izborsk. All three profited of internal Russian tribal strife and became the
very first known rulers. Then Askold in Kiev and Rogvolod in Polotsk came to
govern that part of Russian land. Later we see that Rurik's cousin Oleg rushed
to help him to suppress by force the rebellion when Novgorod citizens wanted to
free themselves from Rurik's rule, making hard to take for granted the
"invitation," which presumably Rurik received from Novgorod's Veche,
a detail which was described in a chronicle written about a hundred years
later. Nevertheless, the Rurikids laid down solid foundations of the all
Russian state.
Evidently, the author of "Povest vremennykh liet," relied on previous
works of his predecessors and not realizing that they may be lost to posterity,
he did not consider it necessary to incorporate all that was recounted in the
works of his predecessors in his new work, and instead selectively picked only
that which at the moment was of absolute imperative. This serves to illustrate
the meagerness and many gaps in the accounts of "Povesti" on the
earliest events in Novgorod and Kiev. And those accounts that the author of
"Povesti" did include, were altered by substantial revision. The
author for instance, omits the accounts in the first initial Novgorod chronicle
of the Varangians' brutality doled on the Novgorodians ("...to ty nasil'e
deyakhu slovenam, krivichem and meryam I chudi."), which by no means were
not helpful in the author's goal of glorifying the Rurik dynasty. The author of
"Povest" however did mention the expulsion of the coercive bands by
the Novgorodians, and gave details on how the Novgorodians started to live
after the expulsion of the Varangians and what had been the reasons for the
invitation of the notorious three brothers, about which the Kievans to that
time had no knowledge of and which in any case where little interested in,
since their recent history was more of interest to them. Likewise in the
Novgorod chronicle there were details which were altered or omitted in
"povest' such as that "Slovens and Krivichi and Meria," were now
calling themselves Novgorodians, that "Slovenes had their own volost,
Krivichi their's, and Meria their's. Rurik was followed by Oleg acting in the name of Igor who
is in the second generation on the above chart.
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