Welcome to Russian History Retold episode number 2008

revisiting Vladimir the Great.

Last time we reviewed the new information I've learned over the past 10, almost 11 years,

about the time before the Roos after listening to a repeat of episode 1.

Today I will share what I've gathered about one of the most

prominent leaders of the people of his time, Vladimir the Great. One of the most

significant problems we have with early Russian and Ukrainian history is that we have to rely mostly on one source, the primary chronicles also known as the chronicle of past times or Tale of Bygone Years.

And it's something that I relied upon when I first did the second episode.

Allegedly written by a month named Nester, who lived between 1056 and 1114,

it is supposed to be a compilation of first-hand accounts of the history of the land of the ruse,

starting in 852 with the arrival of the Varangians, led by Rurik.

There are numerous provable errors in the work, especially with chronological mistakes.

An example is that the appearance of the three Scandinavian brothers in 852 coincided with

the ascension of Byzantine Emperor Michael III.

Problem is, Michael was crowned on January 30th, 842.

Now, we have to understand that the Chronicle was written

to provide a positive story about the beginnings and history of Kyiv and Russ.

As Russian imperial historian Alexi Schachmatov once wrote, quote,

the ruling princes of Kyiv had their own propagandists who rewrote the annals

to make political claims that best suited their own purposes. Because of this, much of what we know is best taken with a grain of salt.

The ascension to power and the rule of Vladimir the Great falls into the time frame where

we rely on the Chronicle.

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