← Back

Title of the article: Information war of ancient Rus’
Author(s):

Pervushin M. V.
Section: Theory and history of culture
Year: 2016
Issue: № 3 (41)
Pages: 24-36
Index UDK: 930.85+ 821.161
Index BBK: 63.3 (2) + 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
Abstract: The approximate number of the manuscripts currently known and their versions about the Holy Prince Vladimir for the entire medieval period totals 27 works. Even so, there is very little factual data about Prince Vladimir himself and the then Russian Church in these ancient manuscripts. When studying most works of this written heritage an observant researcher would find himself in perplexity with many questions. But a small number of the Old Russian written monuments are noted for being well-grounded and logical in describing great princely deeds. The author adheres to the opinion that this was a consequence of the “information war”, which Rus’ lost to the Greeks and during which practically all historic evidence about initial half century existence of the Russian Christian state headed by the St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince, the Baptizer of Rus’, was destroyed. In present days a researcher can reconstruct the history of that time only hypothetically.
Keywords: ancient Rus’, Holy Prince Vladimir, Russian Church, Byzantium, Romaioi, hagiography, state, Christianization, the Slavs.
Bibliography: 1 Aleksandr Evgen’evich Presniakov: Pis’ma i dnevniki [Alexander E. Presnyakov: Letters and diaries]. 1889–1927. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 2005. 968 p. (In Russ.) 2 Berman B. I. Chitatel’ zhitiia (agiograficheskii kanon russkogo srednevekov’ia i traditsiia ego vospriiatiia) [The reader of the lives (hagiographic canon of Russian Middle Ages and the tradition of its perception)]. Khudozhestvennyi iazyk srednevekov’ia [Artistic language of the Middle ages]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1982, pp. 159–183. (In Russ.) 3 Golubinskii E. E. Istoriia Russkoi Tserkvi [The History of the Russian Church]. T. I. 1-ia pol. Moscow, Imperatorskoe obshchestvo istorii i drevnostei rossiiskikh pri Moskovskom universitete Publ., 1901. 968 p. (In Russ.) 4 Gudzii N. K. Istoriia drevnei russkoi literatury [The history of Old Russian literature]. Moscow, Uchpedgiz Publ., 1938. 448 p. (In Russ.) 5 Kartashev A. V. Vossozdanie Sviatoi Rusi [Reconstruction of Holy Rus’]. Paris, Izdanie Osobogo Komiteta pod predsedatel’stvom Sil’vestra, episkopa Messinskogo, vikariia mitropolita russkikh pravoslavnykh tserkvei Zapadnoi Evropy i ekzarkha patriarkha Vselenskogo Publ., 1956. 253 p. (In Russ.) 6 Kartashev A. V. Ocherki po istorii Russkoi Tserkvi [Essays on the Russian Church History]. Paris, YMCA-PRESS Publ., 1959. Vol. 1. 681 p. (In Russ.) 7 Kartashev A. V. Tserkov’. Istoriia. Rossiia [Church. History. Russia]. Moscow, Probel Publ., 1996. 301 p. (In Russ.) 8 Kirillin V. M. Obraz kniazia Vladimira Sviatoslavicha v rannikh drevnerusskikh gomiliiakh [The image of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in early Russian Homilies]. Drevniaia Rus’. Voprosy medievistiki [Old Russia. Issues of Middle Age study], 2014, no 2 (56), pp. 32–48. (In Russ.) 9 Miliutenko N. I. Literaturnyi tsikl o kniaze Vladimire: kniga A. A. Shakhmatova v svete istoriograficheskoi traditsii i noveishikh issledovanii [Literary series about Prince Vladimir: the book by Shakhmatov in the light of historiographical tradition and the latest research]. Shakhmatov A. A. Zhitiia kniazia Vladimira: tekstologicheskoe issledovanie drevnerusskikh istochnikov XI–XVI vv. [The Lives of Prince Vladimir: textological research of old Russian sources of XI–XVI c.], podgot. teksta, predislovie N. I. Miliutenko. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 2014, pp. 13–96. (In Russ.) 10 Nikol’skii N. K. K voprosu ob istochnikakh letopisnogo skazaniia o sv. Vladimire [On the question about the sources of the chronicle stories about St. Vladimir]. Khristianskoe chtenie [Christian reading]. St. Petersburg, 1902, no 7, pp. 89–106. (In Russ.) 11 Nikol’skii N. K. Materialy dlia povremennogo spiska russkikh pisatelei i ikh sochinenii X–XI vv. [Materials for time-based list of Russian writers and their works of X–XI centuries]. St. Petersburg, Otdelenie russkogo iazyka i slovesnosti Imperatorskoi akademii nauk Publ., 1906. 605 p. (In Russ.) 12 Nikol’skii N. K. O drevnerusskom khristianstve [About Old Russian Christianity]. Russkaia mysl’. Moscow, Tip. tov-va I. N. Kushnerev i Ko Publ., 1913. God tridtsat’ chetvertyi, kn. VI, pp. 1–23. (In Russ.) 13 Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia [Orthodox Encyclopedia]. Moscow, Tserkovno-nauchnyi tsentr Russkoi Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi «Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia» Publ., 2004. Vol. VIII: Verouchenie — Vladimiro-Volynskaia eparkhiia. 752 p. (In Russ.) 14 Presniakov A. E. Kniazhoe pravo v Drevnei Rusi: ocherki po X–XII vekam [Prince right in old Russia: Essays on the X–XII centuries]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1993. 635 p. (In Russ.) 15 Presniakov A. E. Lektsii po russkoi istorii [Lectures on Russian History]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe sotsial’no-ekonomicheskoe izdatel’stvo Publ., 1938. Vol. 1. 298 p. (In Russ.) 16 Priselkov M. D. Istoriia russkogo letopisaniia XI–XV vv. [The history of Russian chronicles of XI–XV centuries]. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 1996. 328 p. (In Russ.) 17 Priselkov M. D. Ocherki po tserkovno-politicheskoi istorii Kievskoi Rusi XI–XII vv. [Essays on Church and political history of Kievan Rus in XI–XII centuries]. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 2003. 248 p. (In Russ.) 18 Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles]. Leningrad, Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR Publ., 1926–1928 (fototipicheskii reprint. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1962). Vol. 1. 379 p. (In Russ.) 19 Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiia M. A. Aleksandrova (Nadezhdinskaia, 43) Publ., 1908. Vol. 2. 938 col. + 108 p. (In Russ.) 20 Pushkin A. S. Sobranie sochinenii: v 10 t. [Collected works in 10 vol.]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo khudozhestvennoi literatury Publ., 1959–1962. Vol. 10: Pis’ma 1831–1837. 484 p. (In Russ.) 21 Rozov V. A. Lichnost’ Vladimira Sviatogo v russkoi literature [The Personality of St. Vladimir in Russian literature]. Vladimirskii sbornik. V pamiat’ 950-letiia Kreshcheniia Rusi. 988–1938 [Vladimir collection. In the memory of 950 years anniversary of Kievan Rus]. Belgrad, Tip. Merkur Publ., 1938, pp. 155–173. (In Russ.) 22 Shakhmatov A. A. Zhitiia kniazia Vladimira: tekstologicheskoe issledovanie drevnerusskikh istochnikov XI–XVI vv. [The Lives of Prince Vladimir: textological research of old Russian sources of XI–XVI c.]. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 2014. 384 p. (In Russ.) 23 Shakhmatov A. A. Korsunskaia legenda o kreshchenii Vladimira [Korsun legend of the baptism of Vladimir]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiia Imperatorskoi akademii nauk Publ., 1906. 128 p. (In Russ.) 24 Shakhmatov A. A. Obozrenie russkikh letopisnykh svodov XIV–XVI vv. [Review of Russian chronicles of XIV–XVI centuries]. Moscow; Leningrad, Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR Publ., 1938. 372 p. (In Russ.) 25 Shakhmatov A. A. Razyskaniia o drevneishikh russkikh letopisnykh svodakh [Research on ancient Russian chronicles]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiia M. A. Aleksandrova Publ., 1908. 687 p. (In Russ.) 26 Shakhmatov A. A. Sbornik statei i materialov [Collection of articles and materials], ed. akad. S. P. Obnorskogo. Moscow; Leningrad, Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR Publ., 1947. 476 p. (Trudy Komissii po istorii Akademii nauk SSSR / ed. akad. S. I. Vavilova; issue 3). (In Russ.) 27 Shakhmatov A. A. Povest’ vremennykh let. T. 1 [The Tale of Bygone Years. Vol. 1]. Letopis’ zaniatii Arkheograficheskoi komissii za 1916 g. [The Chronicle of 1916 Archeological committee studies]. Petrograd, Arkheograficheskaia komissiia Publ., 1916. Issue 29. 403 p. (In Russ.) 28 Shmeman A., prot. Istoricheskii put’ Pravoslaviia [Historical Path of Orthodoxy]. Paris, 1989. Available at: http://www.sedmitza.ru/lib/text/436732/ (Accessed 20 August 2015). (In Russ.)
PDF file:   Download