Whether it came out of nowhere: what happened before the advent of Russia

When you study our textbooks, one often gets the impression that Russian history began somehow unexpectedly. There was nothing, and suddenly it became. In 862, they called the Rurikovich, and they organized a state for us. This point of view is most likely connected with the fact that Russian history was written mainly by foreigners. If we take the numerical composition of the Russian Academy of Sciences, then in its entire history there were only three Russian academicians in it. One of them is Lomonosov. He was the first to question the Norman theory. Karamzin wrote that before the call of the Varangians, the territory was inhabited by ignorant peoples.

Some modern historians believe that the beginning of Russian statehood occurred at least 200 years earlier than is commonly believed. The historian Sergei Chernyakhovsky refers to the "Joachim Chronicle". He makes the following logical assumptions. If we assume that the Varangians were called up, then we can conclude from this that there was no longer a divided society on this territory, but a fully formed people with their political will and ability to choose which socio-political structure was most preferable. That is, there were some ideas about how the state should look.

"The calling of the Varangians." V. Vasnetsov

The historian Boris Rybakov claimed that Rurik reigned, but not after calling, but conquering Novgorod, subjugating the people to himself.

Modern historians claim that Rurik most likely overthrew the previous dynasty. Perhaps it was related to Scythian or Sarmatian culture.

Monument "Millennium of Russia"

Gardarika - the Normans called it Russia from the 12th century. In the Scandinavian sagas we figure as a "country of cities". The term "Gardarika" itself implies the presence of fortified fortresses.

Attila. E. Delacroix

According to the composition of the population, the state included Sarmatians, Huns, Slavic and Germanic tribes. It was founded in 374 and occupied the territory of the modern Moscow region and the Volga region. After the death of Attila, development gradually began to decline.