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   XIX      ,     ,     ,              . .   . . .   pdf A4   .





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  . ., 2013

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    ,     II,  ,    .     ,         (18551881).        ,    II, .       .

 XIX    .            ,          .        . .   . . ,         ,      .

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From The Publisher


The book you are holding in your hands is actually a reprint of an old edition that featured a gallery of portraits of Russian tsars. The cover and the title page of the old book havent survived  the book has come down to us without them, so the exact year of publication, as well as the authentic title, is not known. We also could not manage to find out the name of the author of the portraits  whether he was a famous artist or an amateur But the very idea of such a book seemed to us interesting and worth the attention.

The old book opens with the portrait of Rurik, and ends with Alexander II, incumbent, as stated in the caption. From this, we have derived that the book was published during the years of the reign of the latter (18551881). The editor dared to complement the publication with the portraits of the two last tsars whose reigns followed Alexander IIs. Otherwise, the visual solution of the original edition remains unaffected.

The edition of the XIX century did not contain any text. We have added a brief description of the reigns, in English and Russian languages, so that the travel throughout the Gallery of Russian Tsars would be informative and interesting. For the content, the works by Russian historians, N. M. Karamzin and S. M. Solovyov, have been used, who wrote their famous historical opuses in the century when the book was first published.

In our opinion, the efforts of many professionals have helped this item of antiquity acquire a second life, and it would serve as a nice gift for those who like to see the history of a country through its personalities.




 Rurik

862879







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             879 .        ; , ,         .     ,         .

     .          XVI .



Rurik (Roerek, in Varangian) was the first Russian autocrat. Slavonic tribes invited him to govern the country, along with his brothers Truvor and Sineus. Rurik made Town Staraya Ladoga the capital of Novgorod lands, while his younger brothers were to rule the neighbouring towns. On the death of Sineus and Truvor, Rurik annexed their lands to his own principality, thus founding a state.

Afterwards, Rurik moved his capital to Novgorod and kept a monocratical rule there until his death in 879. Very little information has been preserved about this era; it is known, however, that the boundaries of the state expanded significantly during his reign. Rurik bequeathed his principality to his kinsman Oleg, and entrusted him the wardship of his under-aged son Igor.

Rurik was the founder of the dynasty of Russian princes. His descendants will keep the reins of power of the state up to the XVI century.




  Oleg the Seer

879912







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         .       .  907       ().      ,   ,     , ,      ,   .              ,    , .

  33 ,     ,            912 .



Oleg ascended the throne in 879 on the death of Rurik, as a senior in the family. For three years he ruled in Novgorod, and then launched an aggressive campaign to the south, along the waterway from the Baltic to the Black Sea known as the Route from Varangians to the Greek. The chronicles said that Oleg gained his glory due to his victories, prudence, and love of his subjects. He joined to his principality the ancient cities of Smolensk and Lyubech, and in 882, captured the wealthy city of Kiev, killed the boyars Askold and Dir who ruled there, and moved his capital to Kiev.

Oleg took control over the conquered areas and built the cities there. Martial successes gave the impetus to the new conquests. In 907, Oleg ventured a raid against the Orthodox Constantinople (Tsargrad, or King City as called by the Slavonic). He conquered this mighty capital of the Byzantine Empire, laid a tribute on it, made a peace treaty profitable for Rus, and nailed his shield at the gates of Constantinople; then he parted for Kiev. In recognition of the princes military merits and wisdom of the ruler, the people called him Oleg the Seer, i. e., a wise one knowing the future, a prophet.

Oleg reigned for 33 years, enjoying the fame and recognition of his subjects, annexed many lands and tribes, and died at the ripe old age in 912.




  Igor Rurikovich

912945







      ,            .    ,          ,        .  903         .     -         941 ,       .              .        ,          .   944            .

           .   ,      .    .  945 ,           , ,    ,       ,       .       ,    .   ,      ,    , ,  ,   .



Igor was a son to the first Russian prince Rurik (Rurikovich, i. e. Rurikid), but he commenced his rule only on the death of his kinsman and warden, Oleg. Igor got his administrative experience as a vice-regent who remained in Kiev during the Olegs campaign against Byzantium; never made he any attempt to usurp the supreme power. In 903, Oleg chose a wife for Igor, who was Olga from Pskov.

The chroniclers did not mention any conspicuous events related to the the reign of Igor until the year 941, which was marked by his infamous campaign against Byzantium. Igor was overconfident of the success of this venture, hence careless enough to let a series of strategical fallacies. In a seabattle, the Greek managed to set Igors fleet afire, and the remnant of his troops was forced to return home without any trophy. Only in 944, after a new campaign against Byzantium, Rus could afford another peace treaty.

On the death of Oleg, the Drevlian tribes he conquered raised a rebellion and refused to pay the tribute. Igor suppressed the rebels, and augmented their tribute, as a punishment. The freedom-loving people harboured the resentment against him. In 945, when Oleg in person came with his men to collect the tribute from the Drevlians, he forgot the sense of proportion and taxed them twice as much, and returned for further prey afterwards. The Drevlians then ambushed and killed the princes retinue, as well as the prince himself. According to the chronicle, he was fastened to the two trees bent, and the trees were released, tearing the princes body in two.




 Olga

945954(960)







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      ,      ,         .    .     ,    ,       .     ,     .

     ,       .       ,        .          ,     969    .     ,       .



Olga was a great Russian princess, a wife to Prince Igor. The first thing she did after coming to power was to avenge the death of her husband on the Drevlians. She burned down their capital town, killing most of the population, while on the rest of them a huge tribute was imposed.

Olga is referenced in the chronicles rather often, but the records are heavily obfuscated with legends, so that the historians are hardly able to tell the truth from the fiction. Olga was considered a wise ruler. She personally travelled all over Rus, divided the lands into townships, and established a certain amount of taxes for each town. She visited Byzantium several times, maintaining diplomatic relations with the empire.

The Grand Princess adopted Christianity in Constantinople, she was the first Christian in the princely family. Olga also tried to persuade her son Sviatoslav into becoming a Christian, but he refused and continued to live in Paganism. Olgas will was not to arrange her funeral feast following the Pagan rite, and after her death in 969, her priest read the burial service.

The Orthodox Church beatified Princess Olga, making her the first saint in the princely kindred.




 Sviatoslav

954(960)972







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