In the contemporary history of Kyivan Rus’- Ukraine information about the Kyivan princes Askold and Dyr is based as a rule on the Tale of Bygone Years completed in 1113 by a monk named Nestor at the Kyiv Cave Monastery. G. F. Muller and A. L. Schlener, the first researchers of the Tale, had a high opinion of its significance for the history of Rus-Ukraine, noting that “no nation can boast of such a treasure.”
Much later, in our times, information surfaced about the so-called Book of Veles (its authenticity is still disputed in scholarly circles), which also tells about the pre-Riuryk period in the history of Rus’-Ukraine. This holy book of the ancient Slavs was carved on beech planks by pagan priests of Novgorod in the 9th century AD. Several fragments of the Book of Veles were deciphered and published for the first time in 1953 by the San Francisco-based Russian emigre newspaper Zhar-ptitsa (Firebird). I will provide a brief analysis of the most interesting facts from the life and activities of the Kyivan princes Askold and Dyr, relying on the data contained in both the Tale of Bygone Years and the Book of Veles, as well as other sources.
THE TALE OF BYGONE YEARS ON ASKOLD AND DYR
Nestor wrote his Tale on the instructions of Kyivan Prince Sviatopolk Iziaslavych, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, and titled it as follows: “This is a tale of bygone years: from whence came the Rus’ land, who first ruled in Kyiv, and from which source the Rus’ land had its beginning.” Nestor begins his account of the Kyivan princes Askold and Dyr by writing that two Varangian soldiers of the Novgorod prince Riuryk, who were neither his relatives nor boyars, obtained the prince’s permission to go to Tsarhrad (Constantinople). Heading down the Dnipro River, they saw a settlement on a hill and asked the inhabitants whose town this was. They replied “there were three brothers, Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv, who had built the city and after their death, we live [here], paying tribute to the Khazars.” Promising the inhabitants that they would rid them of this unjust payment of tribute, Askold and Dyr (it was they!) remained in Kyiv, uniting around them some of the Varangians from Novgorod, and began to rule over the land of the Polianians. Whereas until this time they were heading for Constantinople to serve the Byzantine emperor, now, encouraged by their success, Askold and Dyr proclaimed themselves enemies of Greece and began to rule like tsars in Kyiv, preparing for a military campaign against Byzantium.
In 860 AD, having armed 200 ships with some 8,000 soldiers on board, Askold and Dyr sailed down the Dnipro to the Black Sea and the Byzantine Empire, all the way to the Thracian Bosphorus. Devastating its shores with fire and sword, the Kyivan host besieged Constantinople, instilling fear and horror in the residents hiding behind the city walls. The emperor and the patriarch prayed all night in church, for only a divine miracle could save them. According to Greek chronicles, a miracle did occur. After Patriarch Photius solemnly carried the robe of the Mother of God out and placed it by the sea (people would always come to pray to this cloth in times of ordeal), the sea suddenly erupted in a terrible storm that scattered and destroyed a great number of ships of the Rusyches, so only a handful of vessels could return to Kyiv. After this fiasco, Byzantine historians wrote, “The pagans, frightened by this unprecedented wrath, immediately sent envoys to Constantinople and asked to be baptized.”
Photius’s Baptism of the Slavic Rus’ indicates that Prince Askold was baptized by Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in 860, when the Byzantine Empire was ruled by Michael.
Nestor the chronicler writes very briefly (or makes no mention) of the Rus’ campaign against Byzantium in 860 and other military achievements of Askold and Dyr. It is clear, however, that only the force of arms decided at the time who would rule the Polianians and their neighbors, and whether one should pay tribute to the neighboring Khazar Khanate. Both princes are known to have launched successful campaigns against the Pechenegs, who at this time first appeared in the steppe and were preventing the Rusyches from traveling to the Black Sea. In 866, Askold and Dyr fought and defeated the Krivichians. Byzantium was very impressed by the Rusyches’ valor and noted that “they burst into our land like sea waves...Those to whom even rumors about the Romans were once awe-inspiring now raised arms against our state.”
Patriarch Photius provides a unique description of the adoption of Christianity by Rus’-Ukraine in his circular letter written for the eastern bishops in 867. “The Rossi are known for their cruelty, as conquerors of neighboring peoples, who in their arrogance dared to fight the Roman Empire, they have already abandoned superstitions, are professing Christ and are our friends, even though quite recently they were implacable enemies. They have already accepted a bishop and a priest from us and are eager to celebrate Christian divine services.”
Folk tradition and the chronicle have preserved the memory of Askold and Dyr as Christians; at the same time, they do not condemn Prince Oleh, who killed them as usurpers of power in Kyiv. The unfortunate princes were buried atop a hill, where Oleh once held his court in Nestor’s time. Dyr’s remains found their final repose behind the Church of St. Irene, and St. Nicholas’s Church was built over Askold’s grave.
THE BOOK OF VELES ON ASKOLD AND DYR
The Book of Veles, dedicated to Veles, the god of wealth, cattle, and wisdom, and the leader of the underworld, contains a history of the ancestors of the Slavs and other European and Asian peoples from the first millennium to the 9th century AD. The Book of Veles is the only religious text of Europe that has reached our time. It was created by pagan priests (wizards) of ancient Novgorod during the time of the semi-legendary Prince Bravlin and then under Prince Riuryk. The book says that Kyivan Prince Dyr ruled in Kyiv before Askold and that he entered the city as a conqueror. Plank 8 (p. 133) reads, “Let us also remember that Dyr who came to us and defeated us because we were divided and miserable. And then came Riuryk and Askold and became our rulers. This was revolting for us because we ourselves were also descendants of the Slavs, who came to the Ilmentsi and we united Rus’ before the (arrival of) the Goths. And it was like that for a thousand years.”
Some historians insist that Dyr was of Greek origin and that this made it easier to introduce Christianity in Rus’-Ukraine with Byzantium’s help. The Book of Veles thus describes the period during which Dyr ruled in Kyiv: “And so we succumbed to others because there was a famine and we were miserable and defenseless. That was why all this happened, and then Askold and Riuryk sail up and down the Dnipro, challenging our men to battle. Since we had Dyr, we did not want to confront them.” Further on, the book states that Prince Dyr, also referred to as Dyros the Hellene, hired a Varangian by the name of Askold and his troops in the year 862 to protect Greek ships en route to Kyiv from the Khazars (Plank 11-29; p. 171). It should be noted that in creating the Book of Veles, the Novgorod wizards were clearly determined to portray not only Askold negatively, but also Riuryk. The basis for this was the circumstance that the wizards generally defended the right of the viche popular assembly to curtail the power of the prince and supported the interests of local merchants, who were being looted by Riuryk’s soldiers. Plank 111-8/1 (p. 175) reads, “Askold is not a Rusych, he is a Varangian and he wants to shame the might of Rus’, but he will die doing this. Nor is Riuryk a Rusych because he prowled through the steppe with the cunning of a fox and murdered merchants, who trusted him.” Recounting Askold and his host’s campaigns against Byzantium, the book strongly condemns these conquests: “Askold placed his men aboard the boats and sailed off to plunder other places. And it came about that he marched on the Greeks to destroy their cities and make sacrifices to his gods in their lands. But we should not do that.”
OTHER SOURCES AND HYPOTHESES ABOUT ASKOLD AND DYR
Historians are generally very skeptical of Askold and Dyr’s joint rule. The Ukrainian historian Natalia Polonska-Vasylenko believes that Askold and Dyr did not rule as princes at the same time. The Arab chronicler al-Masudi confirms this, describing Dyr as the first of the Kyivan princes. Moreover, the Ukrainian historian A. Boiko points to a possible period of Dyr’s princedom: 830-850, and Askold’s until 882. Mykhailo Hrushevsky, however, believes that Dyr ruled after Askold, maybe even after Oleh. He is echoed by the French historian Moshe Taube and the Russian A. Nagayevsky, although Metropolitan Ilarion (Ohienko) insists that they ruled simultaneously. Askold and Dyr are also the subject of numerous debates and various hypotheses. Nestor describes them as boyars [sic] of Novgorod Prince Riuryk, but Taube believes that Askold was a Swede, who came to Kyiv with his troops through the Western Dvina and had nothing to do with Riuryk. A number of historians also reject Askold’s Varangian origin. Thus, A. Shakhmatov believes that Askold was a Slav, that he was even a son of Prince Kyi. M. Pryselkov and V. Rybakov agree, and the latter maintains that the name Askold was derived from the river Oskol, and that it should be spelled Oskold. The Polish historian Jan Dlugosz considers Dyr Askold’s brother and writes that both were sons of the brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv. Kostiantyn Bahrianorodny provides more concrete chronological data, pointing to an agreement made between Byzantine Emperor Basil I and Rus’ in 873-874, during Askold’s rule in Kyiv. Nikon’s chronicle of 966 mentions that “Askold and Dyr fought the Polovtsians.” V. Tatishchev writes that in 866 “Askold and Dyr fought the Krivichians and defeated them.” Nikon’s chronicle has an interesting reference to the year 864, when “Oskold’s son was killed by the Bulgars.” Apparently some military events took place in Bulgaria when Askold and Dyr were princes.
Thus, by using individual historical facts dating back to the rule of Askold and Dyr, one can form a picture of the Kyivan state of Rus’-Ukraine in the mid 9th century. It conquered neighboring countries, fought Byzantium, concluded peace treaties with it and other countries, and finally attempted to adopt Christianity on the state level. All these facts allowed the noted Russian historian V. Kliuchevsky to write that the Russian state was founded owing to the efforts of Askold and later Oleh. Therefore, the unity of the Slavs came from Kyiv, not Novgorod.
