"The roots of the present lie in the past": a street conversation with a Russian (09.06.2022)
A street conversation between Vitalii Dribnytsia and a Russian who presents himself as a historian. The central moment is a joint examination of the “Great Russian Encyclopedia” (written by the Institute of History of the RAS): in the entry “Russian state,” Russian statehood is dated from Ivan III (the second half of the 15th century), while Kyivan Rus’ is presented as a multi-ethnic state with no division into Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. In other words, the Russian academy itself contradicts the school myth that presents Kyivan Rus’ as the “first stage” of the history of Russia. This is followed by an analysis of the “Primary Chronicle,” the Khazars, and the Saltovo-Mayaki culture.
Key moments
- 04:00 "If you remove the history, you have to start with the Principality of Moscow" — no earlier than the 13th–14th century
- 05:08 The "Great Russian Encyclopedia" (Institute of History of the RAS): separate entries for Kyivan Rus' and the "Russian state"
- 05:37 In the GRE the "Russian state" begins with Ivan III — the second half of the 15th century
- 05:58 Kyivan Rus' in the GRE — a "multi-ethnic state," with no division into Russians/Ukrainians/Belarusians
- 06:11 Russian school textbooks, by contrast, present Kyivan Rus' as the "first stage" of Russian statehood
- 07:11 A parallel with the second half of the 19th century: all East Slavs were declared "one people" (like Putin's 2021 article)
- 09:41 Moscow received the patent (yarlyk) for the principality from Khan Uzbek
- 09:55 Kyivan Rus': confirmed by independent sources only from Igor onward; Rurik and Oleg are legendary