РАЗВИТИЕ РУССКОГО ЛЕТОПИСАНИЯ

Old Russian literature reveals a complete dissimilarity with the literature of the modern time: it is characterized by other, special genres (Old Russian literature did not know the novel and drama, poetry appears only at the end of the 17th century), and the method of representation of life, belletristic expression of man. The “Tale of Bygone Years” is the basis of all Old Russian chronicle writing. The chronicle story is first of all documentary: with few exceptions, there is nothing fictitious, composed, “literary” in it. It is a direct reflection of reality. It is a story in the literal sense of the word, usually compiled on the fresh traces of the event by an eyewitness, or from the words of an eyewitness.