THE FORMATION OF THE KYIVAN RUTHENIAN STATE AND THE RISE OF THE RUTHENIAN EMPIRE (ACCORDING TO THE TALE OF BYGONE YEARS AND THE ANNALS OF BERTIN)

The undated portion of the Tale of Bygone Years and the testimony of various medieval foreign sources suggest that the formation of the Rus' (Ruthenian) state began in the mid-1st millennium, with the establishment of the Polian-Rus principality in the Middle Dnieper region. The chronicle's account of Prince Kyi and the founding of Kyiv reflects actual historical events that mark the early stages of state formation in Rus' (Ruthenia). This historical foundation is corroborated by the broader context of Slavic-Byzantine relations during the mid-1st millennium, as well as by Byzantine authors’ reports regarding the service of Slavic leaders to Byzantine emperors. These accounts align with the chronicler's information about Prince Kyi’s reception as a ruler by the Byzantine Empire. Medieval Polish chroniclers, such as Jan Dlugosz and Maciej Stryjkowski, who likely had access to the original text of the Tale of Bygone Years rather than later interpolated copies, also identify Prince Kyi as the founder of the Polian-Rus' (Ruthenian) dynasty. They claim that Kyi’s descendants ruled for an extended period in Kyivan Rus', with Askold and Dir being direct descendants of Prince Kyi. By the early 9th century, Rus' (Ruthenia) had already evolved into a polity resembling an imperial state. This is evidenced by the Bertin Annals, which provide the earliest dated reference to Rus' (Ruthenia) in Western European chronicles under the year 839. The chronicler describes the arrival of a Ruthenian delegation to Emperor Louis the Pious, noting that the ruler of Rus' was referred to as both a "king" and "khagan." In medieval Europe, the title of "king" signified the ruler of an independent state, while the Turkic title "khagan," analogous to the European imperial title, highlighted the imperial nature of the Rus' (Ruthenian) state (commonly referred to as the Ruthenian Khaganate) and indicated the subordination of other lords who paid tribute to Kyiv under its ruler's authority. Keywords: Ruthenian, Prince Kyi, formation of the Kyivan Rus' (Ruthenian) state, the Ruthenian Empire, Tale of Bygone Years, Bertin Annals