English text to a Swedish blogarticle of mine
December 5, 2013 in Norah4you.wordpress.com
Russian Orthodox Church and Kiev
is something that Swedes today seem to have very little knowledge about. Especially when it comes to Nordic Viking History eastward. Surely most people know that we have something called Ingvar stones. These usually dated to the early 1000 ‘s by runarchaeologs. True, however Eastern sources tells an other history of Ingar/Yngar/Igor who lived in the early 900s and died in 943. Different names for the exact same events where the person is named to have participated. Different names depending on whether we read in Russian chronicles, in Byzantine documents (often written by someone at the Byzantine court ), the Greek Orthodox church Father’s documents and books, in Arabic historians and of course in the texts from 1000th century commonly called Khazardokumenten (for a time after they found they were called the Cambridge papers) .
Without knowing a country’s history , it’s hard to understand what is happening today in the country. Even worse is it to tell the future . As for Ukraine is Kiev’s history that at least something is odd that we Swedes never been taught . For what is happening today is not like many politicians here in the West and journalists in Sweden believe that stem from Putin. Putin has his problems due to two forces in Russia wanting to take over Russia when Putin retire. Thow forces in Russia as well as on the move in the Ukraine, Old communists who survived after the fall of the USSR, some of them within the Russian Army and the deeply Christians belonging Russian Orthodox Church who are a main factor since 1000 AD in the Western regions of Russia today.
In the latter case, the story goes back to the same time a Erik (Rus-Erik/Rurik ) along with ‘brothers’ on request to Varjagernas king/leader was sent over to what later became Russia in order to take power. This was before the country became Russia, so the story began in small rural towns close to Lake Ladoga, it began in Staraya Ladoga and Gorodiche. The story went on and came to for a long time have Kiev as its headquarters. Kiev as a merchandise town had existed before the Varangians came ”from beyond the sea” in order to rule and request tax(tribute) from Novgorod, Meschcera and Krivichs . All the way down from what was then called Varjag Sea, todays Baltic Sea all way down to the Black Sea. According to a contemporary source lived on an island in Varjag Sea. The island mostly had marshland but was big enough for a three days’ march in either direction. Might have been Gotland in the Baltic Sea they came from. But that’s not proven.
In Kiev area there were as early as in 700’s Century lived Slavs of different ethnic and cultural groups. At the same time the father of the Swedish Church, Ansgar made his last trip to Birka, Photius sent a bishop to what we call Russia via Kiev region. It is from that time, 866/67 and until Igor/Ingar/Ingvar/Yngars (dead 943) the Kiev region is well known in contemporary ancient eastern sources. It starts with Rusiska princes who were converted to the Greek Orthodox Christian faith. Continuing with the Rus who in some of the sources told ravaged and demanded tribute just like Ostrogoths from 270 ‘s through to 550 before them and that the Vikings later. Very vivid stories in various contemporary sources. Some of the sources of naming people . The Ruser that ravaged came in contact with Khazarriket from about 750. The Khazars were a Turkic people kind (note that Turkish peoples NOT lived in Asia Minor/Turkey present in earlier times ) were Jewish believers. For information about northerners, Rus , Kiev , etc. until 850 when Kiev came to be at the intersection where the Djepr .
For more reading regarding the Khazar empire please read:
Antapodosis,transl. FA Wright, London 1930
Ibn Miskawaih,The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, ed. Amedroz HF & Margoliuth PS, Oxford 1921.
Ipaty Annals
Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the tenth Century, edit Golb Norman and Pritsak Omeljan, London 1982
Lavrenty Annals
Moses Khorenatsí:, History of the Armenians,ed. transl. RW Thomson, London 1978
Nikonian Chronicle, vol 1 from the beginning to 1132, ed. Princeton 1984
Sharaf Al-Zaman Tahir, Marvazi on China, the Turks and India. transl V Minorsky, London 1942
From a Swedish history point Moses Khorenatsi, an Armenic early Historian, is especially interesting. He tells the same story told in Rökstenen rune carvings Rök Runestone where Varin a descendant to the person mentioned by MK is mentioned much later. The difference is that Khorenatsi talking about the one of the seven survivors have been transferred to the Eastern Roman Emperor ‘s court and then was sent home via what we call the Kiev area ”in chains” all the way to Tuli/ Thule island up in Northern Ocean.
Kiev early became the the center of the growing Russian Orthodox Church. There are several hundred sources written earlier than 1400 AD with data supporting each other. Especially sources where Ingegerd daughter to the Swedish King around 1000 AD, Olof Skötkonung who married Jaroslav of the Rus is mentioned. Jaroslav was the son of Valdemar/Vladimir with Norwegian ancestry on his father’s side . (Parts of Norway and parts of Sweden had more frequent family connections in earlier times than we usually hear about). Ingegerd enter a monastery after Yaroslav’s death later to become one of Russia’s first saints. She was called Anna in Russia.
The Russian Orthodox Church in early days had tight links with the Byzantine Church. From the late 1000’s onwards, the Russian Orthodox Church has been the unifying and most important link in what we today call the Ukraine as in Russia. Thanks to that Kiev been one of the most important centers of the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 1000 years.
Return to the present. It’s not Putin who is the problem no matter what’s told here in West. It’s Old leftover Communists and their attempts to gain positions of power for the time to come after Putin. Please read What comes after Putin Part 2, Norah4you July 16, 2013
Putin himself is known to have been a Christian even during the Soviet Union era. In moderation, it may be that Putin is closer to the Russian-Orthodox Church than Old Communists (and others in the Russian Army)likes. The latter group is for Putin just like his predecessors from Catherine the Great’s days in need to have support from the Russian Military in order to keep together and administrating Russia. But we must try to understand that no matter who has been in power in Kiev, Ukraina’s History is linked to Moskow and Russia for many centuries.
We must also be clear about another thing . Both the Old Communists as Russian Orthodox believers have since almost 1000 years in the latter case, almost always had great distrust of Europe and European states.
Gammelkommunisten som gjorde comeback, Wolfgang Hanssons kolumn Aftonbladet 4 december 2013 writes Ten years ago, Viktor Yanukovych old Communist who tried to steal a democratic election.
Today he is the president who managed to make a comeback against all odds.
But he survives its worst crisis so far?
That’s a good question. Based on analysis of Yanukovych ‘s actions over the years , I believe more and more that he’s still basically old communist. Which also explains his fights with Putin as well as his connections to other Russian major groups.
Ukraina en lysande affär för Janukovytj, men inte för landet, Mats Larssons krönika Expressen 4 december 2013
Makten i Kiev försöker vinna tid, SvD 3 december 2013
Ukrainsk varning till demonstranter, DN 4 december 2013
Next year will not be an easy year for Ukraine. Whether it is Yanukovych or protesters who go ‘ victorious ‘ from today’s uproar in Kiev, it is far to go before the country gets sufficient stability to be able to start the recovery in economic terms, and reach their own form of democracy. Ukraine is the poor country and they do not want to stand cap in hand . We are talking about a very proud people regardless of which of the country’s ethnic groups we are talking about then the whole country proud Ukraine’s historical background. Possibly, we Swedish Nobel Foundation has retained all of the Nobel brothers’ actions might help to tell Ukraine if it was based on Nobel investigations were underway to Nobel would start drilling …. and where do I know that some of the most promising fields is not yet running.
PS those who want to read more about Kiev , Russian Orthodox Church history in Ukraine and Russia may go to the nearest Univeristy Library and read :
John Zibara´s Paralipomen (skriven c 1118)
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus biografy re. Emperor Basil the Macedonian,
Niconian Chronicle
Silverkrönikan (Silver Chronicle) written during 1100th by a priest Helmold of Holstein
Kejsar Konstantin VII:s De administrando imperio (c. 950)
Nizami, Heft Peiker (1140-44)
Ibn Isfandiyar, Tarikhe Tabaristán (probably 1216)
Moslem Annals of Abulfeda (f. 1273 d 1331) Look up year 943.
Read Full Post »